A Different Dog by Paul Jennings - Supporting Struggling Readers
A Different Dog – Guided Reading Novel Study
Paul Jennings | Year 3–6 | Emerging and Developing Readers | Early Level 2 Readers
Make guided reading easier, clearer, and more effective with this ready‑to‑teach novel study for A Different Dog by Paul Jennings.
This guided reading resource is suitable for primary students in Years 3–6, particularly those who are chronologically older but developing as readers.
Target year levels (internationally aligned)
Years 3–6 (New Zealand)
Years 3–5 (Australia)
Upper Key Stage 2 – Years 4–6 (UK)
Grades 3–5 (International)
Why teachers love this resource
-Low prep, high impact : everything is planned, sequenced, and slide‑ready
-Strategy‑first approach : accuracy before inference
-Ideal for struggling readers : predictable routines reduce cognitive load
-MAP‑aligned comprehension : suitable for data‑informed instruction
-Reusable format : easily adapted to other novels
What’s included
-70+ professional slides covering the entire novel
-Explicit segmenting and decoding instruction
-Carefully chosen spelling and vocabulary words (4 per chapter)
-Clear Before, During, and After Reading prompts
-MAP‑aligned multiple‑choice comprehension questions (approx. RIT 205–215)
-Strategy‑focused Reading Reflection slides
-Simple chapter recap slides for lesson continuity
-Creative end‑of‑book response tasks
A concise teacher guide, including:
-teaching purpose and pedagogy
-weekly lesson flow
-differentiation guidance
-full answer key
-complete vocabulary lists
Instructional focus
This unit explicitly teaches students to:
-decode unfamiliar words using segmenting
-reread to confirm accuracy and meaning
-understand vocabulary in context
-infer meaning from actions and clues
-explain character motivation and theme
Learning is intentionally structured as:
Accuracy → Meaning → Inference
File details
-Formats included: PDF and JPG
-Number of slides: Approximately 70
-Text required: A Different Dog by Paul Jennings (not included)
Ideal for
-Guided reading groups
-Literacy intervention
-Year 5–6 students working at Early Level 2
-MAP‑informed teaching
-Teachers wanting a calm, clear, and effective novel study











