Inkpen, M. (2011). Wibbly pig has 10 balloons.
Hodder Children’s Book.
ISBN #: 978-1-444-90266-2
Summary:
This book is about Wibbly Pig who has ten balloons. He is nice to his friends and wants to share the balloons with them. When his friends ask for a balloon, he gives it to them on the condition that they do not take his favourite teddy bear balloon. Tiny Pig took the big heart balloon; Scruffy Pig took the purple balloon; Spotty Pig took the blue balloon. Pig Ears, Big Pig, Pig twins and Big Pig’s sister’s friend also took some balloons. Then Big Pig’s sister showed up and wanted the pink balloon with the bow. However, she is very careless and she lets the other balloons go as she grabs the pink balloon. Wibbly Pig is sad because he is left with no balloons. At the same time, Tiny Pig returns with his big heart balloon and wants to return it to Wibbly Pig, but unfortunately it exploded. Wibbly Pig and Tiny Pig are both sad so they sat in the park for the whole day until the sky is dark. Suddenly Tiny Pig sees something floating in the sky, it is the two balloons that Big Pig’s sister let go earlier. They both climb up higher on the monkey bars and managed to get them back, and in the end they are both happy because they both have a balloon.
Why this book?
This book is suitable for three to five year old children because of several reasons. First, this book contains colourful pictures on each page to attract children’s attention. Children often like books with colourful pictures instead of just black and white. Second, it can also help children practice simple math while counting down the balloons, and third, children often fight for toys when they are playing together, so throughout this story, children can learn a lesson about sharing with friends.
Comments on the illustrations:
Mick Inkpen is the illustrator of the book - as well as the author. He uses lots of different colors to attract children attention. Although there are ten characters in the story, they are all different in size and have different characteristics. Children can easily tell the difference between the ten pigs. Also the size of the book is big enough for children to see all the words and pictures in the book.
Provocation:
I will print out four pages from the story book: Wibbly Pig holding ten balloons, Wibbly Pig holding eight balloons, Wibbly Pig holding three balloons, and Wibbly Pig having no more balloons. The provocation for this story book is going to separate into four days. Each day I will post one of the pictures of Wibbly Pig on the wall and not say anything. Children will then notice the difference of the balloons and attract the children to be more interested about the story.
Four ways to present:
1.Felt board: Use a black felt board as background, and use different colors felt for ten pigs and ten balloons. First, I will use tracing paper to copy out ten pigs and ten balloons, and then I will trace it onto different colors of felt and glue it together.
2.Magnet box: I will find a magnet box and paint a garden as the background. Then I will print out the picture of ten pigs and ten balloons, and stick a magnet at the back of each character. I will also laminate each picture and glue it on a cardboard so it will not break so easily.
3.Finger puppet: I will print out some pictures of pigs and balloons then make my own finger puppets follow the instruction of the website below. But instead of felt scraps, I will use paper and laminate it. http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/animal-finger-puppets-660765/
1.Teach children to make their own hand made book. Each child will follow instructions and cut the paper into five long pieces. Then fold the five pieces of paper into half. Instructors can help to hole punch one side so they can use a ribbon to hold the papers together. After making the book, children can draw numbers on each paper and create their own number story book.
2.Song and finger play:
Ten little fingers One little, two little, three little fingers.
Four little, five little, six little fingers.
Seven little, eight little, nine little fingers.
Ten fingers on my hand.
Ten little, nine little, eight little fingers.
Seven little, six little, five little fingers.
Four little, three little, two little fingers.
One finger on my hand.
Ask each child to bring their favourite toy to the centre and share with other children. At the beginning of the day, I will make a name card for each child and when they arrive; they can put their toy beside their name cards and also look around and see what toys the other c
Wibbly Pig has 10 balloons on PhotoPeach
Wood, A. (1992). Silly Sally. New York: Red Wagon Books. Harcourt Brace & Company
1.ISBN #: 0-15-201990-1
2.A paragraph describing the book content. (This paragraph is to be in your own words and not simply taken off a bookstore site.)
