The Day the Crayons Quit

Book by Drew Daywalt I thought this book would be good for a second grade classroom because even though the content can be a bit juvenile, the writing and the ideas expressed are geared toward older kids.

Who are the characters? Characters are people, animals or things around whom the story revolves In this book, the characters are Duncan Red Crayon Purple Crayon Beige Crayon Gray Crayon White Crayon Black Crayon Green Crayon Yellow Crayon Orange Crayon Blue Crayon Pink Crayon Peach Crayon

Who is the main character? The main character, also called a protagonist, is the central character around whom the story revolves This story is interesting because Duncan is the main character, but the reader never actually sees him

Conflict The conflict in a story is the struggle between two forces. There are four different types of conflict: Man vs Man: between two characters Man vs. Nature: between a character and Man vs. Society: between a character and the world around them Man vs. Self: between a character and themselves

So what is the conflict in this story The conflict is that the crayons are getting angry with Duncan because of their overuse or lack of use or misuse. Man vs. Man

Climax Climax is the turning point of the story where the solution is given

What is the climax of this book? The climax in this book is when Duncan drew a picture with all his crayons following their wishes.

Resolution Resolution is how the conflict is resolved. The resolution in this book is is the teacher giving Duncan an A+ for creativity!

Lesson Follow Up Since this book is about crayons writing letters to Duncan, I would have my students choose a color of crayon from a box and pretend to be a character from The Day the Crayons Quit. The kids would think of a conflict to write to Duncan about and then would figure out a way to resolve their conflict. This would help students learn about conflict and resolutions.