Elementary teachers looking for lesson plans and activities for Rolling Thunder 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 gratitude, this Rolling Thunder picture book by Kate Messner 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 Rolling Thunder Lesson Plans & Activities in 3 Easy Steps:
- Read a summary of Rolling Thunder. 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 Rolling Thunder book companion to make lesson planning simple with Rolling Thunder reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, teaching ideas & no-prep extension activities.
Rolling Thunder Summary
Kate Messner’s book Rolling Thunder is a lyrical story about a young boy who takes part in The Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom. It is a special day for the boy and his grandfather as they ride for the narrator’s Uncle Zach and the grandfather’s friends. The two set out on the motorcycle to meet up with the grandfather’s friends.
On the morning of the ride, many motorcycles line up with their engines roaring. The motorcycles display flags to honor veterans and crowds roar and cheer as they drive by. The ride ends at The Wall, where they will remember those that never made it home. The young boy finds his uncle’s name and makes a rubbing of it. There are speeches and prayers as everyone shows their gratitude for the sacrifices of veterans.
This book is a great way to teach students about Memorial Day and the importance of honoring and remembering veterans.
Book Information for Elementary Teachers
What are the reading levels for Rolling Thunder?
- Lexile® Measure: N/A
- Guided Reading Level: N/A
- DRA Level: N/A
- Accelerated Reader Level (ARC): N/A
Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
The book was written by Kate Messner. It was illustrated by Greg Ruth.
What genre is Rolling Thunder?
It is a nonfiction 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?
Rolling Thunder Lesson Plan Ideas
Each of our 600+ 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 Rolling Thunder, 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 Rolling Thunder reading comprehension questions focus on:
- authors purpose
- identifying theme, message and moral
- rhyme, rhythm, repetition
- summarizing/retelling
LITERATURE-BASED SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS
We found this story to be a great SEL picture book to promote:
- gratitude
Grammar, Vocabulary & Word Study
- plural nouns
- verb tense
- adjectives
- synonyms
Get the Rolling Thunder Book Activities
This Rolling Thunder Book Companion includes 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
One Last Thing Before You Go… Grab this Free Reading Resource!
If you want to get more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, then grab this reading freebie for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. It includes:
- seasonal read aloud books lists for teachers
- printable reading logs to track students’ reading
- monthly reading challenges to motivate students to read more
It will have you covered for the entire school year, as well as the summer months! Grab this free elementary reading packet now!
