Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

 Chodos-Irvine, M. (2003). Ella Sarah Gets Dressed. China: Harcourt Books. Grades Pre-K-K
Written by: Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Re-reading/retelling the story
Subject Area: Language Arts

Summary:
Ella Sarah just wants to wear her favorite items of clothing even though they don't match. Everyone in her family tries to get her to match, but each time she refuses. So finally, Ella Sarah dresses in the clothes that she wants to wear. Her friends show up and love her outfit--her friends are in mix-matched clothes as well!

Initiating Questions/Activities:

1. How do you decide what to wear in the morning?
2. Who picks out your clothes?
3. What's your favorite thing to wear?
4. What do you think the problem in the story is going to be?

Activity:
Read the children a description of what Ella Sarah would like to wear. Have them draw each item of clothing that you read off. As you read the story have the children hold up the picture that you are talking about. For example, When I read the line, "My dress with orange-and-green flowers," the children would hold up the drawing of the dress. This story is very repetitive which is why I believe that it would be very helpful for the children to pick out the parts of this story by holding up a picture.

Extending Questions and Activities:

1. Did what Ella Sarah wanted to wear match?
2. Why did everyone want her to change?
3. What were her friends wearing?
4. Do you like to pick out your own clothes?

Activities:
Have each child draw a picture of themselves in their favorite outfits. Then have them write about their favorite outfit. Tell the students to wear their favorite outfit on the next day of school. Then take a picture of the child in their favorite outfit. Create a scrapbook call Miss Dever's (teacher's name) Class get's dressed. Each child will have two pages, one with a picture of themselves wearing their favorite outfit and one that they drew.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

 Stead, P. (2010). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Written by: Philip C. Stead
Award: Caldecott Medal
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Friendship
Subject Area: Social Science

Summary: Amos McGee is a zoo keeper. He does something special each day with each animal, until one day Amos gets sick. The animals miss him terribly, so they make accommodations to visit Amos at his house. Amos feels better from the help of his friends!

Initiating Questions and Activity:

1. Who is on the cover?
2. Why are there zoo animals in a house?
3. Have you ever seen an animal play cards?
4. Do you have any pets that play games? If so what kind of games?

Activity:
Take a picture walk through the story. After the picture walk, have the children write down what they think will happen in the story. Have them share their ideas with the class. Bring all the student's ideas together and write them on the board. Keep these up until the end of the story.

Extending Questions and Activity:

1. Why didn't Amos go to work?
2. Have you ever had to miss anything for being sick?
3. How do you cheer your friends up when they're not feeling well?
4. Where you surprised at what the animals did? 
5. How do you think the animals made Amos feel?

Activity:
With the class make a large Venn-Diagram on the board. In the first circle write what you thought was going to happen just by doing a picture walk, in the next circle write what happened, and in the middle write the similarities between what you thought was going to happen and what actually happened. Then discuss with the class how they knew what was going to happen just by looking at the pictures and/or why they thought something was going to happen that didn't actually happen just by looking at the pictures.

Don't Bump the Glump and Other Fantasies

 Silverstein, S. (1964). Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies. New York: HarperCollinsPublisher. Grades 3-6
Written by: Shel Silverstein
Genre: Poetry, Fantasy
Theme: Poetry/Writing Poetry
Subject Area: Language Arts/ English

Summary:
This is a book of fantasies and poems about all sorts of things from The Wild Gazite, The Galloping Griss to The Long-Necked Preposterous! This a a great book in which your imagination goes wild and where readers will be laughing as they read these poems!

Initiating Questions and Activities:

1. What do you think a Glump is?
2. Why might you not want to bump a Glump?
3. What does the Glump look like?
4. What does fantasy mean?

Activity:
Before reading the story, have the children look at the cover. Then give them a piece of paper and some water colors. Have them create a mythical, made up character. Then after reading we will use this painting for the extending activity.

Extending Questions and Activities:

1. Do all poems have to rhyme?
2. What was your favorite poem? Why?
3. How do you think the Shel Silverstein came up with these creatures?
4. Are the characters real?

Activity:
Have the students take their painting. Just by looking at the painting have them write a list in their journal of some of their creatures characteristics (include looks, personality, and what they like to do--
USE YOUR IMAGINATION!) Then with that information write a haiku and then attach it to your creature.

How to write a Haiku: (Write on the board)
First and Last Line= 5 Syllables
Middle Line= 7 Syllables

Officer Buckle and Gloria

 Rathman, P. (1995). Officer Buckle and Gloria. New York: G.P Putman's Sons. Grades 2-3
Written by: Peggy Rathmann
Award: The Caldecott Metal
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Safety and the importance of friendship
Subject Area: Social Science

Summary:
Office Buckle goes to schools and give safety talks. Unfortunately, learning about safety isn't the most entertaining to students, until Gloria comes along. Gloria is a police dog that goes with Officer Buckle to safety talks. While Officer Buckle talks, Gloria acts out what he is saying--Learning about safety has never been so fun for students! The most important safety tip of all that Officer Buckle learns is that you need to stick with a buddy at all times.


Initiating Questions and Activities:

1. Where does the police officer look like he is?
2. What do you think the dog is doing?
3. Why do you think they are at a show?
4. Can you predict what will happen in the story?

Activity:
Cut out circles about the size of a soup can. Then have each child make a police badge that includes Officer (Child's name) Here to help! Discuss what police officers do and why they are important people to have in our community. 