Silly Sally walked backwards and upside down when she was on her way to town.
Along the way, she met many different, but silly animals - a pig, a dog, a loon, and a sheep.
They marched towards town in a most unusual way. Sally danced a jig with the pig, and then Sally and the pig played leapfrog with the dog. Next, Sally, the pig and the dog were singing a tune when they met the loon. At last, when they met the sheep, Sally and her companions fell asleep with the sheep. Neddy Buttercup, a man who wore an unusual green costume, came walking forward, and right side up! He tickled Sally and her friends to wake them up. What happened when Sally tickled Neddy Buttercup? Everyone giggled, and they all stood up. Finally all her friends including Neddy Buttercup went into town walking backwards and upside town. What about the people inside the town? They too walked backwards and upside down.
3.A few sentences describing why would you use it for three to five-year olds?
It contains only one sentence on each page, the simple phrases and rhyming words are repeating throughout the book changing characters and movement words. Short sentence structure allowed for children to learn to literacy skills itself. The vocabulary in this book is extremely simple to understand and playful for ages three to five children. I think some words like “leapfrog” and “tune” that children probably would not be familiar with. However the rhyming of words provides us to build phonemic awareness. The rhyming words is represented a action word “pig” and “jig”, “dog” and “leapfrog”, “loon” and “tune”, “sheep” and “asleep”.
4.A comment on the illustrations should also be included. Example: How are the illustrations made? What medium was used?
The illustrations are full of bright and mild colour. The background colour is primarily yellowish on water colour basic. The yellow colour provides a warm and happy feeling when I read this story.
I thought Silly Sally was a fun little story with great full pictures to look at throughout. Wood gave each characeter their own white page when introduced to the story. They also had their own little rhyme to bring out their own feature. I also enjoyed all the bright colors that were in then this story that helped show the main characters own vibrant personality.
I liked this story personally because it was silly and quirky its own way. The pictures were fun to look at too. I like the Dr. Seuss vibe of simple rhymes for kids to follow along with. The one thing I really liked a lot with this story is what a fun read aloud in your classroom it could be. The class could act out what each character did in the(less)The illustrator gave each animal character their own white page, it helped us to show the variety of characters own vibrant personality. When I saw each character, I was curious how Audrey Wood described silly dog and silly loon. If I draw a silly animal, how can I represent silliness?
What mood do they evoke? Why would the children enjoy them? Why were you drawn to them?
Reading this book makes me silly and happy. From the beginning, I try to remember the first feeling of upside down. It was a unique experience. Children love to explore new things and they enjoy what they found. They might repeat upside down over and over again.
Silly Sally also included a provocation showing a little hidden hint. We can expect what animal comes next during Sally went to town. I think that these kinds of predictable book make children to keep focus on the story and encourage their wonderings.
5.How would you build background knowledge or provoke interest for the children in the book before you present it? What provocations would you use? How would you go about using the provocations?
1)Hang a picture upside down or put a book upside down on a shelf.
Children might ask a teacher put the picture or the book right side up. They may notice upside down is unusual way. Ask them what can you see when the picture is upside down.
Children might see other things- they might focus on background or might find more details.
2)In an activity time, I tickle children’s feet and hand.
Ask feeling or ask “Is it delight or bothering? “
3)Ask what silly means?
During the playing time, I can ask a child to make a funny face or a funny gesture.
1)Read the story
What I need :
a.I will wear a white apron and purple dress
How to present :
a.Before turn the first page, I might ask “What is difference from other book?”,
“Do I grab the book a wrong way?”, “Do I read this book upside down?” ,“Is sally flying or jumping”,
b.Showing the first page, I will ask “How can Sally walk “,” I wonder how she can stand with hands “.And then I will ask “what animal can you see?”, “can you find them? Because there are a hidden little details in the first page. If children cannot notice the hidden animals, I would ask and encourage children to be drawn into deeply and carefully.
c.On the second page, I can say “I wonder what the pig is doing”,” Does this pig look happy or not”. The third page I will ask again “Does this dog want to play or sleep”. Each page also has a little hint what comes next in the story.
d.Keep asking what each animal look like.
e.When they fell asleep, I will chunk and ask how they get to town.
f.When Neddy Buttercup came, I will ask how he walk-backward upside down or forward right side up.
g.Before the last page, I will say “How Sally and her friends get to town walking backwards upside down or walking forwards right side up?”
