This is the place to post ideas about promoting literature, fun activities to promote literacy, different genres or authors, etc.
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"What Have You Read?" Ice Breaker Activity
Grades: 4-6
This activity is a great "getting to know you" ice breaker activity. I used it with 5th graders on our first day of library skills class. I used the reproducible "What Have You Read?" from page 47 of the Nov. 2006 issue of Library Sparks. It features a 5 x 5 grid similar to a Bingo board with statements related to books and reading, like "reads the newspaper," "reads before going to bed," "likes nonfiction better than fiction," and "owns at least 10 books." The object is for students to get to know the reading habits of their peers by having classmates sign their name in a box they agree with. I only let them collect one signature from each classmate (so your best friend can't sign your paper five times) and challenged them to see who could get the most "bingos" (five in a row across, down, or diagonally). At the end of class, I also read a few of the boxes and asked them to stand if the statement was true for them. I played with them and was very popular because I could sign the "read all the Harry Potter books" box. We had lots of fun, it got them talking about reading, and I plan to do it again next year.
Jon Scieszka Author Study
Grades: 3-4
I combined materials from a couple of different sources for a successful three-lesson Jon Scieszka (pronounced SHESS-ka) author study unit. I began by showing both his picture books and chapter books, including The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man, Science Verse (with a CD of the author and illustration reading the poems – it’s great), and titles from the Time Warp Trio series. We talked about humor being this author’s trademark. Most of the kids were familiar with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, so I focused on The Stinky Cheese Man by reading parts of it and showing some of its funny features. I also read aloud the first couple chapters of Knights of the Kitchen Table. After previewing some of Scieszka’s books, I used a lesson from The Mailbox Bookbag June/July 2007, “Jon Scieszka: a Nonfiction Reading Selection and Comprehension-Building Activities,” by Amy Satkoski, pages 53-56, 63. The lesson includes a five paragraph biography of Scieszka and a couple of vocabulary terms. We read this aloud and that concluded lesson one. For lesson two, we reviewed the vocab terms and re-read the biography. Next I handed out page 56, which asks students to evaluate whether each statement is true or false and write the number of the paragraph that helped the student decide. I checked students’ papers as they finished and had them correct any items they missed. Students who finished were allowed to browse the Scieszka books. For lesson three, I read aloud a bit more from Knights of the Kitchen Table, showed a couple of brief online video clips of a Jon Scieszka interview from Reading Rockets http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/scieszka. We finished up by listening to the author and illustrator read poetry from Science Verse while I displayed the pictures from the book. An optional extension would be to watch the Reading Rainbow video "Math Cure," which features Scieszka’s book Math Curse.
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
Poetry Scavenger Hunt
Grades: 3-8
I love doing this activity with kids because it opens their eyes to the fact that poetry can be really fun! I do it with 5th graders and begin by pulling a variety of poetry books from the library shelves and displaying them on library tables. I divide the kids into groups of 3-4 students each and give each group a poetry scavenger hunt page. Each page lists a variety of categories, and I ask students to find the best poem they can for each category. Some categories: funny, sports, school, nature, rhyming. When they find a good poem, I have them list the poem, book title, author, and page number (simple bibliography skills at work here!) so they can find it again later. At the next class session, I give them more time to complete their scavenger hunt. Then I let each group pick 2 of their favorite poems to read aloud and share. I give them time to practice reading them aloud, and we arrange the room so that all chairs face the “teacher stool” in the middle. The kids love getting to sit on the “teacher stool” to read the poem. With remaining time, I allow other volunteers to read aloud to the class or have students share their favorites in small groups. It is lots of fun to hear what they pick, and after this lesson they want to check out the poetry books.
poetry scavenger hunt rtf.rtf
poetry scavenger hunt.pdf
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
Puppet Unit
Grades: K-2
I do a puppet unit with my 1st graders each year. We kick it off with stick puppets I download from Jan Brett’s website and use with the book The Mitten. I made a large mitten from white posterboard and taped a file folder on the back to form a pocket where all the animal puppets can sit.
I let the students know we’re starting a puppet unit and that I’ll be telling different stories and asking them to be my “story helpers” by acting out the story with puppets. I let them know that not everyone will be a helper today, but I will keep track on of who has helped on my class list and make sure that everyone gets a turn. We talk about how to hold the puppets so everyone can see, I model how to move the puppet into the mitten, and we also talk about how important the audience is and how to be a good audience member. The students absolutely love this! The next week, I give each student a mitten and a page with the animals from the story on it, and the kids create their own mini-puppets. When they’re finished, we sing the story together and act it out. The song we used is from “Music: The Mitten and Music” by Betty Keefe, SLMAM March 2007, pages 11-12. (It took two 30-minute class periods for everyone to finish making their mitten and animals.)
I also have some finger puppet stories of classic fairy tales (Three Billy Goats Gruff, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc.) that we use in following weeks to make sure everyone gets to be a story helper. Towards the end of the school year, I set up “puppet centers,” and they were a huge success. I had a variety of puppets from hand puppets to animals puppets set out at four stations in the library (Oriental Trading is a great source for free puppets). I divided the class into four groups. I showed the puppets at each station, told them my expectations for behavior, and allowed them time to play at each center. This activity was a favorite!
This year, I also want to try letting them make their own puppets. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll do sock puppets, paper bag puppets, etc., but I thought that might be a fun addition to the unit.
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
CD-Rom Games
Grades: 1-5
I bought “Library Lollapalooza” and “I Love Books,” a couple of CD-Roms that feature library/reading-related games that run on PowerPoint, and have enjoyed using them with students. The games are exactly the kind of thing I’d make on my own…if I had enough spare time! Topics include: Dewey, Dr. Seuss, notable children’s books, nursery rhymes, Caldecott Awards, basic library use, etc. They’re a great activity to use before holidays, during assessment testing, or just for fun. I’ve been using individual marker boards (“slates”) during the games and they’ve been working well. Sometimes I have each student answer on their own with their own marker board and keep a tally of questions they get right. Other times I divide them into teams and have them answer on one “team” marker board. That way every student is engaged in every question, so I like that. For more information or to purchase the CDs, go to http://librarygames.net/. School Library Journal reviewed “Library Lollapalooza” (http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6455687.html?industryid=47072 scroll down, second from the bottom).
submitted by: Amy Brownlee, K-12 LMS
brownleea@usd376.com
Sterling USD #376
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