Another word family in the first note to Farmer Brown is /-ight/. Write the word night on the whiteboard, chalkboard, or magnetic board. Show students how you can remove the n and change it to an r to make the word right. Instead of saying the letters as you change them, you will want to emphasize the sounds the letters make. This will help students know what to do when they come to a word they do not know in a text. Other words in the /-ight/ family are light, might, sight, tight, bright, and flight. The words family words in this note are pond and quite. Words with the /-ond/ rime include bond and fond. Words with the /-ite/ rime are bite and kite. 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. After graduating from Pratt Institute where she studied illustration, Betsy Lewin designed greeting cards. Then she began to write and illustrate stories for children’s magazines. When an editor at Dodd, Mead & Company asked her to expand one of those stories into a picture book, Betsy says, “I jumped at the chance. I’ve been doing picture books ever since and loving every moment.”

Follow the procedure from Session 2 as you write and read the words, and then change the first letter or letters to make new words. Remind students that they can use this same method when they come to a word they do not know when reading or writing. Of course, not all new words can be solved using rimes or word families, but the principle applies to many words. For the /-en/ word family, words include den, men, pen, ten, when, and then. For the /-ow/ word family, words include how, now, brow, chow, and plow. 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. Listen to the sounds that a typewriter makes. Could you use these within your own composition or song? Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows’ point of view, explaining how they are feeling. 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?

Learning objectives

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. In 2001, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. adapted the book to an animated movie narrated by Randy Travis and animation by MaGik Studios. 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? 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. 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!

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. Have students read aloud together the first note from the cows while you point to each word on the chart paper. During this shared reading, it is important for your voice to model fluency and expression. Farmer Brown thought that it was impossible that his cows could type. Write a new story about something an ‘impossible’ event that actually takes place.

Look at the cows’ letters. How could they improve their writing? Could they use more exciting vocabulary? Could they use additional punctuation? After the reading, draw students' attention to the chart or poster paper with the first note typed by the cows to Farmer Brown asking for electric blankets in the barn. 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. 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.