Lesson 1: Dr. De Soto by William Steig
Discussion Director: Your job is to ask 5 questions, have answers for your questions, and the page and paragraph numbers where the answers are found.
1 MCEOG question
1 cause/effect
2 fact/opinion
2 informational
Character Sketcher: Your job is to sketch Dr. De Soto or the fox.
Passage Picker: Your job is to pick 4 passages that exhibit the following:
1 descriptive
1 informative
1 foreshadowing
1 interesting
Word Wizard: Your job is to complete your role sheet for the following words:
1. hoisted p. 2 paragraph 1
2. extractor p. 16 paragraph 1
3. wicked p. 18 paragraph 3
4. permeate p. 26 paragraph 2
Summarizer: Your job is to include a brief summary of today’s reading. Be sure to include all main ideas and points.
Lesson 1:
Doctor De Soto by William Steig
1. What happened to Dr. De Soto’s larger patients? How did Dr. De Soto work on these patients? They sat on the floor. Dr. De Soto stood on a ladder.
2. Why did large patients like Dr. De Soto? He was able to work inside their mouths without them feeling any pain.
3. How does Dr. De Soto treat the fox? He refused to treat him at first, but then he treats him like all of his other patients.
4. What did the fox realize when Dr. De Soto was working on his teeth? He realized that he wants to eat Dr. De Soto and his wife.
5. What was the fox dreaming about? What was his plan? Will he carry it out? He was dreaming about eating them and he planned on eating them when the job was done.
6. The fox was all of the following except:
A. Sly
B. Deceitful
C. Caring
D. Needy
Answer: C
7. Effect: Mr. and Mrs. De Soto came up with a plan for the fox upon his return. What caused them come up with a plan? They figured out what the fox was planning on doing.
1. Page 4 paragraph 1
First two words- Doctor De Soto
Last two words- any pain.
This passage is an example of a descriptive passage because it tells how Doctor De Soto treated his patients.
Do you think that Dr. De Soto is also popular with smaller animals? Why or why not?
I think that Dr. De Soto is popular with all animals because he seems to be very caring and careful while doing his work.
This passage points out the demeanor of Dr. De Soto and shows his compassion for his work.
2. Page 5 paragraph 1
First two words: Being a
Last two words: looking cat.
This passage is an example of an informative passage because it informs us why Dr. De Soto will not treat certain animals.
What does the sign say? Would you admit cats and other dangerous animals?
The sign says they will not accept cats and dangerous animals. I would not accept them either because it is dangerous.
This passage explains to us the importance of not accepting certain animals and explains the reason why.
3. Page 13 paragraphs 1 and 2
First two words: Just stop
Last two words: his wife.
This passage in an example of foreshadowing what will happen in the future because we see what the fox realizes.
What do you think will happen later with the fox? What was he thinking?
I think he might decide to eat Mr and Mrs. De Soto. He was thinking they would be good.
These paragraphs are included because we see that the fox really is in pain and we have the opportunity to predict what will happen in the future.
4. Page 19 paragraph 3
First two words: But we
Last two words: was snoring
This passage is an example of an important passage because it shows that the De Sotos are aware that they need to do something.
What do you think would happen if they didn’t come up with a plan?
I think that they would have not been prepared for what the fox had planned.
This passage lets us know that they are aware of what is happening and they are going to do something about it.
5. hoisted p. 2 paragraph 1
There Doctor De Soto was hoisted up to the patient’s mouth by his assistant, who also happened to be his wife.
The word is a verb. I think the word means lifted.
My defintion of the word is to be lifted with the help of something else.
The word hoisted tells us how Dr. De Soto worked on extra large animals.
6. extractor p. 16 paragraph 1
Doctor De Soto fastened his extractor to the bad tooth.
The word is a noun. I think it means something to help remove.
My definition of the word is to something to help remove with great force.
The word extractor tells us how Doctor De Soto will pull out the fox’s bad tooth.
7. wicked p. 18 paragraph 3
They’re wicked, wicked creatures.
The word is an adjective. I think it means evil.
My definition of the word is evil by nature.
The word wicked tells us how the De Sotos think about the fox.
8. permeate p. 26 paragraph 2
The secret formula must first permeate the dentine.
The word is a verb. I think it means to spread.
My definition of the word is to spread throughout.
The word permeate tells us how the secret formula works.
1. wounded page 6 paragraph 1
The fox was wounded because he had a bandage around his jaw.
2. tormented page 8 paragraph 1
The fox was tormented because he wept in pain.
3. deceitful page 17 paragraph 2
The fox was deceitful because he was thinking about eating the De Sotos.
4. delighted page 25 paragraph 1
The fox was delighted because he thought he had figured out the perfect plan to eat the De Sotos.
The fox’s goal is to eat the De Sotos
His problem is that the De Sotos have figured out his plan and have come up with one of their own.
A possible solution for the fox is to outsmart the De Sotos and eat them.
Doctor De Soto is about a mouse who is a dentist. His wife is his assistant and together they take care of patients big and small. The doctor is very popular with the larger patients because his drill was small and the animals didn’t feel any pain. Doctor De Soto doesn’t serve all animals. The animals he does not serve are cats and any other dangerous animal. One day a fox with a bad tooth comes to their door. At first the doctor refused to treat him. The fox begged and looked like he was in pain so the doctor and his wife let him in. The fox begs for help for his tooth. While the doctor gets ready to take the tooth out , the fox is dreaming about eating the mice. The mice hear him mumbling and figure out what he is up to. The fox is sent home after the procedure and told to come back the next day. The De Sotos came up with a plan that night before the fox came back. The fox was very happy the next day when he returned. The doctor put in the new tooth. Meanwhile the fox was thinking about eating them again. The doctor says he has something new to get rid of headaches. The fox agrees to try it. The doctor paints each tooth and tells the fox to shut his mouth for a full minute. The fox’s teeth were now stuck together. The doctor tells him that he won’t be able to open his mouth for a day or two and sends the fox away stunned.