Elementary teachers looking for lesson plans and activities for Chester the Brave will find this post helpful. It includes resource recommendations, free teaching ideas, and information about the book. You’ll have everything you need to deliver engaging interactive read aloud lessons based on this story.
With themes of courage, this Chester the Brave picture book by Audrey Penn is a favorite in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. It will be a big hit in your classroom too! Learn more about this book below!
Engage Your Students with Chester the Brave Lesson Plans & Activities in 3 Easy Steps:
- Read a summary of Chester the Brave. You can find it in the section below.
- Check out the teaching ideas for reading comprehension strategies, grammar topics and social emotional learning skills that can be taught using this children’s book.
- Download the book companion to make lesson planning simple with Chester the Brave reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, teaching ideas & no-prep extension activities.
CHESTER THE BRAVE SUMMARY
Chester loves sundown, when he can snuggle with his mother before school and listen as she tells him a story. In the book, Chester the Brave, Chester’s mother is telling him a story about the little robin who lives in their tree.
In his mother’s story, the little robin was too afraid to fly. He thought he wasn’t being brave like his brother and sister, who both flew on the first try. The little robin’s father explained that being brave means you still try to fly, even if you are worried. The little bird even worried about reciting his flying lessons in front of the class. Chester had a connection to this part of the story. He too, was afraid to recite lessons in front of the class.
Chester’s mother taught him three words that would help him be brave: think, say, do. She explained that when he thinks he can’t do something, he should say that he can, and do it! When it was time to recite in front of the class at school, Chester thought of his mother’s advice and recited everything in front of the class! He demonstrated just how much courage he had!
Audrey Penn’s book is a great way to discuss bravery, courage, fear, and anxiety with students.
CHESTER THE BRAVE LESSON PLAN IDEAS
Each of our 400+ Starts With a Story book companions come with a teacher’s guide to make lesson planning quick and easy, printable worksheets and digital resources that cover ALL of the standards-based reading comprehension skills.
When it comes to writing lesson plans and finding activities for Chester the Brave, we’ve already done all of the heavy lifting for you.
We found this book was especially good at teaching the topics listed below.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
The text-based Chester the Brave reading comprehension questions focus on:
- analyzing character
- author’s purpose
- identifying theme | message | moral
- making connections
- making predictions
LITERATURE-BASED SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS
We found this story to be a great SEL picture book to promote:
- courage
GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY & WORD STUDY
- possessive nouns
- prepositions
- verb tense
- adjectives
CHESTER THE BRAVE ACTIVITIES
You’ll receive all of the following resources aligned to the story:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
YOU HAVE 2 OPTIONS! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK COMPANION?
BOOK INFO FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS
What are the reading levels for Chester the Brave?
- Lexile® Measure: NC610L
- Guided Reading Level: L
- DRA Level: 20-24
- Accelerated Reader Level (ARC): 3.9
Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
The book was written by Audrey Penn. It was illustrated by Barbara Gibson.
What genre is Chester the Brave?
It is a fiction book. You may want to check out our genre activities or read our blog post, How to Teach Genre to Elementary Students.
How many pages are in the book?
The story is 32 pages long.
