Based on Books Level - Kindergarten Originated By: Jan Blecha, Kindergarten Teacher Dudley Elementary, Gothenburg, NE Introduction The following ideas could be adapted to use with our big spiral-bound books, items SB1616 and SB1632. A House Is A House For Me 1. The words went something like this, A house can be big. A house can be small.... But a home is the house for a family. I had the kids finish the sentence A house can be. I wrote it on a piece of white adding machine tape in pencil. The kids finished the sentence in pencil, then copied over all the words with their choice of marker. I put those aside then we started on the pages. The kids painted the back grounds for each page on a large piece of construction paper, blue for the sky, green for grass. They had to paint the entire piece of paper. Next we made houses out of different art mediums, water color, crayon, construction paper, glyphs, etc. I sat down with each child and all their pieces of the pages and guided them in putting the pages together. They chose which house they wanted to be glued to the page, and where to put it. Then I glued their sentence to the bottom of the page. The last thing I did before it was bound was have them decorate the rest of the page, and laminate the pages. I bound it all together with chicken rings. It is the most popular book in the class right now. 2. A House Is a House For Me The children had to think of something that can be a house for some thing else. A is a house for a. 3. We made books in the shape of a house. On the front was the title: "The home that love built." Inside the books the kids told stories, drew pictures of family members and cut out collages of their favorite meals. Lots of parent feedback about keeping these mementos around and the kids took great pride in talking about their families. Alphabugs by David A. Carter Have the kids think of a "bug" that would start with each letter of the alphabet. You can either chart all the "bugs" first, and assign them or simply assign a letter to each child. A Time for Sleeping It talks about where different animals sleep. The kids will complete the allowing sentence for a book: A sleeps in a.
page 2 Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear (children think of another animal and draw it color it in whatever color they like and the page now reads I see a looking at me. Write in color and animal. Or another version of this is to use each child in the class for each page example: I see Mary Jones Looking at me. Each child draws a self portrait and of course they all see their teacher at the end. Great first book of the year! 2. Each child makes is his own page and I add the color and name of the next animal when I compile the book. I end with "I see Mrs. Kramer's class looking at me and paste a picture of the whole class on the last page. 3. Use the kids names instead and change the phrase (Bobby, Bobby, who do you see?, etc.) Kids drew self portraits for the pages and picked who they wanted to "see" (who the next page would be). Title it "Kindergartner, Kindergartner Who Do You See?" 4. For our sea unit, we did starfish, starfish what do you see? Each child picked their own sea animal, had to write the lines, ie starfish, starfish, what do you see? I see a dolphin looking at me. Then they illustrated their page, and I bound them into a book. 5. Each child draws a picture of an animal. You should decide if they need to be real or if they can be make-believe. I xerox on to the paper before giving it the child the following sentences, what do you see? I see a looking at me. Then I just fill in the blanks with the children. 6. "Baby, Baby, Who could you be?" It is taken from the popular story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear Who do you see?". I had the parents each bring a picture of there child now and one of them as a baby. I photo copied the pictures and then put the baby picture on one side of the page and wrote "Baby, baby, who could you be?". Then I turned the page over and put the picture of them now and wrote "I am (child's name), that's me!". The children really liked it and I even included a picture of me. They loved to guess who the picture was before they turned the page. I teach 4 and 5 year olds and even my youngest 4's could "read" this book. 7. I took pictures of them on the first day of school. I also had my picture taken, my partner teachers, the principal and vice principal, and the librarian. I put each picture on the center of a page. On the top of each page I wrote: I see (child's name) looking at me. Under their picture I wrote (child's name, child's name,) who do you see? I started with the kids and ended up with myself and the principal and staff. The kids LOVE this book and it helps them learn the spelling of names. 8. The same idea but it is pictures of them in their Halloween costumes. I am also in this one (lucky me!). I don't use the child's name but the name of what/who they are. 9. I do one similar to the above. At the beginning of the year our Pre-K classes all do a Gingerbread Man unit as an introduction to the school...i'm sure you're familiar with it...they make a GB Man and he runs away and they learn about the school building and staff by chasing him around the school to different locales each day. (Nurse, VP, P, Custodian, PE, Cafeteria workers, etc.) In the end they catch up with him and get to eat him. Well, I don't like doing the GBMan at that time of year because I prefer saving it to do a big GB unit at Christmas, so I use Brown Bear instead. I have a stuffed brown bear who runs away from the classroom and we do about the same thing as above, looking for him around the school. We follow bear paw prints in the hallway and when we arrive at a specific place, we take a picture of of the staff member who tells us about BB being there but we just missed him and that staff member gives us a clue as to where he was heading (he was really hungry, or he stubbed his toe, etc.) Next day we see more bear prints and almost find him again, etc. Each day we make a page in our Brown Bear book (BB, BB Who do you see? I see the nurse looking at me.) When we finally
