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Christmas In the Big Woods (Hochstetler)

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Christmas In the Big Woods (Hochstetler)

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1. For this book I would have my students write about their favorite Christmas or holiday memory. Then I would have my students draw a picture of how their favorite memory so we would be able to hang the pictures around the classroom.

2. In this book Laura and Mary receive dolls, a pair of mittens, and a peppermint stick for Christmas. I would try and bring these objects to class to show my students just how little Laura and Mary got for Christmas but how thankful they were for the gifts they did receive. I would then have my students write a list of three things that they would really want for Christmas if three things were all they got just like Laura and Mary.

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1. After reading the story the students could write about a time where they felt out of place or like they didn't belong. After doing this I would then have my students write about a friend or a family member that helped them through that hard time and made them feel better or included them in an activity.

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If You Give a Moose a Muffin (Hochstetler

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If You Give a Moose a Muffin (Hochstetler

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1. After reading this story you could have your students make a chain story of their own. You could give the students a limit of five or six connecting chains that the students would need to complete. To make it easier you could even give your students a starting and ending point and they would need to fill in the steps in between.

2. Along with this same idea you could have your students make a chain about something else. A few examples would be if you give a soccer player a soccer ball, if you give a teacher a chalkboard, if you give a baby a raddle, and so on and so forth.

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1. This book is all about how Arthur's sister D.W. never want to try new things, but once she does she really likes them. After reading the story I would have my students write and/or talk about things that they never wanted to try but once they did ended up liking it or enjoying it.

2. When I was in elementary school I remember reading a book that talked about how fun it was to try fun and different things. After we did this my teacher brought in different activities for us to try, different foods, crafts, and even sports from other countries. This is definitely something I would like to do with my students after reading this book as well.

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This is the House that Jack Built (Hochstetler)

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This is the House that Jack Built (Hochstetler)

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1. After reading this book I would have my students imagine that they were Jack and design a house with a two story floor plan including three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room, living, room and a kitchen.

2. After we have read this book and drawn our floor plans I would work with my students as a class and we would try to make a chain of people and animals just like what happened in the story.

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1. In your classroom you could have a Poet-Tree. For this activity you would make a cut out tree for the wall and, after reading this book you could have your students write their favorite poem or line from the book on a cut out leaf and then stick the paper leaves all over the cut out tree to complete the Poet-Tree.

2. Since the poems in this book are to be sung to different famous tunes, as a class you and your students could write your own poem and then put it to a tune of the students' choice.

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1. As a teacher you could choose a poem that could have words
removed so the students would be able to fill in the blanks and write
their own poems. (Kind of like what we did in class with the poetry section)

2. While you read the poems out loud to your class the students could listen and draw what they are seeing in their heads as you read the poems, after you are done you could talk to your students about what stuck out to them and what they remember from the poems.

3. One of the poems in this book is called Hug-O-War which talks about how humans need to love each other instead of fight with each other. After reading the poem I would have my students perform a task individually and then in groups. The task I would give my students would be extremely hard to complete individually but could be successfully accomplished in a group.

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1. After reading the book once, have the students listen to the audio version and have them write down different connections they made with the audio style of the book than reading it without listening to it.

2. Have the students do a worksheet on counting and the alphabet based on the book. This is a very basic book for introducing letters and numbers. Allow the students to take advantage of this book!

3. Have the students do an art activity based on the book. Have them create a tree out of construction paper, and have them number the amount of leaves on the tree. Hang the trees up in the room so the students can see their work.

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1. In this book Arthur and his friends go to camp for the first time. As a teacher you could have your students write about their experiences at summer camp, or going camping with his or her family. If a student has never been camping, have them write about what the would like to do at summer camp.

2. While at camp Arthur and his friends learn how to pitch a tent and do other activities such as roast marshmallows and tell stories around the fire. In class you could have a camping day where you could have a play tent in the classroom, a fake fire that you could tell stories around, and have snacks that you might have while camping.

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1. You can have a class discussion about animals and how some are meant to be pets, whereas others are wild. Students can then discern which types of animals are pets and which kinds are meant for the wild.

2. Students can take a trip to the zoo! If possible the teacher can line up a zoo worker to talk with the students and tell them how they take care of the animals and how important it is to be cautious of wild animals and how they aren't pets.

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1. Students can create their own safety tips for their classroom and hang them around the room to remind one another to be safe. You can cut them into star shaped templates so that the safety tips look like the ones in the book.

2. The students can have a lesson on why police officers are important to society and how they are here to help you. If possible a police officer could come into the class and talk about their job.

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1. Students can write a narrative about their pet and what their pet's favorite food is. If the student's don't have a pet then they can choose what type of pet they would most like to write about.

2. Students can make their own If You Give a Pig a Pancake book. Students will have to use an animal that and letter that match up. Like "pig" and "pancake." You can give them examples like "mouse" and "muffin." To make sure that students do not use the same animal and food, you can assign them each a letter from the alphabet. Students can write their stories and illustrate them. The teacher can help by typing up their story and then a book can be made with construction paper.

3. Students can syrup paint! You use corn syrup and color it with water color powder or food coloring. Then the students can use eyedroppers to move the syrup paint from the container onto their papers. This can be a creative way for students to make connections to the book.

4. Teachers can use this book to talk about real books versus fantasy books. Students could create real scenarios that pigs could be involved in and then also create fantasy scenarios. This will help them see the difference between the two.

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1. This book is great if you have a problem with students copying in your classroom. After reading the book there can be an open discussion about why copying is not beneficial. The importance of doing your own work can be stressed. After reading the book together, the students can then write situations where copying in not accepted at school.

