Discussion Guides

Engage your students in lively conversations about The Good Dog by using these Discussion Guides. Themes and questions revolve around issues such what kind of people are considered trustworthy, how people define “good” and “bad” behavior, rule-breaking, and empathy. These sets of Discussion Guides help to facilitate conversations about the deeper themes and questions found in this book, as well as about its basic story elements.

Lesson Plans to Build Vocabulary

The author of The Good Dog took great care in choosing rich vocabulary that characterizes the high quality of its prose. Use these activities to build on the exciting, new words found in this text. Then, take pride in the various ways your students will be using these new words in conversations, as well as in their writing!

Writing Activities

The Good Dog lends itself to many different kinds of writing projects. Help your students write thoughtful and well-crafted pieces using these lessons.

For Librarians

This story captures the interest of a wide range of children in the preschool and elementary grades. The activities and book club ideas here can be adapted for library visitors of all ages and groups of all sizes. In this section, you will also find ideas for research projects which relate to the themes and issues raised in The Good Dog.

Phonics Lessons

Build your students’ phonics and word recognition skills using The Good Dog. These activities, primarily centered on short and long vowels, align with the foundational reading skills from the Common Core State Standards.

Reading Resources From Toussaint Louverture Elementary

Amy Carril, reading specialist at Toussaint Louverture Elementary School in Miami, created this wonderful set of reading resources for her school. Amy has generously offered to share them with the educational community.


Educators, feel free to post comments below about the best ways to use and implement these lesson plans, advice, insightful links, or anything else you think might be helpful.