page 3 find him, we have a big celebration in the room and take a picture of the whole class with BB for the last page. It's a favorite book all year. 10. Shape Monster... a book This is a take-off of Brown Bear, Brown Bear and goes like this... p1 Shape Monster, Shape Monster, munch, munch, munch... How about a red circle for your lunch? page 2 blue square page 3 yellow triangle page 4 green rectangle page 5 orange oval page 6 purple diamond page 7 goes Shape Monster Shape Monster (top of page) Munch, Munch, Munch (bottom of page) For each of the shape pages the children trace that shape on the middle of their page, color it whatever color it says and then tear pieces of paper (again in the asked for color) and fill in the shape using torn paper pieces and glue. On the last page, they make their own shape monster using pre-cut shapes. They can use crayons to add details to it. Caps For Sale Have the child draw a picture of himself as the peddler with what they want to sell on top of their heads. On the bottom of the page I write,, for sale. Fifty cents a. The children write what they are selling in the blanks. Ie.. Cats, cats for sale. Fifty cents a cat. Caps, Hats, and Mittens I usually do a "seasons" book. I read "Caps, Hats, and Mittens" by Louise W. Borden. Then each students does a page for the class book. They copy from the board "Winter is..." Some can finish the sentence themselves. For others I write what they say and they copy it. They like to read these books. Chickens Aren t the Only Ones "Chickens aren't the only ones", which talks about the different animals that come from eggs. The first day I have children decorate or paint a very large 'egg' shape cut from newsprint. Then the second day I have them think of an animal that they would like to see come out of their egg (real or imaginary) and then draw the animal on a matching egg shape. The children then write at the bottom of their picture what it is, such as a chick or a dinosaur. (they use inventive spelling) We staple the "Easter Egg" over their picture to make a flip book. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs The children had paper that said "Chewandswallow Weather Report" Today it is cloudy with a chance of. The children had to think of what types of food they would want to rain from the sky. They need to think of what would be served with the meal such as condiments and beverages.
page 4 Color Zoo Based on the book by Lois Ehlert I set out a pile of rectangles and squares, reminded them how to turn those shapes into circles and triangles, then let them use the shapes to make animals. They were SO creative!! Cookie s Week Paddy the Leprechaun's Week (based on Cookies Week) Curious George Goes to the Dentist (or any number of places) Have children write or dictate sentence to describe other places George goes and illustrate. Down By the Bay Another book we do is Down By The Bay...After reading this book we brainstorm some silly rhymes example: Have you ever seen the moon eating with a spoon? Down by the Bay. Each child comes up with their pair of silly rhymes and they illustrate this and teacher writes the dictation. Great rhyming lesson too! Grandpa, Grandpa A Story Box book - Wright Group My kids made Daddy,Daddy Good Night Moon Good Night Moon was rewritten as Good Night School. The children drew a picture of something or someone in the school they would say good night to if they slept here. The were given a piece of paper that said "Good Night " The Hungry Thing I have a paper with a picture of the hungry thing on it. The children have to draw a food they would feed the hungry thing. On the bottom of the paper it says:, said the Hungry Thing sounds like to me. ie... Frapple, said the Hungry Thing sounds like apple to me. This is part of our rhyming theme. The children have to think of a rhyming word for the food they have chosen. I Went Walking 1. Following a spring walk, we make a book about what we saw: I saw a. I went walking. What did you see? I saw a (color) (object) looking at me. The real book has animals. 2. We read the book "I Went Walking" and then take a tour of the school yard at the beginning of the year. Each child picks one object they have seen. We then write on a blank page with the words I went walking and I saw a (description word ie. big, brown, huge etc.) then the name of the item seen. If I Were in Charge of the World by Judith Viorst Have children dictate or write what they would like to have happen differently in their world. Make a front cover by copying a picture of a globe, and have the children write and draw on round pieces of paper the same size.
