AN EDUCATOR’S GUIDE TO

and

by Drew Daywalt
illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

For Grades K–5

Aligned to Common Core State Standards

PENGUIN YOUNG READERS GROUP penguinclassroom.com PenguinClass PenguinClassroom

Dear Educator,
The crayons are back and they demand to be counted! After airing their grievances in The
Day the Crayons Quit, the crayons have taken up a new postcard writing campaign in The
Day the Crayons Came Home – one that will bring them the attention they deserve! Filled
with charming illustrations and told in the form of letters and postcards from the crayons
themselves, these stories are perfect tools for teaching students the art of persuasive writing.

This guide, aligned to Common Core State Standards grades K-5, will help you teach your
students how to effectively interpret evidence, make an argument, and analyze its effect.
It will help empower your students to express an opinion, be involved in decision making,
and become proficient users of the English language.

EACH PLAN HAS:

-A step-by-step guide to conduct the lesson & a list of materials needed to complete the lesson

So have fun reading The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home
with your students. After all, the crayons deserve a voice!

–Your friends from Penguin School & Library Marketing

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 3. Common Core Standards (K–5)
Pages 4–5. Every Crayon Counts! Campaign
Pages 6–7. Crayon Sentence Completion (K–2)
Page 8. Friendly Letter Writing–Convincing Class Color (2–3)
Page 9. Persuasive Writing–Duncan Writes Back (4–5)
Pages 10–11. Persuasive Writing–Find the OREO (3–5)

This guide was written by Andrea Burinescu, M.A.T. Andrea was most recently a teacher at an independent school in White Plains, NY. She
previously worked as a 3rd grade teacher at an inclusion classroom in Needham, MA.

2
 COMMON CORE STANDARDS ADDRESSED (K–5)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.1:  Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces
in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or
preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are
writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing
about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also)
to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1a: Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure that lists reasons.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1b: Provide reasons that support the opinion.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1c: Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to
connect opinion and reasons.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1d: Provide a concluding statement or section.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons
and information.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational

structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1b: Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1c: Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order
to, in addition).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1d: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons
and information.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational

structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1b: Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1c: Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently,
specifically).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1d: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

3
 SUPPORT THE CRAYONS!
HOLD A READ ALOUD
Read The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home with your students
and patrons. Talk about why the crayons are upset and if their demands are valid. If you
are participating school-wide, assign different classrooms different colors, and give the
teacher or selected student that letter or postcard to read aloud. Incorporate questions and
answers, and add humor where you can. Make the read aloud interactive and fun!

CREATE A DEBATE
There are a lot of different discussions that you and your students and patrons can have
with regards to the crayons’ feelings and actions. In The Day the Crayons Quit, which
color has the strongest argument? Which color should paint the sun? Why? Are any of the
arguments based on facts? In The Day the Crayons Came Home, did the crayons have
a right to feel neglected? Should Duncan have been more responsible for his crayons?
Remember, this is a day of FUN, so don’t keep score. Enjoy the process of building an
argument with a group and expressing it!

COLOR YOUR SCHOOL OR LIBRARY

In The Day the Crayons Quit the crayons seem to
be upset because they are being used for the same
purpose. So free the crayons! Give them a chance to
express themselves. Providing students and patrons
with a large piece of craft paper, let everyone color
a different part of a community wide mural. Use
the colors in non-traditional ways. Make the clouds
purple and the sun blue! Let black do something other
than outline! When the mural is complete, hang it up
in your classroom or library, with the headline WE
SUPPORT THE CRAYONS!

4
 EVERY CRAYON COUNTS!
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
The crayons in The Day the Crayons Came
Home are no longer shiny and new, and Use these fun
in some cases, aren’t even in one piece! So activity ideas
many old and broken crayons are thrown and make the
away each year. You and your students or last week of
patrons can help repurpose these crayons September a
and give them a new “home”. Look into crayon celebration
crayon recycling programs either in your in your school
community or online and collect old and or library!
broken crayons to be donated. You can
also repurpose these crayons by melting
them down in silicone trays and making
new multicolored crayons that can be
used by your students and patrons.

CELEBRATE WITH A HOMECOMING PARADE!

Read The Day the Crayons Came Home and plan a
celebration to welcome the crayons back to Duncan’s room.
Have students or patrons make signs welcoming each of the
“lost” crayons home. Encourage students to dress head to
toe in one color to represent the different crayons—a great
way to recognize and celebrate diversity.