2. Students can look through the book and pay close attention to the pictures. They will take note at how each fish in the class is different from one another. They can then relate that to how their class is different and how each student brings different assets to the classroom dynamic. They can then see how each students is valuable to the class.

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1. The teacher can make a worksheet that has two parts. One side is for the class to write down all that they know about pigs. To fill in this side I would have a class discussion and get input from the students. The other side of the worksheet will have what the book says about pigs. So after reading the book, the students can fill out the other side with what the book said about pigs.

2. Students look through the book without reading it and try to write down what they think is taking place during the story. Then after we read it as a class they can look back and see if their stories match up with the actual one.

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1. Students can each make/draw their own peacock and for each big, colorful, feather they put on it, they write a sentence describing what makes them special/unique. This promotes diversity.

2. Students can write a paragraph describing what type of animal they choose hatches from the egg that is different from the chickens. This will promote creativity and imagination.

3. Students can draw themselves and put clothes on themselves that they like to wear to school. Then they can describe why they would rather wear their clothes of choice versus uniforms or vice-versa. Can talk about how Amish families wear simple clothes.

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1. Bring in a bag of shiny stones or marbles to represent the magic pebble in the story and give one to each student. Have the students close their eyes and hold it in their hands to imagine it is magic. Have the students write about what they would wish for and why.

2. Have the students draw themselves if their wish had come true. What would be different about your life? Would you feel different? What would stay the same?
3. Ask the class how changing Sylvester’s wish would change the ending of the story. Have each student rewrite the ending to the story in accordance with Sylvester’s new wish. Each student can share his/her new ending of the story to the class if they wish.

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1. After reading the story, explain that Owl Moon is a Caldecott Winner for its excellent illustrations. Study and discuss a few illustrations of the book as a class. This could be done by having adjectives written on the board to describe the artwork. Use blue or grey construction paper with white, brown, black, dark green, and grey paint to paint a snow scene.

2. Ask the children to write several sentences or a paragraph on lined paper to describe his/her winter scene. Make use of nouns, verbs, and adjectives discussed in the reading. This could also be done by writing a sensory poem about an owl or owl hunting.

3. Learn new vocabulary with the children about owls (owlet, falcon, falconer, raptor, etc.) and discuss the different types of owls. Make a Venn Diagram comparing the Great Horned Owl to a Barn Owl. You could also include a picture of each of the owls on top of the diagram.

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1. Before reading the story, give each student a button. While listening to the story being read, the students will have to determine if their button is the same as the one Toad lost. For a math activity, students will categorize and list attributes of various buttons and use a venn diagram to sort and organize them. Instruct the students to keep their button.

2. Have the students draw a picture of their favorite scene. Tell them to include a coat that represents the one that Toad gave Frog. Have the students glue their button onto the coat.

3. Have the students read the story aloud to each other. After doing so, the class will discuss and identify four emotions that Toad feels in the story. Students will then write about a time they felt one of Toad’s emotions and include the facial expression they may have had while feeling this way.

4. Ask the students why Frog send Road a letter and what the purpose of a letter is. Ask the students if they have ever felt sad for not receiving mail like Toad. Have each student write a letter to a friend. This is focused on letter writing and communication skills. Have a template of a letter on display and talk about the different parts of a letter by labeling them in front of the class.

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1. After reading the book as a class, have the students think about they may have had a different version of what happened then his/her sibling. Write about what happened from your point of view and then what happened from their point of view. How are they the same? How are they different?

2. Discuss why Ami insisted that Rubina take Sana to the birthday party. Why did Ami tell Rubina to share her lollipop? Ask the students what they believe the word “fairness” means and discuss their answers. Also, discuss the importance of family and the difficulty of adapting to another culture.

3. Invite a person born in another country to your classroom or library to talk about his or her experiences of moving to the United States. Prepare the students to ask meaningful questions by researching this geography, language, and customs of your guests’ native country. For example, if your guest is from China, spend fifteen minutes before she visits researching the Chinese culture and language.

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1. After reading the book aloud to the class, ask students to consider a time when they have gone out of their way to include someone who might be feeling isolated or alone. Why did they feel it was important to try to include this individual? What was the result of this act of kindness? Next, have the students write a step-by-step guide to their peers on the reasons why reaching out to others is important. Remind them to include the benefits from this exchange as well.

2. Have the students work together to write a story extension by giving ideas about other games that Gerald and Piggie might play, other animals that might want to join in, and other problems they might encounter.  Once the whole class has come up with a story extension, students may want to draw a scene from their story extension and include a sentence about what is happening in their pictures. Hang these pictures up to make a new story.

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1) The book talks a lot about aliens. Use the book to start a science lesson about space. During the lesson investigate whether or not aliens exist.

2) The book book talks about pranks. Have the student discuss why pranks are mean. Have them write about a time someone pulled a prank on them.

3) Arthur is having his first sleepover. Have the students plan a sleepover for themselves. Who would they invite? What kind of food would you serve? etc.

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1) In the story Arthur and DW write postcards. Have the students write postcards for their classroom to other students (or staff) in the building.

2) Arthur plans activities for his family on vacation. Have the students plan activities for their family to do. Have them research a city and make a plan of things to visit on a vacation.

3) Have the students write about a trip they went on. If they have not been on a trip have them make up a trip they would like to go on.

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1.)  Have the students act out the story with character necklaces and video tape them acting it out. Watch the video together as a class.

2.) Read both versions of the Mitten one retold by Jan Brett and the other by Alvin Tresselt. Make a venn diagram and sort the characters from the stories and compare the two stories.