page 5 If You Give a Pig a Pancake They each had a paper that said, "If you give a a. They fill in the words and illustrate. In a Dark Dark Wood Story Box - Wright Group My kids made In a Dark, Dark Castle It Looked Like Spilt Milk 1. We use blue paper, white paint. Fold the paper in half, put a few drops of white tempera on one half, fold and rub. They dictate what it looks like afterward. 2. The children were given a blue piece of construction paper and a white piece of paper they had to tear the white piece to look like a cloud in the sky. Sometimes it looked like, but it wasn't. The Jigaree 1. The Jigaree is another great book to use for a lesson on action words. If you know this big book then you will understand what I mean. Each child comes up with another action the jigaree could be doing and they complete this verse. I can see a Jigaree it is after me here there Jigaree's everywhere! This could read. I can see a Jigaree. It is dancing after me. Dancing here, dancing there, Jigarees dance everywhere! Brainstorming a list of action words is a great lesson to do in advance of this one. Each child illustrates this Jigaree doing this action and they fill in the blanks with the action word of their choice. The King's Pudding We named ours Dad's Hamburger. We did it in the shape of a hamburger. Dad made a hamburger. It was round. It was brown. It smelled delicious. Dad picked up the burger but Mother yelled, Stop! Stop! It might be to hot. I will taste it for you. So Mother took a bite. Munch, munch. Crunch, crunch. Gobble, gobble. No it wasn't too hot, said Mother. But some of the hamburger was gone. Dad picked up the burger. Brother yelled, Stop! Stop! It might be too cold. I will taste it for you. No it wasn't too cold,said brother. But more of the burger was gone. Then the story continues with sister offering help because the hamburger might be too salty and then all the hamburger was gone.so dad made another and when they all asked to help he said no he would taste it himself. McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss We created our own crazy fish: I see a. They got to paint these! The Meanies (A Story Box book - Wright Group) The Green Grumpies!!! Goodness Gracious the Things They Do...done during Gg week. A knock off of the book The Meanies that we had read and enjoyed a lot.
page 6 Mary Wore A Red Dress 1. Each child draws him/herself in what they are wearing that day. The children and I fill in the blanks name, wore a (color of clothes), (color of clothes), (color of clothes), name, wore a (color of clothes), all day long. 2. Class book based on the story Mary Wore A Red Dress-I usually do this book the first couple of weeks of the school year. I give the children a sheet of paper which has room at the top for them to draw a picture of themselves at the bottom is the following: wore a,,. wore a all day long. Example of how this would look: Tom wore a green shirt, green shirt,green shirt. Tom wore a green shirt all day long. The children love these two class books-we just reread them this week and they were so excited to see their drawings from the fall. I used these two activities during a theme about colors. 3. Mary Wore Her Red Dress was rewritten as wore his/her costume, costume, costume. wore his/her costume all night long. This was titled We Wore Our Halloween Costumes The Mitten by Jan Brett "My Mitten Was So Big" based on The Mitten. Have the kids base their story on this story using other animals. The children were given a paper with a mitten drawn on it. They had to decided what they think could now fit in the mitten. My mitten is so big that a could fit inside. Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Canizares and Moreton 1. I'm going to have the kids create a page about an animal sound they hear: I hear a (animal) (sound - roaring, etc.) at me. 2. Kindergartner, Kindergartner... Have the kids create a page about what they hear. 3. This book is written with one word action phases of things that polar bears do. The children had to think of actions that kindergartners can do. Put me in the Zoo The children come up with one unique thing they can do (ex. stand on my head, twirl a basketball, etc.). "They would (Child's name) in the zoo if they could see what (he/she) could do. (child's name) can (funny thing). Seven Eggs We first read the book "Seven Eggs" by Meredith Hooper The book is about what comes out of eggs each day of the week. We do a rewrite of the story and then illustrate it.