Extending Questions and Activity:

1. Why was Office Buckle sad?
2. What did Gloria do when Officer Buckle wasn't looking?
3. How did Gloria feel with out Officer Buckle?
4. How did they feel when they were together?
5. Why are safety talks important?

Activity:
Give each student a star shaped piece of paper. Have each child come up with a different classroom safety rule. Have them write the rule and draw a picture on the star. Have them share them with the class and then hang them in the classroom as a constant reminder of ways we can be safe.

We Are in a Book!

 Willems, M. (2010). We Are in a Book!. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. Grades: Pre-K-1
Written by: Mo Willems
Awards: Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Reading/importance of re-reading
Subject Area: Language Arts

Summary: Gerald the Elephant and Piggie the Pig realize that they are in a book and that readers are reading them! They also realize that they can make the reader say anything that they want them to say, like "banana." They think this is hilarious until they realize the book must, at some point, end, so they encourage readers to re-read the book after the book is over.


Initiating Questions and Activity:
Questions:

1. What animals do you see on the cover?
2. What is the Pig doing?
3. How does the elephant's face look?
4. Looking at the title, what do you think might happen in the story?

Activity:
Have the children sit with a partner. Have them whisper to each other what book they would like to be in. Why would they want to be in that book? What would they do if they were in a book? Then have the children share what book they would like to be in and why.

Extending Questions and Activity:

1. What made Gerald and Piggie laugh?
2. What type of words would you have a reader say that are appropriate?
3. What was your favorite part of the book?
4. Would you want to re-read the story?
5. What stories do you like to read over and over again?

Activity:
Have the children close their eye and imagine if they were in a story with Piggie and Gerald. What would they have a reader say? After discussing this with the class, have the complete this worksheet:
We Are in a Book Activity! (Page 12). Have them draw themselves with Gerald and Piggie on the worksheet, then when the whole class is finished make a class book to add to the class library.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

 Juster, N. (2005). The Hello, Goodbye Window. New York: Michael Di Capua Books. Grades K-2.
Written by: Norton Juster and Chris Raschka
Awards: Caldecott Award Winner
Subject Area: Language Arts
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
This story is about a window, a very special window. This young girl's grandparents have a house with many windows, but there is only one hello, goodbye window, and that is the one in the kitchen. The young girl loves this window, because she can play tricks and games with her grandparents through the window, scare them, make funny faces, and wave. When she is inside, he grandparents say sometimes you never know who you may see through the window which is what is so exciting. This story is a great story about love between a young girl and her grandparents.

Theme: Relationships and imagination


Initiating Questions and Activities:

1. What does the cover tell us?
2. Who do you think look in and out of the window?
3. Do you have windows where you live?
4. What do you see outside of your window?

Activity:
Draw a large window on the board. Have the children look out the window and tell you what they see. As the tell you what they see, write or draw it in the window that you drew on the board. Ask them what they might see during each season if they looked out that same window.

Culminating and Extending Questions:

1. What character's were in the story?
2. Who or what would you want to see if you looked out the window?
3. Is there a special room that your grandparents spend most their time in?
4. What made the window special?

Activity:

Give the children a long piece of paper. Have them draw three windows.
In the first window: Draw what they see from their kitchen window at home--Looking out.
In the second window: Draw what they see looking in their window at home (Looking in).
In the third window: Use your imagination and draw something that you would like to see outside your window, that you probably wouldn't normally see. (example: I would want to wake up and see a giraffe outside of my window or I would want to wake up and see it snowing icecream!)

The Three Pigs

 Wiesner, D. (2001). The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. Grades 1-3.
Written by: David Wiesner
Awards: Caldecott Award Winner

Subject Area: Language Arts
Genre: Folktale/Fairytale


Summary:
This story isn't your typical "Three Little Pigs" story. This is a story of three pigs who outsmart the evil fox. When the Fox huffs and puffs, he thinks he ate the pigs, but really they jumped right out of the story for safety. The pigs end up in other stories where they meet knew friends who will later help them defeat the Fox. The characters return to their own story to enjoy fox soup and everyone else lives happily ever after.

Theme: Writing/story telling, details


Initiating Questions and Activities:

1. Does anyone know the story of the Three Little Pigs?
2. What would you make your house of? (After asking question #1)
3. How do you think this story will be different from other Three Little Pig stories?
4. What character do you think will be in the story?

Have the children sit with a partner. Have each partner group discuss what they think will happen in the story. Have each group draw a scene of what they might think will happen in the story. Afterward, have them present it to the class.

Culminating and Extending Questions:

1. Did you think the Fox really ate the pigs at first?
2. Why do you think the Fox wanted to eat the pigs?
3. Did you like how the story started and began?
4. How did the Pigs end up in other stories?
   (More questions under activity)

Activity:

Give each student a blank booklet (approx. 5-10 pages). Have each students color her/himself in their favorite story (not literally, have them make a re-make of their favorite picture book/fairytale). Make sure there are multiple characters, the student them self being one of them. This story should be mostly pictures (if not all) and little words. Have each student present their story and the role they would play in the story. Then ask the children if them entering the story changed the story at all. Then, ask how the story changed when the pigs left the story. Think about who the pigs saved in the other stories--if the pigs never left what would of happened to the dragon? This activity can help kids realize that one addition or subtraction to a detail can change the whole story and maybe even other stories as well. This also helps with their literacy, because they're going through a picture walk in their own book and "reading" their story.