Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Click Clack Book)

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Look through the text for any new words that you are to familiar with, e.g. neutral, ultimatum. Use a dictionary to find out what these words mean. You might stop at the place in the book where the farmer reacts to the note that reads, "Sorry. We're closed. No milk today." Talk with students about the farmer's shadow on the wall. What does that mean? What do the cows want? What does it mean to go on strike?

When Farmer Brown refuses their demands, the cows leave another note to say they are going on strike. “Sorry. We’re closed. No milk today.” In the next letter, the cows raise their demands and request electric blankets for hens. The farmer again refuses and the hens refuse to lay eggs. In 2001, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. adapted the book to an animated movie narrated by Randy Travis and animation by MaGik Studios. Post the five notes in the classroom for students to use as a resource when they are reading and writing. Students should be able to read the word family words in each note and can try using these words in their own writing.Read the book again and show students the chart paper with the second note to Farmer Brown typed by the cows asking for electric blankets for the hens. Gather highlighting tape, a magnetic board and letters, and a whiteboard with dry-erase markers. Make sure that students will be able to easily see these materials from where they are sitting in the classroom. It's important for students to be able to see as you write the word family words and change the first letter to create new words. Look through the story for words that describe different emotions, e.g. impatient, furious. What does each type of emotion feel like? What might make us feel that way? Farmer Brown will not give in to their demands, so they go on strike and withhold their milk. It's not long before the hens feel the chill in the barn and join the strike. Note: Avoid making words that may cause confusion for students, especially at the beginning of instruction. For example, avoid the word know because the sound for the /-ow/ rime is not the same as in cow.

Introduce the words families in the second note, which are /-en/ and /-ow/. Tell students that you will use the words they already know, hens and cows, to make new words. Also, point out that you will be taking the s off the end of each word.

Before reading the story, look at the front cover. What might the cows be typing a letter about? Could you write what it might say? Next, introduce the concept of rime or word families. A rime is the first vowel in a word and all of the letters that follow. In the word dear, the rime or word family is /-ear/. In the word cow, the rime or word family is /-ow/. Students can be taught how to change the beginning sound or letters of a known word family to make a new word.

Finish this session by having students reread all five notes with fluency and expression, as you have modeled and they have practiced in previous sessions. Farmer Brown begins to hear typing sounds coming from his barn. He discovers that his cows have found an old typewriter in the barn and are using it to type letters requesting things from Farmer Brown, such as electric blankets to keep them warm at night. Farmer Brown refuses, and the cows withhold their milk until they get what they ask for. Soon, the cows type a similar letter about the hens asking for blankets which Farmer Brown refuses to provide. The hens join the cows and refuse to lay eggs. Investigate persuasive writing… Can you write a more persuasive letter from the cows to Farmer Brown?

Click Clack Peep!

In Doreen’s latest book, Diary of a Worm, she explores the daily life of a lovable worm. Who knew that the underground dwellings and activities of worms could be so funny? Readers may even find that worm’s life is much the same as theirs except worm eats his homework and his head looks a whole lot like his rear! Write a story about an animal (or a group of animals) that can do something that you wouldn’t expect, e.g. A frog that can tap dance or a rabbit that sings opera songs. Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows’ point of view, explaining how they are feeling.