Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Unit Study

Affiliate Disclaimer

We sometimes use affiliate links in our content. This won’t cost you anything, but it helps us to keep the site running. Thanks for your support.

This unit study includes lessons and activities based on the book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox.

A small boy tries to discover the meaning of “memory” so he can restore that of an elderly friend.

This sweet story serves as the base for a variety of lessons: nursing homes, soldiers, patience, memories, letter writing, counting, and more.

Thanks to Christa Stepien for preparing this Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge unit study.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Unit Study Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons found in this Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge unit study:

Recording Memories
There are five types of memories that Wilfrid learns about. Something warm, something from long ago, something that makes you cry, something that makes you laugh, and something as precious as gold. Make a list of them for your student. See if he can come up with memories of his own that can fit into each category. Have him ask relatives or friends about their memories, and see if they can come up with one in each category. It might be interesting to read the book with a grandparent or other elderly friend or relative and then ask them about their memories.

Wilfrid describes the people at the nursing home in a simple sentence each. Have your child do the same for a few people that he knows. He may have a grandparent who loves to read with him or an aunt who likes to dance. Give him some ideas, and let him run with them. Your student may wish to draw a picture of the person and caption it with their sentence.

Growing Old
Discuss with your child what happens to you as you grow older. Talk about the changes from baby to child to adult to elderly.

Miss Nancy probably has Alzheimer’s or dementia. You may want to describe briefly to your student what this means. Alzheimer’s affects the brain and destroys brain cells. People with Alzheimer’s forget things, and have trouble thinking, talking and taking care of themselves. Sometimes they get scared, because it is confusing to them that this is happening to them, and they might become angry with whoever is taking care of them. You may wish to discuss how this is difficult not only for the person with the disease, but also for the people taking care of them.

You can grab a copy of the entire Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge unit study in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

How to Get Started with the Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge unit study:

Buy a copy of the book, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, or grab one from your local library.
Print the Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Enjoy a week of book-based learning with your student.