3.) Sew a mitten made out of cardstock with hole punches around the outside of the mitten  with yarn. Have the students put the characters in the story to keep safe for using it as a retelling.

4.) Try to discover if mittens are warm all by themselves. Have students make a hypothesis on whether they think mittens are warm. Students will then test their hypothesis by doing an experiment. Place a thermometer on the teacher's desk to get the room temperature reading. Then place a thermometer in the mitten to get the temperature. Both thermometers are to be in their for 2 minutes. Then you put your hand in the mitten with the thermometer and get the reading after 2 minutes. Record and analyze the data. Make a conclusion if mittens are warm or not warm.

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1. In the story of Corduroy we see the little girl do something very nice for Corduroy. She sows on a button onto his overalls. Have the children think of one nice thing they can do for their best friend and have them write it down. Sometime during that week they have to show their teach that they did that nice thing for their friend.

2. Before the teacher reads the book to the children, the teacher can have the children do a scavenger hunt for several buttons around the room. Four buttons will be scattered around the room. The four students that find a button will get to sit on the bean bags for the story.

3. After reading the story, you could have the students work on a craft with buttons. The materials that would be used would be buttons, paper, glue, and string. The children can make their own Corduroy with these materials.

4. A math lesson that you could do with the children is have the children work on their counting in tens. Give the children a bag of buttons to work with. The children will have to count all their buttons and put them into groups of ten. The children will have to record how many groups of ten they have and then how many buttons they have left over that are not in a group of ten.

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1.) Retell the story with puppets.

2.) Work identify parts of the story, beginning, middle, and end. The students would sort pictures of the story given to them by the teacher of what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. Have the students work on this individually and come together as a class to go over their work.

3.) Have the students draw a picture and label or write about their favorite part of the story.

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1.) Solve and read phonics puzzles. Upper case letter, lower case letter, and then a picture. Put the puzzle together in this order and then have students read it. For example, A, a, apple!

2.) This is a write the room activity. Place 8 pictures around the room. Students walk around with a clipboard and their paper with the pictures that are hung around the room. When they find the picture that is on their paper they copy the word to match the picture.

3.) Students are going to roll a dice with 6 different letters on it. The students say the letter that they rolled and trace the letter that is on their paper.

4.) Print out cards with numbers 1-6 and cards and print out dice cards numbers 1-6. The students match the number card to the dice card with the same number.

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1. After reading the book, have the children write a poem to their mother, father or garden thanking them for loving them and taking care of them.

2. To introduce the book, have the children play a game of sardines. Have one person be the mother bird and the rest of the children be the baby birds. Their mother bird is gone and they have to find her. This can be done on the playground or at a near by park. This can be a fun game to play for about 15-20 minutes. When the time is up, have the child come back to the classroom for story time.

3. After you have read the story to the class have the children write a similar story about the dog, cat, or cow and how they lost their mother. How would the story be different for each of those animals?

4. To help improve the children's recall of the story, have the children draw a timeline of the baby bird's journey. In the end their time line should come to a complete circle back to the nest.

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Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes (Rengert) 

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Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes (Rengert) 

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1.) After reading the story, take your students on a tour of the school. On the tour, you can show them the cafeteria, the office, the library, the computer lab, art room, and more places! Each time you reach a location the card Pete the Cat left, it will give you a clue on where to go and how to find Pete!

2.) Make a Pete the Cat rhyming hat. Explain to your students what rhyming words are and that they sound alike at the end of the word. Have them put a thumbs up if they think it is a rhyming word and the person who puts their thumb up first and has the correct answer gets the wear the Pete the Cat hat!

3.) Make a Pete the Cat Glyph based on how many letters are in the students' names. Use a color based on how many letters are in their name. 2 letters = a red cat, 3 = a orange cat and so on. Then ask what activity they like more. If it is reading, the students will use a heart nose and if it is writing the students will use a triangle nose. The color of the cat's shoes is the student's favorite color.

4.) Graph the Glyph data shown and interpret the results. Graph how many letters in their name, favorite activity, and their favorite color.

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1. After reading the story to the children have them draw a beast that they would invite the Wild Rumpus. In the end the whole class will have a large collection of beasts that can be invited to the party.

2. Have the children write what they would do if they where king or queen of the beasts. Would they be nice to the beasts and let them do what ever they want or would they be mean and control the beasts lives.

3. After reading the story another thing that you could do with the children is have the make paper bag puppets of Max and beasts. After they have made their puppets, have the children put on a performance. They can retell the story through their puppets. This activity will help to see how good their recall is of the story.

4. The day after the children have read the story, I will show the movie version of the book to the class. The class will compare how the movie is different from the book. How did the movie producers change the story and how did they keep it the same?

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1. Have the children write a police report for the little fish that stole the big fish's hat. Make sure they describe the little fish, where he is going, and who were the witnesses to his crime.

2. Have the children write about a time when they had something stolen and how they felt when they never got it back. After the children have written about their experience have them get into groups of 4 or 5 and let them share about their experience and how they felt.

3. Plan for a day of show and tell. Have the children bring in something that they treasure very much. During their show and tell have them talk about who gave them their treasure, why they believe it is valuable to them, and how they would feel if someone stole it from them.

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1. Make a large grid with 24 boxes. Write a letter of the alphabet in each box, in ABC order. In small groups or with the whole class, reflect on the story, Charlotte's Web. Try to think of a word or phrase that begins with each letter. You might name characters, events, objects, or any word related to the story. See if you can get a word for all 26 letters. If there is time remaining, have the students illustrate each box.