Follow the celebration!

Use the hashtag
#EVERYCRAYONCOUNTS
on Facebook and Twitter,
and see what other
schools, libraries, and
bookstores are doing to
support the crayons!

5
 CRAYON SENTENCE COMPLETION (K–2)
Length: 30 minutes · Topic: Introduction to Persuasive Writing Structure
Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1 

I. OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to generate persuasive responses by completing sentences that state their
opinion and provide a reason, example, and closure.

II. PREPARATION
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the structure of a persuasive writing piece: opinion statement,
reason, example, and conclusion.
Materials:

The Day the Crayons Quit Crayons for Scissors Crayon shaped template
each student (See next page)

III. PROCEDURE: Introduce the book The Day the Crayons Quit.
In this story, we will read about a boy named Duncan. He finds a stack of letters
written to him by his crayons. Let’s read to find out what they have to say.
Read the story, stopping to ask questions and make comments. Identify instances of
persuasion. Ask students to restate why each crayon is unhappy.

After reading the book, introduce the word “persuasive” to the class. Define it for the
students. Explain that each crayon was trying to persuade Duncan to use it differently and
reference specific examples from the text. Elicit or tell students:
The crayons’ letters worked! Duncan learned to use each crayon [a little bit] to make
a colorful and creative picture.

Now it is the students’ turn to be persuasive. Provide crayons to the students. Ask the
students to choose their favorite color crayon from the box. Now students will have to
fill in the blanks on the crayon-shaped template stating their opinion, giving a reason,
providing an example, and concluding. This may also be done orally, using the teacher
as a scribe.

Students can color the top and bottom of the crayon. Consider making a yellow crayon box
poster similar to a Crayola box. Assemble the students, crayons together to create the look
of a crayon box as a way to display the student’s work.

6
 OPINION:
I like __________________ the best

REASON:
because _______________________.

EXAMPLE:
I can use ___________________
to draw ____________________.

CONCLUSION:
_____________________________
is the best crayon in the box!
 FRIENDLY LETTER WRITING–CONVINCING CLASS COLOR (2–3)
Length: 45 minutes · Topic: Persuasive Writing/Friendly Letter Writing
Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1b 

I. OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to compose persuasive text in a friendly letter format.

II. PREPARATION
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to generate persuasive reasons
and examples to support their opinions.
Materials:

The Day the Crayons Quit 4 crayon colors, selected by Paper and pencils for
the teacher each student

III. PROCEDURE: Define the word “persuasive” for students, giving examples and eliciting examples from the
class. Introduce the book The Day the Crayons Quit.
In this story, we will read about a boy named Duncan. The crayons in his crayon box have some
complaints. They will try to persuade Duncan to use them differently. Let’s read and be on the lookout
for persuasive language the crayons use.
Read the story, stopping to ask questions and make comments. Locate instances of persuasion and
ask students to be detectives and identify examples of persuasion during the read aloud. Consider
keeping a list of persuasive words and phrases on a chart. Students might refer to this chart when
drafting their own letters later in the lesson.

After reading the story, tell the class that they will be electing a class color. They will have to choose
between four colors. Choose four colors from a crayon box. Put one crayon in each corner. Ask
students to move to the corner that has the crayon they think should represent the class color.

Students in each corner should brainstorm a list of reasons why the color they chose is best.
Students should also make a list of different examples/symbols of the color.

Students will use the notes from their brainstorming session and the class-generated persuasive
words and phrases chart to compose a friendly letter with the purpose of convincing the
teacher or class why his or her color should be the class color. Begin by reviewing the friendly
letter format. Keep this posted for students to refer to as they write. Encourage students to use at
least three reasons and examples in their letters. Students will edit and revise with teacher support.

Students may choose to share their final drafts with the class. Once students have read their letters
aloud, take a class vote.

8
 PERSUASIVE WRITING–DUNCAN WRITES BACK (4–5)
Length: 45 minutes · Topic: Persuasive Writing in Response to a Read Aloud Text
Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1c, 
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1b,
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1d 

I. OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to generate an opinion piece of writing in response to a persuasive text.

II. PREPARATION
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to generate counter arguments
to a persuasive text.
Materials:

The Day the Crayons Quit 4 crayon colors, selected by Paper and pencils for
the teacher each student
III. PROCEDURE: Define the word “persuasive” for students, giving examples and eliciting examples from the
class. Introduce the book The Day the Crayons Quit.