2)Puppet Theatre
What I need:
a.Theatre stand, made with a kind of boots box (it is twice bigger than regular shoes box) or a three- side presentation board.
b.Get rid of its lid and put the background same as the first page of the book ( I can get a background paper from Google’s image search but I prefer paint by myself))
c.Put a piece of green fabric on the top on the box, and put a piece of yellow fabric as a curtain each side of box.
d.Eachcharacter made with felt (I will buy www.theteacherexpress.com) and put long and thick Coke straws which can bend but strong enough in as the puppets. (I need two Neddy Buttercups. One is right side up and other is upside down)
How to present :
a. follow the story.
b. I will use a right side Neddy Buttercup when he came. And then I will use upside down Neddy Buttercup with others while they walking through the town.
3)Story with movement.
What I need :
a. Song CD or cassette tape(I have a cassette tape),
b. Player cassette
How to present :
a. I am sure that children love to sing this song and want to do movements over and over.
b. When children are introducing Silly sally twice, I will go the gym and do a movement with the song
c. I will keep try to be familiar with the song and movement.
d. I will keep practice a movement and action though the internet.
b.Colour them (I prefer to paint with water colour because, this book is illustrated with water colour.
c.Put laminated them.
d.Make two holes up and down each character.
e.I need two thick yawns- one goes up and the other does down.
How to present
a.I need two volunteers to hold the yawn.
b.As I tell the story, I will put two yawn through the hole both side(one yawn goes up holes and the other goes down)
c.Ask them “I wonder who is coming next?” I think children can know which animal comes next as they have heard the story a few times.
d.When Neddy Buttercup came and ticked, two volunteers switch the yawn (under yawn goes up and up yawn goes down). Now all animals and sally walk right side up.
e.Sally and all her friends got to town walking backwards upside down, two children switch yawn again.
1)Extension 1 :
a.I will ask supervisor or owner to have a “Silly Day” like a pyjama day.
b.To celebrate Silly Day, I will turn some pictures upside down.
c.When children come in the class, I will ask do children a few unexpected wacky things. For example, Art is under the table or sit beside a chair.
d. I also can say draw a picture with other hand. If a child is a left-handed, try to draw right hand and a right handed person can use left hand.
e.Or I might ask children wear a shoes other side. It might be unique feeling and they will enjoy it.
2)Extension 2 :
a.Make a bulletin board named Silly Board.
b. Bring a camera and take a children’ silly face or funny face as much they can make. It will be a delight moment for them.
c.Put the silly and funny face pictures on the board.
3) Extension 3 :
a.In the yoga class or in the free activity time (if the child care does not have a yoga class), try to stand up side down.
b.The younger children might need help or they bend their waist and head down.
c.Ask what they can see.
d.Encourage them to tell the difference when their head down, how about their hair? And what the feeling is.
Bonwill, A. (2011). I don't want to be a pea! Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-278017-1
I don't want to be a pea! is a story about friendship and compromise. Bella the bird and Hugo the hippopotamus are best friends. They are going to a costume party. They need to decide on costumes to wear, to go as a pair. Hugo states that they will go as the princess and the pea. He will be the princess and Bella will the pea. Bella does not like this idea. She intends to be a mermaid and Hugo will be her rock. Hugo is offended. Hugo and Bella exchange further suggestions, which the other dismisses one after the other. The friends are not happy, and are heading towards a crisis. Hugo's and Bella's bickering leads them to the decision that they will not go to the costume party together, and they both stomp away. After a bit of sad and solitary reflection Bella and Hugo realize that they miss their best friend. They decide to make each another happy, and plan a surprise. Both friends arrive at the party dressed as the pea, so the other could be the princess. They make up and happily celebrate. Bella and Hugo end the story saying "we're two peas in a pod...just as it should be". Friendship has conquered their uncooperative stubbornness.
