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.

Pigs in the Panty: Fun with Math and Cooking

 Axelrod, A. (1999). Pigs in the Pantry: Fun with Math and Cooking. New York: Aladdin. Grades K-2
Written by: Amy Axelrod
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Measurement
Subject Area: Math

Summary:
The Pig's mother is sick. The father, daughter, and son decide that they should do something nice for their mother, so they make her some chili. Through measuring, pouring, and burning the chili, the kids make a mess! Mother Pig comes down and is surprised at the mess, but pleasantly surprised by the kind act of her family. At the end of the book, there is an actual recipe for the chili.

Initiating questions/activity:

1. What do you think the pigs will do in the pantry?
2. What do you do in the pantry?
3. What kinds of things do you have to measure?
4. Why do people (or pigs) have to measure things?

Activity:
With the students, pretend that you're making cookies. As a class, brainstorm what ingredients you would need in order to make cookies. Make up numbers as to how many cups/teaspoons ect. of each item (exaggerate the amount). Ask the students if these would make the cookies, why or why not? Have a discussion on the importance of measurement.

Extending questions/activity:

1. Why did the Pig cook?
2. What happened with the chili?
3. What did they use to make the chili?
4. Have you ever baked or cooked anything?

Activity:
Give the students a piece of paper and think of their favorite recipe or have them make one up. Have them write down ingredients and directions as to how to bake the recipe. Make sure they are reasonable amounts. Then make a class recipe book.

Monster Math

 Miranda, A. (1999). Monster Math. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. Grades K-2.
Written by: Anne Miranda
Subject Area: Math
Genre: Fiction
Theme: Counting, adding, subtracting, group counting

 Summary: Little Monster is having a party. The party quickly escalates and one monster turns into 40 monsters! Mother Monster gets very overwhelmed and asks some to leave. This is a fantastic story that uses many types of math such as addition, counting by multiples, and subtraction.

Initiating questions/activity:
Questions:

1. How many monsters are on the cover?
2. What kind of math do you think we will do with these monsters?
3. Have you ever seen a monster?
4. Are monster real?

Activity:
Have the students sit in a circle. Then have them count off by how many people are in the class. Take the number and write it on the board. Then add it to the number of monsters on the cover. Then subtract the amount of monsters from students in the class. Then take other things in the room and do the same thing (such as number of days in the month, so take September 29th. Add 29 (number of days we have had so far this month) and 10 (number of monsters on cover) and then subtract the number of monsters by the days of the month.

Extending Activity and Question:
Questions:

1. Why did monsters show up at the other monsters house?
2. Why did monster leave the monster's house?
3. What was the largest number of monsters at the house?
4. What was the smallest number of monsters at the house?

Activity:
Act out the story. Start with one monster, and continuously add the monsters and you re-read the story. This will help children actually see what you're doing with the monster throughout the book. So start with adding as it does in the book and then subtract the monsters when the book tells you to subtract them.This visual will really help the children understand the math in the book. While you're subtracting and adding students have a scribe (or the teacher) write the math problem on the board that is being done. This will give students two visuals.