Summary

Duck decided one day that he could ride the boy’s bike. As he rode, he passed cow, sheep, dog, cat, horse, chicken, goat, two pigs, and mouse--all of whom had various, unspoken opinions of duck riding the bike. When the unexpected opportunity arose for all of them to ride a bike, they took it, with no one the wiser. The last page has duck looking thoughtfully at a tractor.

Activities

1. Compare the ending of this book to the ending of Tuesday by David Weisner.
   Wiesner, D. (1992). Tuesday. Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin. ISBN:0440846390

2. Imagine the farmer added into the story. Read what David Shannon says about his writing process. Draw a thumbnail sketch of the farmer.

3. Seven of the nine children riding their bikes are wearing safety helmets. Discuss why this is so important. Discuss other bike safety rules and issues.

4. Rewrite the story into a Readers’ Theatre selection. Present the selection to other classes.

5. Read other books that David Shannon has written about David. Do a Venn Diagram, comparing David with Duck.
   • Shannon, D. (2002). David gets in trouble. Blue Sky Press.
   • Shannon, D. (1999). David goes to school. Blue Sky Press.
   • Shannon, D. (1998). No, David!. Blue Sky Press.
   
   
6. Read more book about Duck.
• Shannon, D. (2005). Duck and a book. Scholastic. grades k-2.

About the Author

• David Shannon’s Biography from Scholastic; shorter at Scholastic Kids with photo, and another different photo

• Interview transcript from Scholastic

• David Shannon from CBC Magazine (Children’s Book Council)

• A Chat with David Shannon from Borders Bookstsore

• BookPage interview about David Goes to School

Awards

• ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner Picture Books, 2003

• nominated for the book award in 10 states, but not a winner: California, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming

More for the teacher

• Extend this book with an Author Study: David Shannon

Assessment

Duck On a Bike. Accelerated Reader: Quiz #58826 EN; Book Level 2.0; Points= 0.5
Book Adventure (Sylvan): Quiz Level 1
Reading Counts: Reading Level 1.8; Points= 1.0
Lexile Level 240
Guided Reading Level H
word count= 411
Flesch/Kincaid 2

• David Gets in Trouble by Shannon, D. Accelerated Reader Quiz #1085 EN; Book Level 0.9; Points= 0.5. Book Adventure (Sylvan): Quiz Level 2. Reading Counts Level 1.6; Points 1. Guided Reading Level f. word count 65. Flesch/Kincaid 1.
• David Goes to School by Shannon, D. Accelerated Reader Quiz #36596 EN; Book Level 0.9; Points= 0.5. Book Adventure (Sylvan): Quiz Level 1. Reading Counts Level 2.9; Points 1. Lexile Level 0 (Beginning Reader). . Guided Reading Level F. word count 74. Flesch/Kincaid 1.