This is a lovely tale that shows that a good friendship requires compromise. After bickering, the friends offer a gesture of peace when they realize that their friendship is most important. The story is told in a sweet and funny way. There is wit and humor to the dialogue. I don't want to be a pea references well know fairytales, which the child will recognize. The relationship between Hugo and Bella is incredibly believable. A child could relate the characters' squabbling to their own stubborn arguments with friends or siblings. Ultimately, as the story shows, it feels good to make someone else happy.
The lively illustrations add a fantastic dimension to the tale. They are composed of strong black line drawing with large colour blocks and collage. The illustrations are bold, incredibly expressive and capture the audience's attention. Another interesting visual detail is the different fonts that are used for each character.
I will make two laminated posters of the characters. I will place these in the classroom. Later, I will play a game with the children. I will make a stack of cards with a variety of photos of different birds and hippos. Each card will have a question on the back.
For the bird cards I will ask:
- What is special about a bird, which no other animal has? (Feathers)
- What does a bird make for its home? (A nest)
- What is a bird born out of? (An egg)
- Can all birds fly? (Most of them but not all. Some birds can swim, such as the penguin, and some run, like the ostrich.)
- What do most birds like to eat? (Insects, but some like plants and some like meat.)
-What is the world's biggest bird? (The ostrich. It is taller than your mom and dad. It is also the fastest runner)
- What is the world's smallest bird? (The hummingbird. The Bee Hummingbird is not much bigger than an insect.)
For the hippopotamus cards I will ask:
- What does a hippo eat? (Plants. Its favourite is short grasses.)
- Can a hippo run faster than a person? (Yes.)
- Where do hippos like to be? (In the water, its second favourite place is the mud.)
- Is a hippo big? (Yes very. It is as tall as an adult human but weighs more than a car possibly as much as two cars. It is third largest of all land animals, after the elephant and the rhinoceros.)
- Where is a hippo born? (Under water.)
- When does a hippo eat? (All nightlong. During the long hot day they keep cool in the water. After sunset they take a long walk and eat a lot of grass - as much grass as a child weighs.)
- What colour is a hippo? (Grey, but they do expel a natural sunscreen that is red in color.)
I will ask the children to pick the cards from the deck at random. We will answer the questions together as a group. After we answer the question I will affix it to the appropriate animal (with suction cup hooks). Whichever animal gets to five cards first, determines the next activity.
If the hippo wins we will sing an action song:
The Hippo Song (by Eric Ode)
Stomping through the jungle is the hippopotamus - boom boom
Stomping through the jungle is the hippopotamus - boom boom
With sandpaper skin from top to bottomous
Oh how I love that hippopotamus
Swimming in the river is the hippopotamus - splish splash, boom boom
Swimming in the river is the hippopotamus - splish splash, boom boom
With sandpaper skin from top to bottomous
Oh how I love that hippopotamus
Chasing all the monkeys is the hippopotamus - ee ee, splish splash, boom boom
...
Eating all the mangos is the hippopotamus - munch munch, ee ee, splish splash, boom boom
...
Sleeping in the jungle is the hippopotamus - snore snore, munch munch, ee ee, splish splash, boom boom.
...
If the bird wins first I would give children scarves and we would imagine we were birds flying and flapping our wings and dance to Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".
The next day we would finish the remaining questions and do the other musical activity. I would then introduce our book - I don't want to be a pea.
Once we have read the story together, I have a few alternate ways to share the story with the children.
