Beware of the Lion!
by Vita Jiménez illustrated by Dawn Beacon
by Vita Jiménez
illustrated by
Dawn Beacon
STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Phonics
Strategy: Reread Variant vowel spellings
Skill: Theme with digraphs: oo, u, u_e,
ew, ue, ui, ou
Vocabulary
answer, brought, busy, Content Standards
demand, door, emergency, Social Studies
enough, eyes Civics and Government
Word count: 618**
**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in
captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.
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11 12 13 14 15 DOC 22 21 20 19 18 E
Genre Fantasy
Essential Question
How can we work together to make our
lives better?
by Vita Jiménez
illustrated by Dawn Beacon
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
A Great Big Roar! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2
A Very Hungry Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 3
Friends Helping Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
PAIRED
Pete Seeger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
READ
Focus on Genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER 1
A Great Big Roar!
Deep in the grasslands of Africa lived a
lion named Leopold. He roared when he
was hungry. He roared when he was full.
When he roared, animals from miles away
could hear him.
2
When he roared, the grass in front of
him would flatten, and the leaves would
shake. His roar was that strong! All of
the animals were afraid of him.
3
CHAPTER 2
A Very Hungry Lion
Leopold was a very hungry lion. He
was so big that he needed to eat a lot
in order to get full. He ate meat, leaves,
fruit, and anything else he could find in
the grasslands.
4
One day, a group of monkeys went
out in search of food. They couldn’t
find much.
“Leopold has eaten most of our food!”
said Max.
“What are we going to do?” asked
Mavis. “We can’t stop him. He’s bigger
and stronger than all of us.”
5
Later that day, the zebras went out in
search of food. They couldn’t find much
either.
“This is Leopold’s fault! He’s eating our
grass and shrubs,” said Zev.
“But what can we do? We’re all afraid
of him,” said Zeena.
6
Later that same day, the giraffes were
roaming the grasslands, trying to find
some food.
“Leopold has done it again,” said Gia.
“He has eaten so many leaves that our
children don’t have enough to eat.
But there are still some leaves on the
branches at the very top.”
“Those are hard to reach, even
with our long necks,” said George.
7
The monkeys heard the giraffes talking.
“If the giraffes are upset, then the
problem is not just with us,” said Max.
“Leopold’s hunger is hurting us all. Let’s
call an emergency meeting so that
we can figure out an answer to this
problem.”
The monkeys spread the word, and a
meeting was held that very night.
8
Some animals brought other animals.
Everyone was there.
“We need to demand that Leopold stop
eating our food,” said Zeena.
“That’s easy to say, but I’m afraid of
him,” said Mavis.
“We all are,” said Max. “But let’s talk
to him together. Maybe all we need to
do is open the door to a friendship.”
“Let’s try,” said Gia. “I saw him earlier
at the other watering hole.”
9
CHAPTER 3
Friends Helping Friends
When they found Leopold, he was busy
drinking water. He saw the animals and
roared. But the animals kept coming.
He roared again, but the animals kept
coming. Leopold
widened his
eyes in surprise.
“Aren’t you
afraid of me?”
said Leopold.
“Not anymore.
We’re afraid of
something else,” said Max. “We’re afraid
that if you don’t stop, you will eat all
our food.”
“But I’m hungry,” said Leopold.
10
“I know,” said Zev. “But we’re hungry,
too. You have to share what’s left, until
more food grows.”
“We’ll show you how,” said George.
“We will tell you when we have extra
food. You can’t just come and take it.
Friends don’t do that.”
“Are you all my friends?” asked
Leopold.
“Yes,” said Mavis. “And friends work
together to help each other.”
“I can do that,” said Leopold.
“I’ve never had so many friends!”
11
Respond to
Reading
Retell
Use your own words
to retell Beware of
the Lion!
Text Evidence
1. How do the animals work together
to help one another? Theme
2. What is the theme or message of
this story? Theme
3. How do you know that Beware of
the Lion! is a fantasy? Genre
12
Genre Nonfiction
Compare Texts
How do we help one another?
PAIRED READ: Pete Seeger
Pete
Seeger
13
Pete Seeger was born in 1919. He is
known around the world for the folk
songs that he writes and sings.
A lot of his songs are about how
people can work together to fix problems.
One problem he sings about is pollution.
He has taught people that it is important
to clean up pollution in rivers.
People like to hear Pete Seeger sing.
14
Pete Seeger has helped people.
Pete Seeger also sings about the unfair
ways people are treated. In the 1960s, he
and many others tried to help African
Americans get equal rights. Pete’s songs
made people aware of the problem.
Pete and his friends wrote new words
to a song called “We Shall Overcome.”
When people want to fight unfairness
together, they still sing this song.
Make Connections
Look at both selections. How can we come
together to fix problems? Text to Text
15
Focus on
Genre
Fantasy Fantasy is a story that has
made-up characters, settings, or other
things that could not exist in real life.
What to Look for In Beware of
the Lion! the animals talk to one
another and find a way to solve a
problem. Real animals don’t do these
things.
Your Turn
Pretend you’re an animal who has a
lot of food. You see another animal
who doesn’t have enough food to
eat. Write a story about what you
will do. Draw pictures to go with
the story.
16
Literature Circles Fiction Thinkmark
Literature Circles
Fiction
Characters
Who are the main characters in
Beware of the Lion!
How does Leopold change from
the beginning to the end of
the story?
Plot
What is the problem in the
story? How do the animals solve
the problem?
Sequence of Events
What happens first, then,
next, and finally in Beware
of the Lion!
Taking Action
GR L • Benchmark 24 • Lexile 480
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