Umbrella Summer is the story of a girl's real life problems after the death of a brother.  Touching and funny, it is the perfect vehicle for improving vocabulary, comprehension, and cooperative group skills. It helps students to understand that the grieving process is natural and enables us to experience empathy to help others through problems.

The unit includes:

• Discussion Cards 
• Anticipation Guide
• 2-page Readers’ Theater Introduction
• Family Project: Letters to Our Children
• Story Timeline
• Multiple Choice Comprehension Activities
• Charcter Studies
• Transforming Hyperboles to Pictures
• Crossword Puzzle
• The Song of Umbrella Summer 
• Visualizing Chapters
• Not What You Expect: Mixing Humor and Sadness
• Dramatizing Chapters
• Editing and Revising Annie's Letter to Rebecca
• The Worst Fourth of July, A Logic Puzzle
• A Story Framed in Action
• Writing Prompts
• A Five-Page Lesson on Contrastive Stress
• Signs of Grief
• Stages of Grief
• Answer Keys
• PLUS A 53-slide Jeopardy-Type Game
• PLUS an original Recorded Song!