Welcome to Kids Chapter Check-Ins, a space where we pause, think, talk, and write about great books together. Books are better together. So grab your book and let's check in. Welcome back, readers. Today we're checking in on The One and Only Ivan by Catherine Applegate. This is episode 6, the final episode of the One and Only Ivan series. Remember, these episodes are broken down by page numbers. Before we begin today's episode, make sure that you've read the entire book. For this episode, we'll focus on the ending pages, pages 266 through 300, which begins with the chapter Something in the Air, and ends with the final chapter called Silverback. If you're not quite there yet, you can pause the episode, read those pages, and come right back. It might be helpful to have your book and some paper handy for this episode. Take a moment to gather your materials if you need to. Ready? Let's check in. In this final section of the story, Ivan's plan begins to work. Ivan's artwork gets noticed. He and Ruby get a new home, and he begins to realize that one person can really make a difference. He finally starts to see the results of that promise that he made to his friend Stella. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. Today we're exploring the word straggler. Straggler is a noun and it means a person or thing that is behind the rest of the group. If you're going on a hike with your family, you wouldn't want to be a straggler because you could get lost or left behind. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word straggler. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? Is a straggler the one that's leading the group? Could a runner become a straggler during a race? Would you expect a straggler to keep up with everyone else while walking? If you said no, yes, no, great thinking. It's time for our reading focus. Today we'll focus on theme. Theme refers to the message or lesson that you, the reader, are learning throughout the entire story. Themes are never one word, but starting with a single word can help you to determine a good theme. For example, maybe you're reading a story and you realize that the story was really teaching you about bravery. You could take that word bravery and stretch it into a theme statement by asking yourself what I like to call the magic question. You could ask yourself, what about bravery did I learn in this story? Maybe you come up with a theme like, bravery can help you through challenges. One thing you'll notice about themes is that they're very general and they're not overly specific to the story you're reading. For example, you won't find the word zoo or mall in a theme statement for the one and only Ivan. That's because the theme is supposed to be a lesson that you can apply to your life, and it's possible that not everyone will visit a zoo or a mall in their lifetime. But everyone will do something that involves being brave. In this story, I could think of several themes. The theme for this story could be one person can make a difference, keeping promises is important, or even friends help you through hard times. Take a moment and choose one of these themes and see if you can prove it with evidence from the text. If you're up for an added challenge, you could even come up with your own theme statement and prove that one as well. Pause the episode here to write or share about your theme. It's the end of the story, and I don't know about you, but I think that some of these characters deserve an award. These characters have all taught us some very important lessons throughout the story's events. For today's creative activity, you'll create an award for a character of your choice. You could even give an award to more than one character, or you could give one character multiple awards. First, design your award. Then, prepare a short award ceremony speech. You'll want to include details like who's receiving the award, why did they earn it, and what lessons can readers learn from this character? Here are some ideas to get you started. You could give a character the Courage Award, the Hope Award, the Bravery Award, the Best Friend Award, the Problem Solver Award. Here's a hint. Thinking about the themes in the story can help you to determine what awards you might want to give out. Pause the podcast here and get to work on your award. It's time to talk about it. What is one lesson from Ivan's story that you could use in your own life? Pause the podcast here and share your thinking. As the story comes to an end, here's something to think about. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why? Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon to check in on a brand new story. Thanks for checking in with me today. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow along so you don't miss our next check in. And remember, keep reading, keep thinking, and keep talking. Because books are better together.