2. After reading the story, or watching the movie, have the students write a persuasive letter to Mr. Arable about what to do with WIlber. They can choose to sell him or keep him and explain why they chose it.

3. This book could be an introduction to the topic spiders. After reading the book, give the students a quiz to see what they already know about spiders. After taking the quiz, make a KWL chart explaining what the students already know, goals for what you want them to learn, and statements for what they did learn by the end of the lesson.

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1. After reading the book, have the students go back through the book, as a class, and count how many items the caterpillar chewed through. This is a very simple task but great for young children.

2. Use this book as an incentive book. Print out a picture of a caterpillar with many circles attached to his back end. Give each student a section of the caterpillar and allow them to color a section of the caterpillar when they achieve a good grade, learn a flashcard, or count to 20. Once the students get all of their sections colored they can receive a prize. This is a great way to get students motivated to do good in school.

3. This book would be a great way to introduce the phases of a caterpillar's life. There are many steps to the story, so this book could also introduce chronological order. Cut out parts of the book and give a part to each student. As a class, decide what parts of the book go where, until the very hungry caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly.

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Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation (Krebs)

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Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation (Krebs)

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1. After reading the story, have an investigation in your classroom. Tell the students about something that has gone mission in the classroom and have the students write their own investigation letters to the teacher about what they think happened to the missing object.

2. At the end of the story, Ike (the dog) returns home to Mrs. LaRue. Since the books is written by letters, have the students pretend to be Mrs. LaRue write a welcome home letter to Ike with a proper heading, date, and signature. This extension is aimed to focus on how to write letters correctly.

3. Since the illustrations of this book are very detailed and colorful, have the students draw a detailed cover page of what they think the cover should look like. Supply markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, and ribbon. Allow the students to be creative and use as much detail as possible!

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1. Before reading the story, go through the pictures of the book and have the students predict what they believe will happen in the story.

2. After reading the story, have the students write about a past experience they have had on a day off school. If they can't remember a day with no school, have them write about a dream day off of school. Students can be creative with this! The students can also draw a picture along with the story to make the story more appealing.

3. Give the students an art activity to do. Make homemade hats like what the Cat wears in the book. Give the students white paper with red cotton balls and glue. The students could also make whiskers with pipe cleaners and pop cycle sticks, along with a red bow tie, and white gloves!

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1) Have the students write about their day just like Olivia does. Each student should come up with a list of what they do when the get up, during the day, and before bed. Display the students days as well.

2) Have the student make Olivia's day into a time line. Have them add times to what she does during the day.

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1)The book begins with Froggy having a nightmare about the first day of school. Have the students write or draw about a dream they have had about school. If they can not think of one have them make up a scary dream about the first day of school.

2) Read this book on the first day of school. Then talk about rules in the classroom. Have the students help come up with different rules that they think should be in place in the classroom. After making the rules post them in the classroom.

3) The students in the book talk about what they did over the summer, have each of the students share one thing that they did that summer.

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1) While reading the book have students do the stretches in the book.

2) After reading the book have the students come up with stretches that they can do. Then with a partner try the lists that the students came up with.

3) Have students come up with stretches. After coming up with stretches, have students draw a picture of them doing the stretches and make it into a classroom book.

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1) After reading the book, have the students make instruments out of things they find at home. For example make a guitar out of an old tissue box and rubber bands. Then have the students make a parade around the classroom.

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1. After reading the book, students will make muffins. They will make the muffins in a small group. They will be given the ingredients and measurements along with the measuring tools and asked to do it as independently as possible. If they are having trouble, they will be given assistance. Before baking the muffins, the students will look at the batter and what the texture looks like. The muffins will then be baked. After the muffins are baked, out of the oven, and cool enough, the students, with their group, will look at the texture and compare it with the texture of the muffin batter before being baked. They will explore the possibilities and reasons for the two batters looking so vastly different.

2. The students will make a story of their own (4 step cause and effect story) asking themselves if I did --- what would happen? They will need to come up with 4 of these cause and effect story lines. After composing the story, the children will draw a corresponding illustration with each cause and effect story line. Once the children are done with their story, every child's story will be put onto nice paper, color copied, and bound into a book. After being bound, the stories will be displayed in the hall for all students, teachers, staff, and parents, to view. Once everyone has had plenty of time to view it, each child will get to take their book home with them.

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The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Kline) 

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The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Kline) 

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1. The students will make a cake like in the story. They will be given the recipe with the precise measurements of the ingredients in the cake. The students will also be given the measuring utensils that can be used to measure the ingredients. The students will be given assistance if needed. However, for the most part the students will measure independently. The teacher will let the students observe the cake before it is baked and then observe it after it is baked. The students will discuss the differences. It will then be baked and the students will eat it.

2. The students will act out a reader's theater on this retold story on the classic story of the Three Little Pigs. Each student will be given a part that is in this retold version. The students will all go through their reader's theater scripts. After going through the reader's theater script the students will all come back together and make a Venn diagram showing the similarities and differences of the original and retelling of the story.

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1. After reading the book, the students will write a true story about a time when they asked their parents or guardians for more of something. In their story they will write about what they asked for, why they asked for it, and if they received it or not. After completing their writing piece, the students will get into a small group with their classmates and discuss what each other wrote.

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1. After reading this book, students will write an opinion piece on which president they like the most and which they don't like so much and giving reasons using the book as to why.

