THE JOY OF READING ENGLISH PICTURE BOOKS (13th Primary School of Trikala, Rizario (4th & 6th Grades, 2014-1015,Teacher: Sophia Papagoula) by Sophia Papagoula

6th Grade: Exploring THE SMARTES GIANT IN TOWN by Julia Donaldson

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-24 11:01:06 UTC

Julia Donaldson has created a book which explores the nature of self confidence and the need to help. The book is about a kind hearted giant who thinks of others first rather than himself. He was known as the ‘scruffiest giant’ in the town. He buys himself some smart new clothes, however, when he meets animals on his way home that are in need of help he gives away all of his new clothes (leaving himself with nothing). Then, towards the end, the creatures he helped return the favour and help out their new friend. .

Our activities

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-24 11:24:26 UTC

We did a lot of activities before, while and after reading the book.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-24 17:44:55 UTC

We created our own mini books!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-24 17:47:43 UTC

Have a look at them!

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We also made paper plate masks...

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sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-24 20:46:03 UTC

Here are some pictures from the rehearsals...

A book about wishes...

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-26 19:51:27 UTC

George, the Smartest Giant in Town, is so generous that he sacrifices his only wish to assist those who are in need. Inspired by his kindness, we thought we could do something to help seriously-ill children's wishes come true!!! So we donated to the Make-a-Wish foundation and we decorated our Christmas trees with the lovely stars!

Enjoy THE SMARTEST GIANT IN TOWN read aloud...

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-26 21:10:34 UTC

WE LOVE READING ENGLISH PICTURE BOOKS!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 16:14:32 UTC

We then read THE GRUFFALO by Julia Donaldson...

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 16:29:06 UTC

The story is about a quick-thinking little mouse walking in the deep dark wood. On his way the mouse encounters several dangerous animals intending to eat him.To evade danger, the cunning mouse tells each animal that he has plans to dine with a gruffalo, a monster-like creature. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat it, each animal flees. After getting rid of the last animal, the mouse is shocked to encounter a real gruffalo – with all the frightening features the mouse thought that he was inventing...

The book plays skilfully on a child's fears and then shows that even the most threatening of monsters are not always as scary as they seem.

PROJECT: OUR CLASS BOOK 'FROM HEAD TO TOE'

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 17:19:04 UTC

This is a collaborative class book based on Eric Carle's 'From head to toe' but instead of Carle's animals we present ourselves acting out movements from the story!

...and did lots of activities

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 19:07:40 UTC

He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws... He has knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisounous wart at the end of his nose. His eyes are orange, his tongue is black; He has purple prickles all over his back... He's the Gruffalo!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 19:48:00 UTC

We also watched the DVD of the Gruffalo...

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 19:49:42 UTC

...and as a follow-up we read the story of the Gruffalo's Child

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 20:02:24 UTC

We did have SUCH GREAT FUN!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-05-27 20:09:17 UTC

Names of participating students (6th Grade):

Stamatina G.

Maria G.

Konstantina H.

Chris M.

Raphael M.

Konstantinos P.

Jim T.

Effie T.

Demmy T.

Aggelos T.

Mary Z.

4th GRADERS EXPLORING ERIC CARLE'S PICTURE BOOKS

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sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-03 18:31:07 UTC

This year Class D had the chance to dive into some popular books by Eric Carle like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', 'From Head to Toe' and many more! So many great opportunities for fun discussions, interactive storytelling, lots of learning, songs, games, giggles and cool projects! Follow us to the colourful world of Eric Carle!!!!!!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-03 18:49:44 UTC

As an introduction to the art of Eric Carle we took a virtual tour of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

CLASS D EXPLORING 'FROM HEAD TO TOE' by ERIC CARLE

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-03 20:03:11 UTC

What does a giraffe do? It bends its neck. Can you? This interactive story invites children to imitate animal movements. Watching gorillas thump their chests or monkeys wave their arms is fun, but nothing could be better than joining in. From their heads down to their toes, kids are wriggling, jiggling, and giggling as they try to keep up with these animals! Alligators wiggle, elephants stomp, seals clap, and donkeys kick. Can you do it? ‘ I CAN DO IT!’ is the confidence-building message of this fun-filled interactive picture book. As children play, they learn such important skills as careful listening, focusing attention, and following instructions. This story book is particularly useful for EFL learners as it has loads of possible actions for TPR (Total Physical Response), covers a range of possible language points and ties in well with songs.