A) A magnet action play - I will make or purchase the animals, objects and characters in the tale. I will need small figures of a bird, a hippo, a princess, two peas, a mermaid, a rock, a king, a jester, Cinderella, a pumpkin, a wolf, Red Riding Hood. I will also require magnets to glue to the bottom of the figures, a magnet on a stick to move the characters, a box with a slit cut out to place the stick in and a small set of curtains. I will move the figures one at a time through the little curtains as I tell the tale.
B) A child involved felt story - I will need white felt, t-shirt transfer paper, a clothesline and little pegs. I will place the pictures of the bird and hippo, as a princess, peas, a mermaid, a rock, a king, a jester, Cinderella, a pumpkin, a wolf, and Red Riding Hood on the line, as well as a showerhead, some party decorations and footprints. These will all be colour photocopied and transferred on to white felt. As I tell the story the children will help me to place the picture on the felt board.
C) A block story - I will make wooden blocks (20x35x75mm) and affix small images of the characters on each one. I will have a pea pod on the back of each block and each block will be sealed with a water-based sealer. I will stack the blocks in two stacks as I tell the story. When the story reaches the crises I will have two children volunteer to stamp their fists on the table, acting as angry feet. The stacks will fall, showing how anger is destructive. I will finish the story placing the remaining pieces together.
D) A costume story - I will make or buy hats, masks or chest ornaments for all the characters. I will have the children randomly pick out a block from the previous example. That will be their character. As I tell the story the children move to the center of the circle and play the part. I will need grey felt for the hippo, the rock and wolfs ears, green pea felt, feathers for the birds mask, pink fabric for the princess crown, a tiara, gold foil and cardboard for the Kings crown, several colours of felt for the jester's hat, orange felt for the pumpkin, blue felt for the mermaid's tale and red fabric for the riding hood.
This is not a story that I would chunk. One could chunk it at the point where the characters are sad and remorseful, but I would just pause there and wonder with the children. I like the flow of the book and it is also quite short and sweet. Another place that I would stop to wonder are on the title page, pointing at the photograph (I wonder why the bird is riding on the hippos head?). Next would be the first page (I wonder why they say all birds have hippos and all hippos have birds?). I would stop to wonder about all the footprints. I would wonder with them why the animals are so mad and if they are going to the party. At the end, I would wonder why the animals are so happy.
After we have immersed ourselves with this story, I have a few extensions that I would follow with.
A) I would start with our group's "peas in a pod" activity. I would make a giant pea pod out of green construction paper. I then would cut circles to represent peas. On the pea I would attach a photo of each child and she or he would decorate it. The child and I would write a little bit about him or her and what they like, etc. Each pea would be put into the giant pod and placed on the wall. I would laminate it so that the children could handle the pieces as they wish. I would point out that we may all be a little different but we belong together.
B) I would open up a conversation about symbiosis. A symbiotic relationship is one that is beneficial to two different species. I would point out that Bella and Hugo have a relationship that mirrors one that happens in nature. In real life birds and hippos have a give and take relationship. Each animal relies on the other. The bird eats the insects that prey on the hippo and the hippo provides the bird with food and protection.
I would display photos and explain further examples of symbiotic relationships. - - The honeybee and a flower - Flowers provide the bee with nectar for food and the bee helps make seeds for new flowers by carrying pollen from one flower to another. (We could pretend to be bees and flowers buzzing from one to the next).
- Algae and fungi - Together they make lichen. Lichen can grow in places where neither algae nor fungi could survive on their own. (I would bring in real examples and farther I would make a point of pointing out these plants in a nature walk.)
- Sea anemone and the clownfish - The anemone protects the clownfish by hiding it in its poisonous arms. The clownfish gets rid of the anemones parasites and brings back bits of food.
- The badger and the coyote - The badger and the coyote make excellent hunters when they work as a team. The badger is good at digging up their prey and the coyote is very fast and can catch it when tries to run away.
- The olive baboon and the elephant - The baboon uses the water holes that the elephant digs up and the elephant listens to the warnings from the treetop baboons,
C) We would plant peas. I would need English pea seeds, pots, soil, and fertilizer. We would put soil in the pots and sprinkle the soil with the peas, pressing them into the soil. We then cover the peas with more soil and water. We would decorate the pots with images of Bella and Hugo. We would tend to the plants and watch them grow, using sticks as trellises as required.