2. The students will create theirown president. In creating their president, they will write when they were president, how old they are, about their family, and major accomplishments that they made, fun facts about them and draw a picture of what they look like (self portrait). After creating their president, they will write down all about them, and draw their self portrait on a poster board and tell their classmates a little about the president that they created.

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1. After reading the book, the students will write about a time when they were tricked by someone. They will write about how they felt when that happened. They will use descriptive words in this writing.

2. Students draw a picture and write about what they would have given to Tomten if they were the hen. They will explain their reason as to why and what they think the Tomten would do if he was given that item. The students will then get with a partner and talk about the things that they would give to the Tomten and both talk about what they think the Tomten would do if he received their items instead of the hen's (their) egg.

3. Have students predict what would happen when the Tomten woke up form his nap and write about it. After writing about it, have the students illustrate their predictions.

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1. The students will write how they would feel if Pinkerton was in their class and always had to be first. They will also write about why that would make them feel that way and how Pinkerton could show kindness instead of making them feel that way.

2. We will discuss how the witch tricks Pinkerton into caring for her and he learns a lesson about being first. Students will create a sandwich (cheeseburger). On each piece of the sandwich students will write a way that they can show kindness to others and show that they don't always have to be first. The students will color and decorate the pieces of the sandwich. After doing this, the students will cut out and glue the pieces of the sandwich to a piece of construction paper. This would then be displayed outside of the classroom for others to see.

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1. After reading the book, have students write about one of their experiences in losing a tooth. In writing about this experience, students will explain what they did that caused them to lose their tooth and what happened after they lost it.

2. Talk about the correct way to take care of your teeth (even having a dentist come in and demonstrate). After talking about the correct way to care for teeth the students will sequence the steps of taking care of their teeth (cutting and gluing the pictures in order and labeling them).

3. Using 3 pure white shells or other items representative of a tooth, the students will brush one of them correctly, brush one of them a little, and not brush one of them at all. After sitting a little while, the students will take a look at the shells or items that were brushed a little and not brushed at all. We will then discuss what happened to them and how bacteria grew on them.

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1. Read book to class. Then have children trace their hand twice and cut the shapes out. Connect the two hand prints with string and insert paper in the middle to allow children to make a booklet. Inside, children will write the things that they are thankful for. If they want, the children can decorate the outside of the booklet to make the hands look like a turkey! This would be a fun activity to use right before Thanksgiving break to get students thinking about what it means to be thankful. (Adapted from Pinterest)

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1. Read book aloud to the class. Discuss the life cycle of flowers and how they slowly grow from a seed into a plant. Bring in a flower seed and have the children help you plant it in a pot. Keep it in the window of the classroom and have children observe and record their observations every day. They will slowly see the life cycle happening before their eyes, as the flower will sprout from the seed just like in the book. (Adapted from Pinterest)

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If You Give a Pig a Pancake (Laudermilk)

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If You Give a Pig a Pancake (Laudermilk)

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1. Use this book as a lead in to learning about cause and effect. Create a simple board game to use at a center that has pigs and pancakes as the spaces. Then give the students dice. As they move around the board they will land on spaces that require them to draw a card and answer a question about the book. If they get the question right, they get to advance. If they get it wrong, they do not. This teaches them that everything we do has an effect. (Adapted from Pinterest)

2. Use to get young students interested in practicing math. Cut out brown paper in the shape of pancakes. On some place a number ranging from 1-10. On the others, place the corresponding amount of dots. Laminate these. Then, have young students use these as a way to learn number amounts. Have them match the correct number to the correct amount of dots. (Adapted from Pinterest)

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1. Use as a writing prompt. Have students think of their favorite teacher and write about them, much like the boy did in the book. Have the students describe what they loved about that teacher and why. Then, give the student's responses to the teacher that they wrote about as an encouragement!

2. Compare the three books My Teacher for President, Duck for President, and Grace for President using a triple Venn diagram. Use this as an opportunity to discuss what it means to compare and contrast. This would be a great way to discuss what a president does and explain to the students a little bit about their job. (Adapted from Pinterest)

3. Read the three books mentioned above to the children. Create a ballot box and ballots. After reading the books, have the children vote on which character they think should be president. Have the students graph the results! This would be a very fun way to introduce graphing and collecting data! (Adapted from Pinterest)

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So You Want to Be An Inventor (Laudermilk)

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So You Want to Be An Inventor (Laudermilk)

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1. Read book aloud to the class. Then, have students brainstorm and think of an invention that they wish existed. Have them draw the invention and even create a model of the invention (with their parent's help of course). After this is done, have students bring in their creation and have an Invention Fair! Set the inventions up around the room and let the students walk around and admire their peer's imagination and hard work! Who knows, you could have the next great inventor in your classroom!

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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Laudermilk)

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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Laudermilk)

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1. Use this book as a lead in to learning about autobiographies. First read the book and then do a mini author study about Laura Numeroff by simply reading her autobiography If You Give An Author a Pencil. Following this, have the students brainstorm the five main events that have happened in their lives so far. Then, have them create their own autobiographies! Have them decorate the cover page and bind the pages together, as this is sure to become a keepsake that parents will love and treasure for years!

2. Give students a small packet and have them develop their own book, the title being If You Give a Kid a Book. The packet should have several pre-constructed sentences to guide the student's stories. Have students fill in the blanks and create illustrations to go along with their narrative. (Adapted from Pinterest)

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1. Read book aloud to children. Then tell the original version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Have students compare the two stories and record the differences in a Venn diagram. This activity would be a great way to introduce students to comparing and contrasting and working with Venn diagrams.

