Curriculum Guide SPACE BOY. and the Space Pirate BY Dian Curtis Regan. ILLUSTRATED BY Robert Neubecker. The first book in the Space Boy trilogy:

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8-956-8 ISBN 978-1-5907 Curriculum Guide SPACE BOY and the Space Pirate BY Dian Curtis Regan ILLUSTRATED BY Robert Neubecker W HEN NIKO S COUSIN Sasha is kidnapped by a space pirate

Along with his robot copilot, Radar, and his trusty dog, Tag, he blasts off in his homemade spaceship and zips through the stars to Planet Zorg.

Will Niko be able to end the story his way and make it back to Planet Home in time for supper?

Regan perfectly captures the joys of imaginative play and woes (of ) sibling rivalry while telling an excellent adventure story. Great for storytime or individual sharing.

1 ISBN Curriculum Guide SPACE BOY and the Space Pirate BY Dian Curtis Regan ILLUSTRATED BY Robert Neubecker W HEN NIKO S COUSIN Sasha is kidnapped by a space pirate (otherwise known as Niko s annoying sister, Posh), he knows it s up to him to save her. Along with his robot copilot, Radar, and his trusty dog, Tag, he blasts off in his homemade spaceship and zips through the stars to Planet Zorg. But when he charges in for the rescue, the space pirate and her captive take over Niko s ship and his story! Will Niko be able to end the story his way and make it back to Planet Home in time for supper? Dian Curtis Regan s charming intergalactic adventure is a celebration of the power of pretend play and the art of storytelling. Regan perfectly captures the joys of imaginative play and woes (of ) sibling rivalry while telling an excellent adventure story. Great for storytime or individual sharing. Kids will want multiple readings of this story. School Library Journal The first book in the Space Boy trilogy: Five brief chapters break the action into separate, exciting set pieces worth of Tom Swift, and the characters bickering over who should end the story echoes the previous book s metafictive commentary. Intergalactic derring-do, and home just in time for supper. Kirkus Reviews diancurtisregan.com spaceboybooks.com boydsmillspress.com Common Core State Standards addressed by the materials in this guide are noted throughout. For more information on the Common Core, visit corestandards.org.

Discussion Questions Compare the setting shown on the book s front cover illustration and the illustration of the setting on the first page of the story where Niko is reading a book.

2 Discussion Questions Compare the setting shown on the book s front cover illustration and the illustration of the setting on the first page of the story where Niko is reading a book. How are the settings different? How are they the similar? The first chapter of the story is titled, BEWARE! What clues in the illustration give the reader an idea of why the word beware appears on the first page? In the beginning of the story, what is Niko searching for on his spaceship? Niko almost has a playmate when he sees his cousin Sasha nearby. What happens to Sasha? How does the setting and the spaceship change after Sasha is whisked away from Niko s backyard? Describe what Planet Zorg looks like and what kind of creatures live there. Niko spots Sasha with what Niko describes as a space pirate. What does Radar think when he sees the two? Why does Tag have a bad memory about dolls? Use clues from the illustration of Tag s memory to help you form an answer. What is Niko s plan to free Sasha from the space pirate? Who is the space pirate and how does she react to Niko s attempt to rescue Sasha? Why do you think Niko sees Posh as an enemy? What does it mean to throw a twist into a story? CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 What is the twist that Niko experiences in his own story? What problem occurs after the twist in the story? Why do you think that the author did not include words on the pages showing Niko space walking? CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 What did Niko discover in his spaceship once he reached Planet Home? Space Boy and the Space Pirate Curriculum Guide Illustrations copyright 2016 by Robert Neubecker. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for free distribution.