D) Another extension from "I don't want to be a pea" is to read the stories that the book refers to.
The Princess and the Pea. Although, I would share a modern interpretation of the tale - The princess and the packet of frozen peas. (By Wilson, T.: Scholastic). This is story of a fun-loving tomboy princess not a whiny, fragile one.
I would read Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella. I would share an oral story of a mermaid and one for the king and his jester, while the children draw the stories.
Bourgeois, Paulette (1986) Franklin in the Dark.Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Kids Can Press Ltd.
ISBN 0 – 921103 – 31 – X
Franklin in the Dark is a story about a little turtle named Franklin. He was able to do a number of things that all children learn to do as they grow up. But his biggest fear was the dark. Although his mother told him there was nothing to be afraid of, he didn’t believe it. He went and asked some other young animals for help. All the animals he met had something to help them with their fear. Franklin did not have the same fear as the other animals, so they could not help him. He walked back to his mother who wisely listened to him. She let him come up with his own solution without telling him what to do. Franklin told his mother what the other animals did and solved his own problem.
I would use this book for three to five-year olds because I feel they could relate to the story. Most children have some fear of something when they are young and they could learn a lesson from this story. The story has an imaginative setting of young animals talking about their fears and how they deal with them. The pictures are large, bright and attractive for children. The vocabulary is simple and direct so that children can read or be read to, and enjoy the story. A word that they might not be familiar with is riverbank. I would explain that it is the sides of a river and I would show the picture of it to the children so they could learn the word’s meaning. There is a small amount of print on each page which allows children to focus on the pictures. Also, the story is not too long as young children have a short attention span.
The illustrations are made from watercolours yet have many accurate details. The mood they evoke is one of calmness, interest in the animals, and overall peace at the end of the story. The children would enjoy the illustrations because they have enough detail or background in the picture to allow the child to make some discoveries of some other things in the picture as well as the main character. I was drawn to the illustrations because I think they are not too simple so as to be boring. Also, Franklin walks in the story like a person which I think may interest children because they can relate to him due to the fact that they walk upright. Since the illustrations are not threatening or scary I thought it will be a happy story.
To build background knowledge or provoke interest for the children I would ask them if they have ever been afraid of something. I would give them some examples like clowns, sitting on Santa’s knee, or spiders. I would listen to their responses for a short time. I would ask them if they think animals are ever afraid. I would suggest they wonder about big animals like a lion or bear or elephant being afraid. I would listen to their responses for a few minutes. Then I would suggest that they wonder about small animals like a mouse, chicken or rabbit being afraid. Again, I would listen to their responses and suggest that the smaller animals might be afraid of getting stepped on or eaten by a bigger animal. After that I would tell them that we were going to read a story about a turtle and I would ask them to tell me whether they thought the turtle was ever afraid. I would show them the book’s cover and ask the children whether they thought the turtle looked happy or sad. If they say sad I would ask them to tell me how they know that. If they can’t tell me I would tell them I think that they thought he was sad because he doesn’t have a happy smile on. If the children say he looks happy I would say I think he looks sad because he is frowning. “I wonder why he is frowning?” I would say to see if they had any ideas. I would say that we were going to read to find out why. I would also point out the turtle toys on the cover of the book so that they notice that he is a turtle so he has turtle toys. This way I could share my enjoyment of the pictures with the children.
One way I would present this book is with felt pictures and a flannel board. The pieces you would need are a small and large turtle for Franklin and his mother, a white duck, a lion, a bird, a polar bear, and a turtle in his shell for the ending. You would also need a snowsuit for the polar bear, a parachute for the bird, water wings for the duck and ear muffs for the lion. You would also need a table and chair for the dinner, two dinner bowls, a strip of blue for the river, a flashlight, and a shell on a rope for Franklin to drag.