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1. After reading this book to the students, have them write about how they felt on their first day of school. Have them describe what they were nervous about and why. Then, have the students write about how they feel now that they have been in school for a while. This would be a great exercise in getting kids used to expressing their thoughts, concerns, and feelings in writing.

2. Have students draw the emotion of how they felt at the beginning of school by simply drawing faces. Then, have students draw how they feel now. Graph the class' data and use as an into into math, graphing, and collecting data. (Adapted from Pinterest)

3. On the first day back to school, read the book to students. After finishing it, discuss David's bad behavior. Have students help you make a class list of behaviors that they think are acceptable in school and a separate list of behaviors that are not acceptable. This would be appropriate for kindergarteners and first graders, as they are still not accustomed to a school environment. It would be a great, fun way to introduce classroom rules! (Adapted from Pinterest)

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1. Use this book as a writing prompt. Read the book aloud to students. After reading aloud to the class, have students write about a time when they have been teased or bullied like Chrysanthemum was for her name. Then explain to students why bullying or harassing is wrong and some ways that it can be handled and addressed. This would be a great activity for first or second graders.

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First Dog's White House Christmas (Halloran)

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First Dog's White House Christmas (Halloran)

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1.This is such a useful book that you could use for countless extensions! It's about dog breeds, Christmas around the world, writing letters, and our government.After reading this story to your class, have children pick a country that was talked about in the book and find out more about their Christmas/holiday traditions. Then have children share their findings with the class. Depending on the age, this may work best in groups.

2. After reading this book to the class, review the letters that the dog wrote to his friends. Have children imagine what their pet would write if it were the animal inviting friends to the child's house. If they do not have a pet, have them pretend for this activity. Have each child make a guest list of animals that his/her pet would invite and have them write the letter from the pet's point of view. What would it say about its owner? About where it lives? Who would its friends be? Get creative with questions and spins of your own.

3. (Probably for 3rd graders) After reading the story, have students interview a family member, relative, or neighbor about what their Christmas/holiday traditions were as a child. Connect this with the traditions that the dogs shared in the book. After the interviews have been done, have children share them with the class. If you wanted, you could have children share traditions of their own and compare and contrast them with those of the people they interviewed.

4. This is a geography extension. After reading the book, bring in a large map of the world and tape it to the board. Give each student, or pair of students depending on the number, a cut-out of each dog that was represented in the book. Review the countries that the dogs were from. Review the names and locations of the continents and guide each child/pair as to where their country is located. When they find it, have them tape their dog to the spot of its country on the map.

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1. This book is about an Amish boy and his family and how they live. Before reading the book, do a KWL chart with your class about what they already know about the Amish and what they want to know. Then read this book to the class and have them complete the "learned" column. Do this chart on a big paper with your whole class giving you ideas and you writing it. The children may still have questions, so if possible, organize a trip to an Amish community. This may be very difficult depending on your location and connections, but a personal visit would be a memorable experience where children can witness the Amish culture first-hand.

2. The Yoder family works as a team in all things, big and small. Discuss how smoothly things ran on the farm when everyone was doing their part. As a class, come up with a project or service that you would like to do for the community. Then as a class brainstorm everything that needs to be done and involve every student in a task. This can be as big as you want it to be. The key is for students to discover that working together can be rewarding and that everyone has an irreplaceable role in your classroom and in the world.

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Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman (Halloran)

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Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman (Halloran)

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1. This is a fictional story based on true facts of Harriet Tubman's childhood. After reading the story to the class, have them get in groups and research what actually happened in Tubman's childhood. Then have the groups share their findings with the class.

2. Harriet Tubman had great ambition to be free and free others. After reading the book, talk about what ambition means. Have the class give you specific examples that showed her ambition from the story. Afterwards, have create a drawing of something that they have ambition for in their life.

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1. This is a story about not judging others for their differences and being kind to others. Talk with your students about the value of being kind to people, even when they don't seem to care. Have your students go through the book and find all the acts of kindness and write them down.

2. Ask them what would have happened if the dog had not been kind to Mrs. Peterson. Have them write about what would really have happened.

3. Divide the students into groups and have them come up with a story with a similar plot but in real life. So, rather than a dog, it would be a person, but the outcome should be that the characters learnt to accept people who are different and are kind to everyone. Have them rewrite the story to acomodate that. Later have them share their creative stories with the rest of the class.

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The Little Engine That Could (Slingerland)

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The Little Engine That Could (Slingerland)

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1. This is a story about a train that did a seemingly impossible task because it believed and was optimistic. Have your students think of something that seems like an impossible task. Have them draw a mountain that represents that task or fear and then draw themselves as the train making it up that hill. Discuss the power of optimism and hard work.

2. This story also talks about the value of small people doing great and noble things. Bring to class some other books about real people who were small or underestimated, and did great things. Allow students to do a little bit of their own research to discover that they can do great things.

3. In the story, there is repetition: "I think I can. I think I can..." "I thought I could. I thought I could." Talk to your students and ask them why they think these words were repeated so many times in the story. Talk about how repetition brought emphasis. Have them write about how remembering that phrase can help them in their own lives.

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1. Dr. Sess wrote this in a poetic form. As you read, have students identify different characteristics of poetry. Also, have them identify the rhymes. Afterwards, have them write their own short poem.

2. This books holds all kinds of advice and encouragement for people embarking on change. Have students flip through the book after reading it and have them pick one stanza that really resonated with them. They can write about it in their class journals or share it with the class or with a partner.

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1. This is a Chinese myth about why Chinese names are so short. Before reading it, ask your students why they think names are short in China. As you read, have them keep it in mind. Ask it again afterwards to check for reading comprehension. Have them write it down.

