The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond - Teaching Ideas

Cornelia Augusta has a big heart and when it just happened to rain hearts one day, she knew just what to do, catch them! When she was done catching the hearts she took them home so she could start on the Valentine's Day cards she was going to make for her friends. She immediately went to work, the first thing she did was study each heart. She found that they were all so different and she wanted to make sure that she gave the perfect heart to each of her friends. Once she decided which heart would go to which friend she took extra care to create cards that would be just perfect for her friends. When she was done with the cards, she carried them to the mail box and sent them off. On Valentine's Day, Cornelia Augusta's friends all received their extra special card, made just for them by their good friend, Cornelia Augusta.

This is such a sweet story with a wonderful lesson. It really shows the kids that when you put a lot of thought into a gift, it makes that other person feel extra special.

The Day It Rained Hearts has a ton of wonderful teaching opportunities. Listed below are the skills and strategies that I think work perfectly with this story. I have also created a packet to go with it - I couldn't help myself :)

Reading level: 3.1

Theme/Subject: Valentine’s Day

Genre: holiday fiction

Reading skills and strategies:

• Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what the story is about. I wonder how it rained hearts. I wonder why it rained hearts. {possible questions during} I wonder who gets the heart necklace. I wonder who the heart with the cotton ball is for. I wonder who gets the heart with the holes. I wonder who gets the painted paper with hearts. {possible questions after} I wonder what kind of Valentine’s Day cards she will make next year. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
• Author’s point of view – Third person point of view. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this.
• Author’s purpose – entertain {evidence} It never rains hearts. Animals don’t get mail and the illustrator drew some cute pictures. All these things make an entertaining story.
• Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} It rained hearts. {most important event from middle} Cornelia Augusta made Valentine’s Day cards for her friends. {most important event from end} Cornelia Augusta’s friends got their cards.
• Cause and effect – Why did Cornelia Augusta catch hearts? Because it was raining hearts. Why did she make Valentine’s Day cards? Because she caught so many hearts. Why did she study the hearts? Because she wanted to pick the perfect heart for each friend. Why did she cut holes in one heart? Because she wanted to make it look like Swiss cheese. Why did she mail the cards? Because she wanted her friends to get the cards. Why did Cornelia Augusta have to find other ways to make cards? Because it never rained hearts again.
• character analysis - describe Cornelia Augusta {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
• Compare & contrast – 2 different hearts
• Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Making Valentine’s Day cards. Sending something in the mail. Getting a Valentine’s Day card in the mail. Having friends you want to send a Valentine’s Day card to. 
• Drawing conclusions & inferencing – Why do you think it was so important for Cornelia Augusta to pick the perfect heart for each friend? {text clues} Each Valentine card looked like or related to each friend. {what I know}When I get the perfect gift I know someone put a lot of thought into what they were going to get me. {my conclusion} I think Cornelia Augusta wanted to pick the perfect heart for each of her friends to show them how much they meant to her.
• Fact & opinion – {fact} It rained hearts. Cornelia Augusta collected the hearts. Cornelia Augusta made Valentine cards for her friends. Cornelia Augusta mailed her cards to her friends. {opinion} Raining hearts is cool! Using the mail is the best way to talk to someone. The heart necklace was the best Valentine’s Day card she made. Fat hearts are the best!
• Main idea & details - {main idea} Cornelia August made Valentine’s Day cards for her friends. {details} She collected hearts. She studied the hearts to find the perfect one for each friend. She cut holes in one of the hearts. She glued cotton on another heart.
• Plot - the turning point or climax in the story was when Cornelia Augusta decided which heart would be the perfect heart for each of her friends.
• Predict – What do you think the story will be about? What do you think Cornelia Augusta will do with the hearts? Who do you think she will make Valentine’s Day cards for? Who do you think the necklace is for? Who do you think the heart with the cotton ball is for? Who do you think the heart with the holes is for? What do you think Cornelia Augusta’s Valentine’s Day cards will look like next year?
• Sequencing – It rained hearts. Cornelia Augusta caught the hearts. She studied the hearts. She made a necklace. She made a heart with a cotton ball. Cornelia Augusta made a heart with holes in it. She made a painting and put hearts on it. Cornelia Augusta mailed her Valentine’s Day cards. Dog put on his necklace. Mouse opened his Valentine’s Day card. Turtle opened his card. Rabbit opened her card.
• Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
• Strong thought – Cornelia Augusta studied the hearts to make sure she picked the most perfect heart for each of her friends. Do you think she picked the most perfect heart for each of her friends? Why or Why not?
• Summarize - {someone} Cornelia Augusta {wanted} wanted to make Valentine’s Day cards for each of her friends {but} first she had to decide which heart would go to which friend {so} so she spent a long time studying them. {then} When she decided which heart would go to which person she {finally} finally made the cards.
• Theme – Creating the perfect gift for someone can make you feel very happy. Making something for someone is better than buying something. When you make something for someone, you put your heart into it.
• Visualize – Cornelia Augusta thought about or visualized each heart and how and why it would be perfect for each of her friends. Think of 3 people and visualize what your hearts would look like for each of those people.

 

 Included in the packet:
* Asking Questions - 2 pages
* Beginning, Middle, End - 5 pages
* Cause and Effect - 8 pages and 1 key
* Character Analysis - 2 pages
* Compare and Contrast - 3 pages
* Text-to-Self Connections - 3 pages
* Drawing Conclusions/Inferencing - 3 pages
* Fact and Opinion - 2 pages
* Main Idea and Details - 6 pages
* Sequencing - 6 pages plus 2 keys
* Story Map - 3 pages
* Strong Thought - 3 pages
* Visualize - 3 pages
* Writing paper - 2 pages

 Happy Valentine's Day!