The second way I would present this book is with pictures made out of thin foam with a magnetic strip on the back of them. I would also need a cookie sheet to be the story board to place the pictures on. I would use a small and large turtle for Franklin and his mother, a white duck with water wings on, a lion with ear muffs on, a bird with a parachute, a polar bear with a snowsuit and a turtle in his shell for the ending. I would also use a table and chair, two dinner bowls, a strip of blue for the river, a flashlight and a shell on a rope for Franklin to drag.
The third way I would present this book is with actual small toys that represent Franklin the turtle, a mother turtle, a duck, a lion, a polar bear and a bird. I would use a small clam shell for Franklin to drag and to hide under. I would also use a flashlight. I would tell the story as I showed each object.
The fourth way I would present this book is with small puppets. I would make the pictures of a small and large turtle, a white duck, a lion, a bird, a polar bear and a turtle in a shell. I would laminate the puppets and glue them onto a popsicle stick with white glue. Then I would retell the story as I showed the puppets. I would let the children take turns holding the puppets as I told the story. I would then place the puppets into a small ball of plasticine so that they could stand up and set them on the table or chair. At the end I would let the children tell the story with the puppets and I would fill in the parts of the story that they missed so we would be telling the story together.
I would read three pages to the children and that would be the end of the first chunk. I would ask the children if they wonder what Franklin is going to do. I would ask the children if they worry about monsters in their bedroom, under the bed or in the closet. I would ask them if their parents tell them there is nothing to worry about. I would suggest they turn on their bedroom light and look in all those places before they go to bed so that they don’t worry. I would read four more pages with the children and that would be the end of chunk two. Next I would review with the children to see if they could remember each animal Franklin met, what the animal was afraid of and if they could remember what the solution was for each animal. I would show them the pictures again as they remembered each one. If they could not remember, I would just tell them. This helps keep the children participating in reading the book together and works on their memory to see if they are making connections with the story. I would ask the children if they wonder if Franklin would find something to help him not be afraid. Then I would read the last chunk of the story with the children. The last part of the story has Franklin trying to confront his fears and solve his problem. I would read to the end and ask the children if they thought it was good for Franklin to find a way to deal with his fear. I would explain that it is okay to use something to give us comfort when we are afraid just like Franklin did.
Activities I would do afterwards to extend the learning would be first, science, to learn about real turtles and how they live, where they live, what they eat, what enemies they have and what kinds there are. I would use nonfiction books to show the children pictures of real turtles and allow them to come up with some questions they might have about real turtles. I would help them find answers in the books we read together. I would go on to explain how some animals protect themselves from danger, like Franklin does by using his shell or by using armour like the armadillo. Second, I would follow up the story with an art activity such as play dough so the children could make their own animals and tell their own story of Franklin. I would also have the children paint pictures of Franklin so that they could retell the story from their own painted pictures as Franklin is a fairly simple picture to paint. Third, I would engage the children in a drama of the story by using a few simple props such as a towel for a parachute, some earmuffs for the lion, a jacket for the polar bear and a flashlight for the mother turtle. I would have the children act out the story of Franklin. If they didn’t remember what to say I would just tell them and then let them speak the lines. Fourth, I would continue literacy with the children by introducing them to more stories of Franklin as he is a character they know now and he has lessons the children can learn from as they are being read to.
Wheeler, L. (2010). Ugly pie. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
ISBN-10: 0152167544
ISBN-13: 9780152167547
Ugly Pie is a story about a friendly bear that decides he wants to eat some; you guessed it, Ugly Pie! He leaves his house singing a fun song about how much he wants Ugly Pie. He was hoping that one of his neighbors would have something delicious baking in their oven and when he learns that no one is baking Ugly Pie he collects the ingredients he needs to bake the pie himself.
This book is a great choice for three to five year old children for a number of reasons. First of all – the main character is lovable and relatable. Everyone has had a craving for a tasty treat at some point in his or her life and children at this age are old enough to understand bear’s desire for some Ugly Pie. Secondly, not only are the illustrations great the fun-tune bear starts to sing is appealing to children.