2. Ask your students to talk with a partner about what the moral of the story is. How does it apply to our lives? What was the lesson that was learned? Have them share it with the rest of the class and see the variations in moral lessons from the story.

3. Talk about how even though this book is supposed to be Chinese, it uses Japanaese culture. Have them read a little bit about Chinese culture and Japanese culture. Then compare and contrast the cultures. Have them "fix" the story to make it culturally accurate.

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Tikki Tikki Tembo is a 1968 picture book written by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent. The book tells the story of a Chinese boy with a long name who fell into a well. It is a sort of origin myth about why Chinese names are so short today.

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LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation (Slingerland)

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LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation (Slingerland)

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1. In this story, Ike is a dog who overly dramatizes every situation. Have your students, after reading the story, think about an everyday situation and exaggerate it out of proportion. Allow them to get really creative as they either tell or write their story.

2. As you read through the book, have the students look at the differences between the colored pictures and the black and white pictures. Have them compare and contrast reality and Ike's imagination.

3. Ike uses a lot of big words in his letters. It is very likely that your students will be unfamiliar with many of his words. Have your students look for words that they either do no know or words that they like (if there are not words they don't know), and have them look up the definitions. Then have them make a postcard and write a letter to a classmate, using the words in context.

4. Imagine that Ike and the cats come to your town. Have the students create a postcard with what Ike would write about his experiences in your town. Have them mention the cats with the same attitude that Ike does.

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1. This is a story about believing and being a child at heart even when you grow up. After reading the story, have the students write about something they hope they always keep about their childhood, even when they grow up. For example, one child may write about keeping his or her imagination when they grow up because it helps them to see the world in a different way.

2. Have the students write about what gift they would have asked for from Santa if they were in the main character's shoes. He asked for a jingle bell, to remind him to always believe.

3. After reading the story, get your students together and have them talk about what the beginning was, what the middle was, and what the ending was. Have them describe the events, the conflicts, and the characters.

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1. Before reading the book, give each child a white board or a pencil and paper and tell them to use their "detective ears" while you read. Instruct them to write down pairs of rhyming words as they hear them. Set your pace according to how quickly children write. After you have completed the book, have children share what they wrote on their whiteboards, and write these words on the chalkboard for all to see. Think together as a class (going back through the book if necessary) to see if you can come up with any other pairs of rhyming words that may be present in the story.

2. After reading the book, have a cooking activity in the class and make green eggs and ham for a snack. After the snack is finished, make a graph and chart how many children enjoyed the green eggs and ham, and how many children didn't particularly enjoy it. Next, gather responses from children as to why they chose their answer. Branch these responses off each child's original answer on the graph.

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1. Before reading, copy certain illustrated pages of the book in which the characters are interacting with each other and the plot is moving forward. Read the book with the students. Afterwards, group the students into pairs and hand each pair a copy of a page in the book. Tell the students to study the picture and label it who, what, and where (older students can also label and work with the words when, why, and how.) As they work through the list, have them identify who is pictured, what is happening, and where it is happening (older students can also answer: around when they suppose it to be happening, why it is happening, and how it is happening).
(Inspired by scholastic.com)

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (McNulty)

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (McNulty)

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1. Sequence the events of the story with the students, starting with the gum stuck in Alexander's hair and progressing through tripping on his skateboard, losing out on the toy in the cereal box, getting in trouble at school, etc. Talk with the children about their opinions: what event did they consider to be the "worst" that happened to Alexander? Can they think of anything that could happen that would be even worse? If they had been there, what do they think they could do to make Alexander's day better?

2. After reading the story, provide the students with note cards and write letters to Alexander as a class. Students can tell Alexander that they are sorry he had a bad day, tell him about a bad day that they have had, or give him advice about how to have a better day next time.

3. After reading the story, have each student write about his/her own "worst day ever" and share with the class, if they are comfortable with sharing what they have written.

4. After reading the story, have students brainstorm a different ending to the book and write it down. They can do this individually or as small groups of two or three. Each group may create illustrations for their idea if they choose. When they are finished, have each group present their idea to the class.

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1. This book underscores the religious themes that accompany the Christmas season and explores the symbolism of the candy cane in telling the Christmas story. Before reading, bring a candy cane into class and examine it with the students. See if they can come up with any ideas of what that the candy cane might represent ("What does it remind you of?"). Then, read the story. After reading, talk about all the symbolism that the candy man found in the candy cane, and see if any of their guesses matched. Finally, have the students write about which symbolic meaning was the most interesting/meaningful/unusual to them.

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1. The Pooka is a fantastical animal that comes to help Jamie O'Rourke clean his house, for a little while. After reading the story to the children, have them invent a creature that helps them accomplish something. Have them draw a picture of their creature and write a description of the creature's name, what it does, and how it came to be. Then display the creatures.

2. What if everyone was as lazy as Jamie O'Rourke? Present this question to your class after reading the book. Have children brainstorm what the world would be like if everyone was lazy. Write down their ideas on the board or on a big piece of paper. Once they have come up with as many ideas as possible, review what they have written and see what they think of a world like the one they described. You could also alter this extension so that students only give you adjectives of this "lazy world" or they have to pick out the adjectives on the idea list.

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1. This activity is probably for older elementary students. One of this book's themes is overcoming adversity. After reading the book, have students think of a time when they had to work hard to solve a problem or when they overcame an obstacle. Then, have them write a letter to a friend who is going through a hard time (hypothetically), encouraging them to persevere. In the letter they should share how they dealt with their obstacle, and they may also share about the Navajo boy's struggle and victory.

