Don’t judge a book by its cover. I was surprised with the number of craft moves in this book, Hogwash by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jim McMullan. Filled with rhyme and a humorous story line, your students will laugh at the banter between the farmer and the hogs. Specific vocabulary is used such as Suey, Suey spic ‘n’ span, cleaning duds.
In regards to a mentor text, I noted several words were contractions: here’s, let’s, weren’t, that’s, etc. Most pages have four lines, so my eyes caught the past tense verbs. I began to write a few down and my list grew to over 30. When teaching the -ed sound, this book would aide. Let the kids find and categorize the ending sounds. It will make for a fun lesson and one that will most likely connect with them.
Savorings for Hogwash:
- One day
- Turning Point – “Everything went dandy … until”
- Rhyme
- Character change
- Specific Vocabulary
- Contractions
- Past Tense Verbs
- Compare this text with Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin.
Book Savors 