The illustrations in Ugly Pie are by Heather Soloman. She used a combination of watercolour and acrylic paint to create the images that are friendly in nature. They are bright and colourful but not in an offensive in your face way. They evoke a sort of playful mood that when combined with the positioning of the text on the page (as well as the variation in font size) that makes you cheerful. I think that children will enjoy these images not only for the reasons that I listed above but also because bear is presented in such a lovable way with his shirt buttons bursting and his big bear belly popping out. I am drawn to the images for many of the reasons listed above and also because I like how bear isn’t perfect and the front cover shows him looking a little clumsy and a bit messy which is something that everyone can relate to.
There are a number of ways to provoke interest for this story before it is presented. One tactic I would use is to put an emphasis on baking, maybe add some wooden spoons and a pie plate to the kitchen play area. Another way would be to put pictures of pies about the classroom or perhaps a picture of a bear, or apples, or raisins in different areas. Even more blatant would be to just have a large picture of bear on one of the walls and just leave it for the children to notice there was a new friend plastered on the wall. You could leave props from the story in the play areas – I already mentioned the pie plate and baking implements, you could also set a yellow bowl, or perhaps a picture of a black crow or one of bears friends about the classroom as well.
1) The first way I would present Ugly Pie to a group of 3-5 year olds would be to use a magnet board painted with a pathway and a few trees and a few other creatures from the story. Using laminated pictures from the book you would start with bear walking down the path and by the time he gets to the other end of the sheet he has met the different characters and collected all the ingredients he needs to bake his Ugly Pie.
2) The second way I would present Ugly Pie to children would be to have a pie plate and a yellow mixing bowl with me while telling the story and every time bear collected an ingredient add it to the bowl and stir it until the end of the story when it is time to make the pie, put all the ingredients in the pie plate et voila! We have created Ugly Pie along with bear.
3) Another interesting way to present/engage the children with the story would be to have a shaker (filled with rice or a similar substance) and put miniature pictures of all the ingredients bear needs inside so that every time bear collects an ingredient the children can move the shaker about until they see the item just collected in the book.
4) I thought it would be fun to have a stuffy with an outfit just like bear’s so that when telling the story you would have a puppet the children can follow while he goes about his journey collecting felt pieces that you could put into something proportioned to the bear i.e. a cupcake liner or a small ramekin that could be a pie plate for bear to add his delicious ingredients into.
5) Story blocks would also be a great way to present this story and you could potentially put all the ingredients and picture of all the friends bear encounters during his quest for Ugly Pie and as bear wanders along, singing his song, add a block every time he speaks to someone (with their picture on it) and add a block to the row when he collects all the ingredients etc. I would have the blocks stored in a red gingham bag of sorts and then place the blocks back on top of the bag, as the story requires.
There are quite a few extensions that I can think of for this particular book. One of my favourite ideas is to have the children go out into the forest and collect ingredients for their own Ugly Pie in a pail or similar outdoor appropriate bucket. You could also have the children cut images out of magazines or just use the various craft supplies in the classroom to create an Ugly Pie in a cupcake liner indoors. Another option is to have the children draw/create their idea of the best kind of pie with the materials available in the classroom and then share with their classmates what they would put into their pies. As soon as you are finished reading the story to the children you could ask them what kind of pie is their favourite? Have they had pie before? If they could make their own pie, what would they put in it? Since it would be very time consuming to hear each child’s answer you can potentially have them share their ideas with the neighbor and then head over to the art table and create their masterpiece and while they are working you could circulate and engage with each child and find out what they thought would make a great pie. If the facilities are available and you can use a kitchen space it would be fun to actually use the recipe at the end of the book and each child could make a miniature pie that they could take home at the end of the day or eat at snack time. For this you would need to most likely send a letter home with parents and double check about food allergies etc. or if you need additional supplies brought from home.
Ugly Pie on PhotoPeach
