- characters (the main people or animals in the story)
- setting (where and when the story takes place)
- problem (the biggest problem in the story or decision that needs to be made)
- solution (how the problem is solved or the final decision made)
Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes by Christen Conrad is a fun,
fast-paced story with easily identifiable characters, setting, problem, and
solution that could be integrated easily into a language arts unit about story
elements. Who is Zester the Zebra? How did his stripes go missing? How can you
integrate Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes into your lessons?
Keep reading to find out!
2. If you decided to have your students use a template to make their
zebras, help them trace and cut out the zebras as needed. Pass out
black construction paper for your students to cut or tear zebra stripes out
of it. The students will then glue them into place.
Disclosure:
Affiliate links
to Amazon are included in this post.
Author's Summary
In this first book of the Forever Zoo Friends Series, a Zebra named
Zester wakes up one morning to find his black stripes are not on his
body. Worried about his missing stripes, he sets out to find them.
Zester searches high and low, and everywhere in-between. He doesn't have
much luck finding his stripes until his friend, Happy the Hippo joins in
the search. Happy chooses not to give up on her friend Zester in trying
to find his black stripes because she knows Zester really misses his
stripes. A good friend is always there for you to help you out! Will
they be able to find his stripes? This is a cute little rhyming story
about the value of a friendship between a zebra and a hippopotamus. In
addition to teaching children the value of friendships, this story will
show the importance of helping others out.
🍎 Title: Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes
🍎 Author: Christen Conrad
🍎 Author: Christen Conrad
🍎 Illustrator: Jeremy Wells
🍎 Publisher: self-published
🍎 Date: October 14, 2020
🍎 Pages: 24
Before Reading Zester the Zebra
Before reading Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes to your students, take a few minutes to review what story elements
are... character, setting, problem, and solution. Picture walk
through Zester the Zebra and discuss what they see
happening in the illustrations. Who are the characters? Where
does the story take place? What is the problem? How did the
problem get solved? What else do they see happening? Can we
see examples of the characters working together and helping each other
out?
Reading Zester the Zebra
After previewing Zester the Zebra, go ahead and read the story
together. As you read the story, focus on the story elements... were
your students correct when they identified the characters, setting,
problem, and solution. Also, focus on the themes of friendship and
how friends help one another. When you are finished with Zester the Zebra and if time allows, have your students record the story elements on
the story map below. You can decide if you want your students to
record the details in complete sentences or in a dot-jot format.
- characters: Zester the Zebra and Happy the Hippo
- setting: outside, in the woods, in nature
- problem: Zester the Zebra lost his stripes and doesn't know where they are.
- solution: Zester the Zebra and Happy the Hippo find the stripes and glue them on Zester the Zebra's back so he won't lose them again.
To download a FREE copy of this printable (one page in all), please click
on the image above. Clicking this image will take you to the
Teachers-Pay-Teachers third-party website. This is a FREE download-- no purchase necessary.
Where Are Zester the Zebra's Stripes?
Zester the Zebra lost his stripes when he fell asleep and they scampered
off. At the end of the Zester the Zebra, he and Happy
the Hippo decided to glue down those stripes to make sure they won't fall
off again. Now it's your students' turn to glue down some stripes on
a zebra of their own!
You will need:
- glue
- scissors
- white construction paper
- strips of various sizes cut or torn from black construction paper
- cardstock template of a zebra (optional)
- black and white yarn torn in different lengths (optional)
Directions:
1. Make a template of a zebra on cardstock. This zebra template is
an old sewing pattern of mine that I found on my hard drive. (The breaks
in the outline indicate where I would have used tufts of yarn for the
zebra's mane and tail.) If you'd like to use this pattern to make
your zebra template, go for it. Just right-click the zebra and save
the image. An alternative option is to simply let your students draw
their own zebras. Either option will work well and be lots of fun!
(Photo credit:
Deep Space Sparkle)
Can you think of some other fun ideas and activities to go with
Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes? If so, share them
in the comments below!
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