In this story, a boy named Duncan finds a stack of letters written to him by his crayons! They are writing to
persuade Duncan to use them differently. Let’s read to find out what persuasive words and phrases they use
and if it works!

Read the story, stopping to ask questions and make comments. Identify instances of persuasion and ask
students to be detectives by locating examples of persuasion during the read aloud. Consider keeping a list of
persuasive words and phrases on a chart. They might refer to this chart when drafting their own letters later in
the lesson. (Red, grey, green, blue, and pink are the best pages for this)

After reading the story, tell students that they will take on the role of Duncan. They will write counter-arguments to
the crayons. Define a counter-argument. Refer to the counter-arguments made by the yellow and orange crayons
regarding the true color of the sun as an example.

Allow students to choose one of the crayons from the story, preferably one of the colors listed above. They
should reread the page and generate a list of counter-arguments to include in their response. Review the format
of persuasive text. The first sentence should state an opinion. The next sentences should provide reasons that
support the opinion. The reasons should be followed by examples. Students should wrap up with a closing
statement that clearly counters the crayon’s letter.

Once students have revised and edited their writing, they can share it with the class.

Consider compiling the writing into a class book entitled: The Day the Crayons Went Back to Work.

9
 PERSUASIVE WRITING–FIND THE OREO (3–5)
Length: 30 minutes · Topic: Decomposing the elements in a persuasive text
Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1c,
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1c,
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1c,
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1d 

I. OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to locate the opinion, reasons, examples, and conclusion in persuasive texts.

II. PREPARATION
Purpose: The purpose of this skills lesson is to explicitly teach students the four key components in a persuasive text.
Materials:

The Day the Crayons Quit 4 crayon colors, selected by Paper and pencils for
the teacher each student
III. PROCEDURE: Define the word “persuasive” for students, providing examples and eliciting examples from
the class. Introduce the book The Day the Crayons Quit.

In this story, a boy named Duncan gets a series of letters from his crayons who are not too happy with him.
They are trying to persuade him to use them differently. We have learned that there are four key parts to a
persuasive text. What are they? List them on the board. We can use the word OREO to help us remember!
Let’s read to find out if Duncan’s crayons are convincing!

Read the story, stopping to ask questions and make comments. Identify instances of persuasion and ask students to
be detectives by locating examples of persuasion during the read aloud.

We just read and talked about many examples of persuasive language. We know from the ending that the
crayons were convincing and Duncan learned a lesson. You and a partner will look at a few letters written
in this story. (Red, grey, green, blue, and pink are the best pages for this). Your job will be to break apart
each letter in search of the OREO. Use this template to record what you’ve found. If there is an element
missing from the letter, make up your own and add it to the template.

Provide students with a template that reads:

Opinion:
Reasons:
Examples:
Opinion Restated:

Assign pages of the book to pairs of students. Students will decompose the letters in these pages into their persuasive
components as an exercise in eliciting the elements of a persuasive text. In each letter, students must locate the
opinion statement, reasons, examples, and conclusion and copy them into the OREO chart. If an element of the
persuasive structure is missing from the letter, students should generate one to include in the template. For example,
if there is no conclusion, students could develop one that would fit with the letter. Student pairs who were assigned
the same pages can compare their work. Teachers should check for accuracy.
10
 OPINION: REASONS:
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________

EXAMPLES: OPINION RESTATED:

___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
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978-0-399-25537-3 • $17.99 978-0-399-17275-5 • $18.99

DREW DAYWALT is the author of the #1 blockbuster bestseller, The Day the Crayons Quit, for
which he won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Drew loves to create humorous stories for
children because of the funny faces they make when they laugh. Those faces, in turn, make
him smile. He lives in California with his wife, their two children, and many boxes of broken,
melted, and otherwise well used and much loved crayons.

OLIVER JEFFERS creates art for children and adults alike. His picture books, including Stuck;
Lost and Found; How to Catch a Star; The Incredible Book Eating Boy; This Moose Belongs to
Me; Once Upon an Alphabet; The Hueys series; and The Day the Crayons Quit (written by
Drew Daywalt), have garnered multiple starred reviews, honors, and spots on the New York
Times bestseller list. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Oliver now lives and creates art
in Brooklyn, New York. He signs all important contracts in crayon.

PENGUIN YOUNG READERS GROUP penguinclassroom.com PenguinClass PenguinClassroom