Dear Mrs. LaRue - Unit 4 - Week 1 - Teacher Instructions

Oct 16, 2026

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Unit 4/Week 1 lesson plan centered on Mark Teague’s story “Dear Mrs. LaRue.” The materials outline big ideas about how people can view situations differently and how that perspective affects responses. They provide a synopsis of Ike’s obedience-school experience and teacher steps for reading, re-reading, and discussion. Evidence-based text dependent questions guide students to analyze characters, identify fantasy elements, examine Ike’s defenses, and interpret how Mrs. LaRue responds to his letters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatDOC

Pages13

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Teacher Instructions

Before Teaching

During Teaching

Text Dependent Questions

Unit 4/Week 1 Title: Dear Mrs. LaRue Suggested Time: 3-4 days (45 minutes per day) Common Core ELA Standards: RL.1.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.3, RL.4.6, RL.4.7; W.4.1, W.4.2, W.4.4, W.4.9; SL.4.1; L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.5 Teacher Instructions Refer to the Introduction forfurther details. Before Teaching Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and theSynopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task. Big Ideas and Key Understandings People do not always view a situation the same way. How a person views a situation can influence how they handle or respond to it. Synopsis Mrs. LaRue sends her dog, Ike, to obedience school because of a series of inappropriate behaviors that he displays toward Ms. LaRue, the neighbors, and other animals. Ike feels he has been wrongly sent to the school and writes letters to explain his perspective on what actually happened in each situation, trying to persuade Ms. LaRue to come and get him. By the end of the story Mrs. LaRue has changed more than Ike. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary. During Teaching Students read the entire main selection text independently. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along. (Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.) Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discussthe questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.) Text Dependent Questions Text-dependent Questions Evidence-based Answers As the author Mark Teague begins this story, how does he introduce the main characters to the readers? Cite evidence from the text and illustrations. (Pg. 415) Mr. Teague writes a newspaper article to introduce Mrs. LaRue and Ike to the readers. He tells the readers who Ike is and why he was sent to obedience school. The illustration shows us a newspaper article with Ike’s picture. The newspaper is called The Snort City Register/Gazette and is dated September 30th. What school does Mrs. LaRue send Ike to and what are her reasons for sending him? (Pg. 415) Mrs. LaRue sends Ike to The Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy. She says “he’s quite spoiled.” Steals food off of the counter Chases the neighbor’s cats Howls and wakes the neighbor Pulled her down and tore her coat A fantasy is a story about characters and settings that could not exist in real life. Reread and observe the illustrations on pages 416 and 417. What on these pages show evidence that this is a fantasy? Ike types a letter Dogs can’t type letters Ike puts a letter in the mailbox. Dogs can’t use mailboxes. Dogs locked inside the truck with jail hats on. Dogs wouldn’t wear jail hats. “Warning! Prisoners on Board” A dog school’s truck would not say that on it. Reread the next few letters on pages 419-424 from Ike. How does Ike defend himself against Mrs. LaRue’s reasons for sending him to obedience school? Steals the food Pg. 419 - Mrs. LaRue could have discussed it with him and he would not have eaten the pie. Chases the cats Pg. 420 - “They are hardly …little angels” Ike says he did not know they were on the fire escape. Howling Pg. 424 – Ike says he wasn’t howling very loudly. The neighbors are always waking him up in the middle of the day with their loud vacuuming. Pulling her down… Pg. 422 – Ike says he save Mrs. LaRue from being hit by the truck. What evidence from the text can you use to conclude that Ike doesn’t want to be at obedience school? Pg. 417 – He compares the school to a prison. Pg. 419 – He i

FAQs

How does the lesson plan introduce the big idea and key understanding for the story?

It emphasizes that people do not always view a situation the same way, and that a person’s view can influence how they handle or respond to it.

What is the synopsis of why Mrs. LaRue sends Ike to obedience school?

Mrs. LaRue sends Ike due to inappropriate behaviors toward her, the neighbors, and other animals. Ike believes he was wrongly sent and writes letters to explain his perspective and persuade Mrs. LaRue to bring him home.

What evidence shows that Ike does not want to stay at obedience school?

The questions point to evidence such as comparing the school to a prison, describing being “horribly mistreated,” being forced to perform meaningless tasks, and the suggestion that Mrs. LaRue “needs” him at home.

Oct 16, 2026

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