2. For any grade from first grade and up. The boy has a very close relationship with his grandfather in the book. After reading the story, ask the class what made the boy and his grandfather close. How could you tell that they had a good relationship? Then have the children think of a special person in their life whom they have a similar relationship with. Have them then write letters thanking those people for being a part of their lives. You may need to help students think of specific things to write in their letters.

3. *Spoiler alert: Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses is blind. * After reading the book, have student complete various tasks blindfolded to gain an understanding for how hard simple tasks are for the visually impaired. Some activities could be: putting on dress up clothes, writing their name, making a sandwich, or walking from one end of the room to another. Use your imagination. Also consider safety as to which tasks you choose and where you do them. After the class completes your tasks, discuss how it went and how they felt about it.

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1. This book is all about giving thanks for everything and admiring beauty in life. The book also rhymes and seems poetic. Before reading the story, have each child in the class brainstorm things that they are thankful for on a piece of paper. Then read the story aloud to your class. Talk about how the author used elements of poetry in his writing. Also talk about the things that the girl was thankful for. Now have your class revise their brainstorm lists and prepare to write a short poem of thanksgiving themselves. You can decide if you want them to emulate the author's poetic style or if you want them to use whatever style they are comfortable with.

2. This book talks a lot about being thankful for nature. After reading the book, take your class on a nature walk, if possible, and have them pay attention to the beauty around them. After the walk, discuss ways to show thanks for the world around you as a class and implement one of them (planting a tree together, picking up litter nearby, planting flowers around the school, etc.).

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1. After reading the book, tell the story of Rumpelstiltskin to the class. Use your best storytelling dramatic flair! Then have them compare and contrast the traditional story of Rumpelstiltskin and the story of his daughter. Draw a Venn diagram on the whiteboard and have the children write on a sticky note to place in one of the circles.

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1. After reading this book, come up with your own story as a class. Choose an animal (e.g. a cow) and a food (e.g. a donut), and come up with an entire story based on the framework of Laura Numeroff's book. (e.g. "If you give a cow a donut, he'll want some hot chocolate to wash it down. If you give him the hot chocolate . . . " and so on.)

2. Print out images that represent different stages in the book (i.e. a cookie, a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, a mirror, etc.) and have children sequence the story. If using with younger children, have the students sequence the story as the teacher reads the book aloud. (Pinterest)

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1. After reading this book, have children think of what it would be like to move across the world to Korea (the main character in the story moved from Korea to America). Do research as a class to find out more about Korean culture, food, houses, cities, people, school, etc. When children think they have a pretty good idea of what Korea is like, have them write a letter to their best friend back home describing what it is like to "live" in this new culture and how it differs from the American culture they are used to.

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1. This book was written from the excerpts of Laura Ingalls' diary. As you read chapter by chapter, encourage children to keep their own diaries of what happens at school and at home day by day. Ms. Wilder took ordinary events like chores, going to school, listening to a bedtime story, hearing her pa play the fiddle, or wanting a doll, and was able to see that even these things can be special memories. As children begin to write in their diaries, encourage them to see how the events they are recording can be special.

2. Ms. Wilder talks about making candy for Christmas by drizzling molasses on a pan filled with snow and letting it harden. Try this with your students and see if they like it. Brainstorm other things to pour over snow to make different-flavored candy, and (if plausible) try them out.

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Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (McNulty)

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Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (McNulty)

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1. After reading this book, go around the classroom collecting shoes (from students willing to part with theirs for this activity) and make a large pile in the center of the classroom. Talk about the different kinds of shoes in the room and their characteristics: color, texture, heels vs. no heels, laces vs. no laces, running shoes, dress shoes, flip flops, etc. Brainstorm ways you can sort them, such as by these characteristics. After practicing sorting into smaller piles based on similar characteristics, lay 2 hula hoops on the floor, criss-crossed into a Venn Diagram shape. Now sort the shoes again, using the center oval of the Venn Diagram for shoes that share characteristics but are not clearly on one side or the other. (Pinterest)

2. Have students use crayons (or chalk on black paper) to rub the bottoms of each child's shoes in the classroom. Write the name of the child on the back of the rubbing. Make a chart on the board of all the types of shoes (running shoes, Toms, flats, flip flops) that your class can think of, and collect the shoe rubbings. Next, look at each rubbing together and decide as a class what classification on the chart that rubbing belongs under. Next, reveal the name on the back of the shoe rubbing, and see if that child's shoes match the classification on the board that the rubbing was placed under.

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1. Use this book as a model for children to use to write their own stories. After reading the story, have the students think of a responsibility they have. Do a pre-writing activities where they list the steps to completing their responsibility. Reread "The Paperboy" and discuss the descriptions and the language used to enhance the story and help the reader understand all that goes into the job (emotions, setting, etc.). Have students add these details to each step of their list. Use the list and details as a guide for writing a story about their chosen responsibility.
2. Have students add times to each event of the story. Have students research when the sun rises and how long a traditional paper route takes. Apply this information to create times for when the boy's alarm would go off, when he would start his route, be in the middle of his route, and end his route and climb back in bed. Present the information in both analog and digital formats.

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1. Read the first 8 pages of the book. Stop and have the children write lists of everything Christmas makes them think of, family traditions, expectations, exciting events, hopes, etc. THEN, read the rest of the book and have children write lists of things they could do for others in their community during the Christmas season. (Make sure the students have sense of balance at the end of the lesson. The first list isn't "bad" and the second list isn't "good". Help them to see that the best thing is balance during the holidays.)