page 7 The Shape of Things by D.A. Dodds' Each illustration is accompanied by text that reads: "A (shape) is just a (shape) until you add..." After reading the book, each child received one of four cut-out shapes (circle, square, rectangle and triangle). He/She then had to use this shape to create a picture using the shape as the basis of an object. After the children drew their pictures, I asked them what they made from their shape and what they had added to the shape to make the object (ex. "A rectangle is a rectangle until you add some fringe, then it becomes a rug."). We also made a class book from photographs I had taken as the children made and "erupted" volcanoes from clay. I scanned the pictures, brought them to school and asked the children to help me write the words. This was a great project, as the children were asked to sequence our steps and to use precise vocabulary. This book by far is one of my childrens' favorites! Ten Apples Up On Top 1. Apples up On Top! (name) had (#) apples up on top. Child's picture with diecut apples up on top. 2. Variation: Using computer pictures with the quicktake camera, erase everything but the head. Have the children draw their own body in a certain surrounding. For example, some this year drew themselves in school, on the playground, riding a bike, etc. Then the children used apple stickers and wrote the number of apples in the sentence, has up on top. Titled it How Many Apples Up On Top? Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews One dot can make an elephant's eye (just an example). Two dots can make etc. Tengo SeisAnos This book talks about kids doing various activities at Kindergarten (building with blocks, brushing their teeth, etc.). We did a similar book. Along the same lines, we used photographs and did a "This is the Way" book. Kids picked what they wanted to include. Today is Monday (poem/song) by Eric Carle I read the book to the class, and got them thinking what kind of food they like. Each child will have a page, and we will keep going through the days of the week until all the kids get a page. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 1. Children name other food the caterpillar can eat and write sentences about it. If the illustrations are drawn close enough to the bottom, you can punch through them with a hole punch. 2. We make "A Very Hungry Kindergartner" (a spin off of the Hungry Caterpillar book). It goes like this: In September, (child's name) ate one (color word) (favorite food) but he (or she) was still hungry. We use this pattern using all of the months until June. In June, July, & August, (child's name) rested... and then he/she turned into a wonderful first grader! The children illustrate each page using the colors chosen.
page 8 Last year we made this book doing one page each month. By the end of the year we had a great writing sample - there was a big difference in how they wrote in September and how they wrote in June. 3. I also do this book project, but I add a picture from the quicktake camera. For example, In September, (child s name) collected beautiful colored leaves. In October, carved a jack-olantern. We use this pattern using all of the months until June. In June, July, & August, (child's name) rested... and then he/she turned into a wonderful first grader! Take pictures and down load them on their pages. Have them decorate around the picture and finish the sentence. The parents love this and it is a treasured book that will be kept forever. 4. Based on the above book, the children make the big book, The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar. On each page I include this poem: Hungry Mr. Caterpillar Was looking for a treat Said he to the. What s good to eat? said to the Caterpillar, If you re hungry for a treat Try a. It s good to eat! By the poem is a caterpillar. I have several pictures of animals ready for them to use. They paste the picture by the caterpillar and draw what the animal will eat. I also put a flap of paper over their drawing of the food that they can lift up as they read the poem. They then can fill in the blanks with their animal and food. We Are Monsters Scholastic Hello Reader This class likes monsters and have drawn monsters in the past during centertime at the art table. Someone voiced a desire to do a monster book. They decided our book will be named, Some Special Monsters. We are drawing monsters today. After they have drawn and colored their monsters, we will go over the entire page with a 'naked crayon' to present a finished look to their artistry. (We just rub the light colored crayon sideways over the entire picture.) My assistant sits at the computer and types their dictated stories as they speak them to her. We have a helper in the room today so he will cut and paste them onto the pages, my assistant will bind the book in the media and home it goes. Sample page: My monster's name is Big Guy. He can lift a house and put it on the next street. Some possible discussion questions: What's your monster's name? What can your monster do? What is your monster's favorite food? What do you like about your monster? Where does your monster live? How much does your monster weigh? Are you afraid of your monster? Is your monster afraid of people?
page 9 Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen 1. We start out the first day of school. We read the book, Will I Have a Friend? As the children pair off at recess, we take pictures of two children at a time. During the next few days we talk about what a friend does or is and tell one nice thing about the kid in the snap with us. We call the book, I Found a Friend at School or something like that. We start sending it home with one child each night. I write a letter inside the cover introducing the parents to our class-made books and tell them the rules: 1. Keep the book neat and clean by placing it back in your book bag after you have shared it. 2. Write an answer or comment to the question in the back of the book. Something topical to the subject of the book. Do you have a best friend? or Why are friends important. Sometimes, we just ask, How did you like our book or Tell us how you liked our book. 3. Bring the book back tomorrow so that someone else can take it home.