3 Activities Work with a partner to create stick puppets of the main characters in Space Boy and the Space Pirate. Draw each character on a 3 x 5 card, cut them out, and tape each character to a craft stick. Use the stick puppets to practice retelling the story of Niko, his sister, his cousin, Tag, and Radar. Niko s plan to conduct a surprise attack to rescue Sasha fails. Design a Plan B scenario that Niko could have used to successfully recapture his cousin. Design a wanted poster for the evil space pirate. Include an illustration of the space pirate as well as a description of why the space pirate is wanted by Niko. Write a dialogue between Niko and Mission Control (his mom) when he returns to the Mother Ship (home). What would he tell his mom about his adventure and how his sister treated him during their time playing outside? How would Niko s mom respond? CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3 Niko almost forgets to end his story. He quickly comes back to say THE END! Write an alternate ending to Niko s tale of the spaceship and the space pirate. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3 The discussion questions and activities in this guide were created by Leigh Courtney, Ph.D. She teaches in the Global Education program at a public elementary school in San Diego, California. She holds both masters and doctoral degrees in education, with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction. Space Boy and the Space Pirate Curriculum Guide Illustrations copyright 2016 by Robert Neubecker. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for free distribution.

Using Context Clues Name: Author Dian Curtis Regan uses some great words to describe her tale in Space Boy and the Space Pirate. Look at the underlined word in each passage from the story.

4 Passage from the story What the underlined word means Pirates SNEAK aboard spaceships when the captain isn t looking. Niko opens the hatch to check outside. He SPIES his cousin, Sasha.

4 Using Context Clues Name: Author Dian Curtis Regan uses some great words to describe her tale in Space Boy and the Space Pirate. Look at the underlined word in each passage from the story. Use the other words in the sentences as clues to help you write a definition for the underlined word. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Passage from the story What the underlined word means Pirates SNEAK aboard spaceships when the captain isn t looking. Niko opens the hatch to check outside. He SPIES his cousin, Sasha. Niko waves at her. Before Sasha can answer, someone YANKS her away. Crew! Wake up! calls Niko. A space pirate has kidnapped Sasha! Go away, orders Posh. We do not want to be in your silly story.... Come on, Sasha, the enemy says. Let s DELETE ourselves from this story. THE END! Space Boy and the Space Pirate Curriculum Guide Illustrations copyright 2016 by Robert Neubecker. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for free distribution.

Name: If They Could Talk... At the end of the story, Radar and one of the dolls are still onboard Niko s spaceship. Imagine what the two characters would say to one another if they could talk.

5 Name: If They Could Talk... At the end of the story, Radar and one of the dolls are still onboard Niko s spaceship. Imagine what the two characters would say to one another if they could talk. Draw a three-panel comic strip that includes colorful illustrations and speech bubbles for the words that Radar and the doll speak to one another. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.9; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 Space Boy and the Space Pirate Curriculum Guide Illustrations copyright 2016 by Robert Neubecker. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for free distribution.

Count how many of each shape you can find on Niko s spaceship. Record your information in a bar graph. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7; CCSS.MATH. CONTENT.K.MD.B.

6 Ship Shape Name: Niko has designed a terrific spaceship. Study the illustration of his craft and use the information from the illustration to create a diagram of Niko s ship in the box below. Count how many of each shape you can find on Niko s spaceship. Record your information in a bar graph. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7; CCSS.MATH. CONTENT.K.MD.B.3; CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.C.4 Draw a diagram of Niko s spaceship How many of each shape can you find on Niko s spaceship? cylinder square triangle rectangle Rectangular cube prism Space Boy and the Space Pirate Curriculum Guide Illustrations copyright 2016 by Robert Neubecker. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for free distribution.

Curriculum Guide. A good read-aloud to highlight strong female characters and discuss sibling rivalries. School Library Journal

Curriculum Guide. A good read-aloud to highlight strong female characters and discuss sibling rivalries. School Library Journal ISBN 978-1-59 078-955-1 Curriculum Guide SPACE BOY and His Dog BY Dian Curtis Regan ILLUSTRATED BY Robert Neubecker N IKO MAY LIVE ON boring old Planet Home (Earth) with his family, but that doesn t stop