Teaching Fish in a Tree in Grades 4-5: Dyslexia Awareness and Growth Mindset

For fourth and fifth graders, Fish in a Tree often lands close to home — many students in this age range are still figuring out what kind of learner they are, and some have already had the exact experience Ally has: being called careless or lazy when the real explanation is something nobody's identified yet. That makes this novel unusually good at building genuine classroom empathy, not just literary comprehension.

Why This Age Group Connects So Strongly

Fourth and fifth graders are old enough to follow Ally's emotional arc in real depth, but young enough that the novel's message about growth mindset — that struggling with something now doesn't mean struggling with it forever — lands as encouragement rather than an abstract lesson. This unit is built to match that developmental sweet spot: full chapter coverage, but paced and scaffolded for upper elementary readers.

What Students Should Be Able to Do

• Identify the novel's central theme about perseverance, friendship, and learning differences (OAS 4.R.1 / 5.R.1).
• Analyze Ally's transformation and Mr. Daniels's teaching methods as they relate to character development (OAS 4.R.3 / 5.R.3).
• Engage in meaningful classroom discussion about the novel's events and characters (OAS 4.SL.1 / 5.SL.1).
• Build reading comprehension through chapter-by-chapter assessments and vocabulary practice (OAS 4.W.3 / 5.W.3).

Discussion Questions for This Age Group

• On being misunderstood: Ally is called "dumb" by other kids and some adults before anyone realizes she has dyslexia. How does that make her feel, and how does it change once Mr. Daniels starts teaching her differently?
• On real friendship: Keisha and Albert both have their own challenges, but they become Ally's closest friends. What makes their friendship work?
• On a teacher who helps: What specific things does Mr. Daniels do that other teachers didn't? Why do those things make such a big difference for Ally?
• On growth mindset: Find a moment in the book where Ally starts to believe in herself differently. What changed her mind?

Bringing It Home

Ask a student what they think they're really good at — even if it's something that doesn't always show up on a test. Ally's whole story is about discovering that being good at something doesn't always look the way school expects it to.

Where This Leads

Building empathy for classmates who learn differently, and understanding that struggling with reading or writing doesn't reflect intelligence, sets up habits of kindness and self-advocacy that carry well beyond this one unit — for the student reading it and for how they treat their peers.

See the Unit in Action

Get the Complete Fish in a Tree Unit for Grades 4-5

I built a complete no-prep novel study for Lynda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a Tree — 222 pages for grades 4-5:

• 35 chapter lesson packages (~18 pages each) with vocabulary, comprehension questions, and discussion prompts
• 60-term chapter vocabulary program — 10 targeted words per chapter, reinforced through puzzles
• 35 vocabulary word search puzzles + answer keys — engaging, no-prep bell-ringer activities
• 35 vocabulary crossword puzzles + answer keys covering all chapter terms
• Complete answer keys for every chapter assessment and word search puzzle

Get Fish in a Tree Novel Study on Teachers Pay Teachers →

Every Sooner Standards resource is built to save teachers planning time while ensuring rigorous, standards-aligned instruction.