We were shown flashcards in order to learn vocabulary of animals, body parts and movements. We read through the book trying to guess the animal as it was gradually revealed. We did some worksheets too.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-05 20:25:27 UTC

We acted out all the body movements that the animals do in the book.

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sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 09:11:26 UTC

Before reading the book we sang our much-loved song "Head, shoulders, knees and toes"fast, slow and then fast again (a good workout to start with)!!! The song was perfect as preparation for the story...

Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and toes. Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and toes. Eyes and ears and mouth and nose. Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and toes.

Time for a song (or maybe two???)

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 13:13:16 UTC

We watched a video of the 'From Head to Toe Song' on youtube and that helped us memorize the action words more easily.....

WATCH OUR VIDEO - FROM HEAD TO TOE SONG

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 13:45:03 UTC

... and of course we sang along!!!

Watch us singing it!!!

IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 14:48:02 UTC

We also sang 'if you're happy and you know it' but we changed the lyrics a bit to include actions from the book.

WATCH OUR VIDEO - SIMON SAYS

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 15:55:42 UTC

IT'S PLAY TIME !!!

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Singing is fun but playing games is MORE fun!!!

We played lots of games.

We played 'Statues'. The teacher said, 'I'm a (animal e.g. penguin) and I can....' and we had to complete the sentence as well as demonstrate the action, When the teacher said "Stop" we had to stand like statues. If someone moved they had to sit down. The three children left were the winners.

We palyed a guessing game. One of us picked a flashcard with an animal on it and the other students asked Yes/ No questions with “Can it…?” until they guessed what the animal was.

We finally played 'Simon says'. Our teacher was designated Simon and told us what to do (actions from the book). We had to only follow commands that began with the words 'Simon says' . If someone performed commands that were not preceded by the phrase 'SImon says', they were out of the game. So we had to follow directions and stay in the game for as long as possible.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 17:26:13 UTC

Of course we all had a copy of the book.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 17:43:31 UTC

We aso learned a new one

that we sang to the tune of 'Where is thumbkin'.

Here are the lyrics:

Song : I Can Do It!

I can do it! I can do it! Yes, I can! Yes, I can! Everyone can do it! Everyone can do it!

Yes, we can!

6th GRADERS EXPLORING PICTURE BOOKS BY JULIA DONALDSON

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 18:07:33 UTC

This year the 6th grade class explored books by Julia Donaldson the outrageously talented, prize-winning author of the world's most-loved picture books including The Gruffalo and The Smartest Giant in Town. Julia is the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate and is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Children can't resist joining in with her perfect rhythm and rhyme while the illustrations of her books introduce them to a host of amazing worlds.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-07 18:37:50 UTC

We first visited Julia Donaldson's official website to get some information about her.

Are you fans of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR? WE DEFINITELY ARE!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-08 15:36:23 UTC

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the greatest childhood classics of all time.

Our teacher told us It is sold somewhere in the world EVERY 30 SECONDS!!!

It is the simple story of a caterpillar that eats his way through different foods on each of the seven days of the week. The caterpillar gets very fat. He builds a cocoon and then emerges as a beautiful butterfly

There are 'eaten' holes in the pages and simple text with educational themes - counting, days of the weeks, colours, food, and a butterfly's life cycle. What's most appealing are the unique illustrations and bright colours of the book!!!

On the 40th anniversary of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' Eric Carle talked about what had inspired him to write this book.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-08 19:00:00 UTC

"...When I was a small boy, my father would say, "Eric, come out of your cocoon." He meant I should open up and be receptive to the world around me."

We found him very cute!!! Watch this video and we're sure you'll agree with us.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-08 19:10:42 UTC

While our teacher was reading aloud the story we were trying to guess what the caterpillar would eat next...needless to say, no one guessed what he ate on Saturday...!!! Anyway, most of us guessed that the caterpillar would turn into a butterfly in the end, but we couldn't imagine how beautifully colourful that butterfly would be...!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-08 19:29:35 UTC

...and as the teacher was reading the story we joined in by bringing up the appropriate foods. The flashcards also hepled us learn the vocabulary through guessing games that we played....

A listening & a wordsearch activity.

