Worm Loves Worm
Worm Loves Worm
Book Title: Worm Loves Worm
Book Author: J. J. Austrian
Book Illustrator: Mike Curato
This book addresses: Changing Traditions
Potentially Tricky Vocabulary:
No tricky vocabulary. See while reading for changes in wedding party titles.
Questions to ask the student before reading:
Have you ever been to a wedding?
What are some wedding traditions that you know?
Historical context to give before reading:
Sometimes, when people love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, they decide to get married. Getting married can be very fun. The most important part of a wedding is that the people getting married love each other. Weddings involve lots of traditions. Each person includes those traditions in their own way. Traditions can be important because they connect people, but sometimes traditions don’t fit anymore and can be changed. Some people might not be happy when a tradition gets changed, maybe because they like the old traditions or think that the old traditions are better. So long as the change in traditions is respectful and works for the people doing the tradition, that’s what is important.
(The questions to ask the student and historical content above are interconnected. The historical context is typically going to be a supplement to what your student might not know. Some students may already be knowledgeable about a subject, others may not know much yet. Pay attention to what your student already knows and share the historical context accordingly.)
While reading:
The author has changed some of the titles of a wedding party to better fit the animals in the story. Best beetle is best man and bride’s bees is bridesmaids. If your student asks if any of the characters are a girl or a boy, respond with something like “We don’t know, the book doesn’t tell us. They can be whatever you want them to be.”
After reading:
Worm and worm changed some of the traditions to be able to fit them better. What are some of the traditions that they change and how do they change them?
Follow up activity (time permitting):
This time, elephant and elephant are getting married. Imagine what creatures might be at their wedding and what traditions elephant and elephant might keep and what traditions elephant and elephant might have to change in order to have the best wedding for them. Write a short description or draw a picture of the wedding
All definitions were adapted by Karina Connolly from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.