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Throughout the month of October we will study the author Jonathan London through
various books in his Froggy series. A number of mini-lessons will incorporate the authors work
that will lead to a culminating activity. By the end of the unit, we want our students to be able to
put together a Froggy Classroom Adventure book and write individual letters to the author. In
this letter, the students will demonstrate what they learned throughout the author study, such as
recurring themes, skills, and unique elements.
The most important themes we want the students to understand are family, adventure, and
independence. At the end of each week, the students will be able to identify the theme found in
the book that was read that week and mention these in their letters to the author. They will also
demonstrate their knowledge of the different skills they will learn through mini-lessons. These
skills include nouns, verbs, adjectives, sequencing of events, short vowels, and letter writing.
Additionally, the students will exhibit unique elements that are used in the Froggy books, such as
personification and onomatopoeias.
We will begin the culminating activity by putting together our Froggys Classroom
Adventure book. The front of the book will feature a class picture with the Froggy books we
read in class. Inside, each student will have their own section featuring work they did throughout
the unit, and their letter to the author. The first page of each students section will be the activity
they completed when we first introduced the author. This will be the first time the students will
have shown their knowledge of the theme, adventure. Next, will be their individual pictures with
their favorite Froggy book and a thought bubble including an onomatopoeia the student came up
with. Students may choose to use words such as bam, flop, crash, and slurp.
The last page of their sections will be the letter they wrote to the author. This will include
what their favorite book was and why, and the theme of the book. They will also distinguish

between nouns, verbs, and adjectives by underlining, highlighting, or circling them in different
colors. For example, they may write I liked Froggy Goes to School because Froggy rode a
yellow bus, just like me. They would underline the nouns (Froggy, School, bus), circle the
verbs (rode), and highlight the adjectives (yellow). Jonathan London personified frogs in his
Froggy series, so another feature will be the students telling the author about their own
experiences of personifying an object. After the book and letters are completed, we will make
two copies of the letters: one for the book, and one to send to the author. The letters will be sent
off to the author in hopes that he will reply.