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sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-09 15:47:55 UTC

We made our own caterpillar and butterfly paper puppets...

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR ACTIVITIES

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....and we did several worksheets and activities that were fun!!!

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A Happy Spring Card

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Finish a symmetrical drawing

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A mini book

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We did a lot of singing too!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-09 19:51:43 UTC

Watch us singing

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-09 20:23:18 UTC

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The very hungry caterpillar

curled up on a leaf

Spin himself a chrysalis

and then fell fast asleep

While he was sleeping

He dreamed that he could fly

And when at last he woke up

He was a butterfly!

What about another video of us singing?

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-09 20:55:48 UTC

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Song (sung to the tune of 10 Little Indians)

On Sunday, 1 little egg, on Sunday 1 little egg, on Sunday 1 little egg, out comes a caterpillar.

On Monday, 1 red apple, on Monday 1 red apple, on Monday 1 red apple, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Tuesday, 2 yellow pears, on Tuesday 2 yellow pears, on Tuesday 2 yellow pears, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Wednesday, 3 purple plums, on Wednesday 3 purple plums, on Wednesday 3 purple plums, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Thursday, 4 red strawberries, on Thursday, 4 red strawberries, on Thursday, 4 red strawberries, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Friday, 5 oranges, on Friday 5 oranges, on Friday 5 oranges, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Saturday, too much food, on Saturday, too much food, on Saturday, too much food, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

On Sunday, 1 green leaf, on Sunday, 1 green leaf, on Sunday, 1 green leaf, that’s what the caterpillar eats.

In his cocoon, he goes to sleep, in his cocoon, he goes to sleep, in his cocoon, he goes to sleep, that’s what the caterpillar does.

Out comes a butterfly, out comes a butterfly, out comes a butterfly, isn’t that a great surprise!

The Amazing Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 06:54:54 UTC

We talked about metamorphosis and all the stages a caterpillar goes through until it gets a butterfly. We also watched a very interesting video.

TODAY IS MONDAY by Eric Carle

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 15:07:51 UTC

Another classic by Eric Carle, full of colourful images and simple text. The book features days of the week, starting with Monday and pairs it with an animal and a food. The huge, full page images are absolutely wonderful and the simple text is fun and easy to comprehend.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 17:06:11 UTC

Watch us performing the song!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 17:46:23 UTC

What we liked most was the song!!! We had great fun while trying to remember the food for each day and accompanying body movement.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Game.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 17:58:54 UTC

Playtime...AGAIN!!! Caterpillars and Twigs (instead of Snakes and Ladders) and pictures with keys to move back or forward.

We coloured our board game sheets, we grabbed our pawns and dice and ... off we went!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 18:59:48 UTC

Video again!!!

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Yeah!!! I won.....Oh no! I lost...

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR WHAT DO YOU SEE? by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 19:08:25 UTC

The repetition and colorful illustrations in this classic picture book make it a favourite of many children. On each page, we meet a new animal who helps us discover which creature will show up next. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? I see a redbird looking at me...". This pattern is repeated over and over, until the children can join in, easily predicting the next lines. Giggles and raised eyebrows will accompany the story as the animals become stranger and stranger (a purple cat!?).

What about a 'song' version of the book?

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 19:32:48 UTC

DVD: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other stories by Eric Carle

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 19:44:28 UTC

As our project was coming to an end, our teacher had a surprise for us;

a DVD with 5 animations that brought Carle's stories to life.

The DVD included: The Very Hungry Caterpillar;

The Very Quiet Cricket;

The Mixed Up Chameleon;

Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me;

and I See A Song

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 20:11:23 UTC

WE LOVED OUR PROJECT THIS YEAR!!!

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 20:12:58 UTC

Names of participating students (class D):

Evelina B.

Thomai B.

Apostolis D.

Georgia D.

Helen D.

Athanasia G.

Chris K.

Thanasis K

Nick P.

Eva R.

Vassiliki T.

Panos T.

Manolis Z.

Marialena Z.

sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-10 20:25:04 UTC

...AND WE PERFORMED THE STORY!!!

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sophia_papagoula — 2015-06-16 19:38:14 UTC

...and The Smartest Giant in Town song.

sophia_papagoula — 2019-01-05 19:42:20 UTC

We played a board game too...

sophia_papagoula — 2019-01-05 21:24:15 UTC