Activities linked to Indiana Academic Standards involving children's books.

1. Ring-O Project By: Cassaundra Hisch Written to meet Kindergarten standards.

2. Move! Summary: Animals move! Follow them as they swing, dance, float, leap, and slide from page to page, then learn why these animals move they way they do. Move! is a playful introduction to motion in that animal kingdom that invites young readers to guess some of the unusual ways that animals get around. Action is the name of the game, so Move!

3. Move! By: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page 1. Read the book aloud. 2. Talk about the ways the different animals moved. Did some move fast and others slow? 3. Students will move their bodies in the ways listed on the last page of the book and will answer the question: “How do you move?” 4. Students will respond to questions from the teacher such as, “What animals dance in the book?” “What animals slide?” and other similar questions. Standards used: Science K.3.2 Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc. Language Arts K.3.5 Understand what is heard or seen by responding to questions (who, what, where). Gardner: Verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic

4. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? Summary: Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this beautifully illustrated interactive guessing book.

5. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? By: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page 1. Read the book aloud. 2. Students should guess what the body parts do before moving on to the next page. 3. At the end of the story, the students should reflect on how the animals’ uses and appearances of body parts were different. 4. Students will discuss any questions they have about the animals in the book by asking how and why questions. Standards used: Science K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do. Language Arts K.4.6 Ask how and why questions about a topic of interest. Gardner: Verbal-Linguistic

6. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? By: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page 1. Revisit the book. 2. On each page depicting a group of animals, have students say which animal is the largest and the smallest, in real-life, not in the illustrations. Students should also predict which animal would weigh the most, which one is taller, which one has a longer tail or a bigger nose. Standards used: Mathematics K.5.1 Make direct comparisons of the length, capacity, weight, and temperature of objects and recognize which object is shorter, longer, taller, lighter, heavier, warmer, cooler, or holds more. Language Arts K.4.8 Organize and classify information into categories of how and why or by color or size. Gardner: Logical-mathematical

7. Seven Blind Mice Summary: Seven blind mice come across a strange something by their pond. One goes each day taking a turn trying to figure out what the something is. At the end of the week the seventh mouse puts it altogether and realizes what the something is!

8. Seven Blind MiceBy: Ed Young 1. Read the book aloud. 2. At the end of each of the mouse’s guess, see if the students have any guesses about what the something might be. 3. At the end of the story, have each student individually make a weeklong calendar, starting on a Monday and ending on Sunday. On each day, they should draw the mouse and what the mouse guessed the something to be. The story may need to be reread slowly. 4. After they have completed their story maps, ask them questions, such as “Today the mouse thought the something was a rope. What did the mouse yesterday think it was and what day is today?” Standards used: Mathematics K.5.2 Understand concepts of time: morning, afternoon, evening, today, yesterday, tomorrow, week, month, and year. Language Arts K.2.2 Use pictures and context to aid comprehension and to draw conclusions or make predictions about story content. Gardner: Visual-Spatial, Intrapersonal

9. Seven Blind MiceBy: Ed Young 1. Review the book with the class by having students retell the story using beginning, middle, and end. OR Read the book aloud to the class if they have not done so before. 2. Having the students work in small groups of three or four, give them pictures of animals that are of different colors. (Example: 5 pictures of kittens--each one a different color, 5 pictures of dogs—each one a different color from each other but in similar colors of the cats) 3. Students will use the pictures to classify the pictures in as many ways as possible. (Example: by animal, by color, by size, by where they live, etc.) Explain that classifying and sorting is a part of science. 4. Students should record the different ways they classified their pictures. Students can share the ways they came up with with the class. Standards used: Science K.1.2 Begin to demonstrate that everyone can do science. Language Arts K.3.2 Retell (beginning, middle, end) familiar stories. Gardner: Verbal-Linguistic, Interpersonal

10. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Summary: A book the children can respond to. The pigeon really wants to drive the bus, but the children aren’t supposed to let him! Will you let him drive?

11. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!By: Mo Willems 1. Read the story aloud to the students, having them respond to the pigeon’s pleas to drive the bus. 2. Ask the students if they think it would be a good idea to let animals drive a bus. 3. Go back through the story, looking for shapes in the drawings, specifically circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. 4. Sing the song “The Wheels on the Bus.” Have students change the lyrics to “The Pigeon on the bus…” and have them make up things he might do (“says let me drive!” “flaps his wings.” etc.) Standards used: Science K.5.1 Use shapes—such as circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles—to describe different objects. Language Arts K.7.4 Recite short poems, rhymes, and songs. Gardner: Musical, Interpersonal

12. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! Summary: The Pigeon really, really, really wants a puppy. Or does he? Do you think it is a good idea for the Pigeon to get a puppy?

13. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!By: Mo Willems 1. Read the book out loud to the class. Students should respond to the book as it is read. 2. After the book is read, students should write or draw a picture of either something they really want or of something they got that wasn’t what they thought it would be. 3. Students should share their pictures with the class and explain them. Standards used: Science K.2.2. Draw pictures and write words to describe objects and experiences. Language Arts K.7.5 Tell an experience or creative story in a logical sequence (chronological order, first, second, last). Gardner: Verbal Linguisic, Visual-Spatial, Intrapersonal

14. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! Summary: When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can hardly wait to shove the entire thing into his beak. But then…a very sly and hungry duckling enters the scene and wants a bite. Who will be the more clever bird?

15. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!By: Mo Willems 1. Read the story to the class. Periodically ask students to make predictions about what the duck might be trying to do. 2. Discuss the students’ observations and predictions at the end of the story. Who was right? How did they make their predictions? 3. Discuss that making predictions from observations is part of science and that they were just doing science while listening to the story. Standards used: Science K.1.2 Begin to demonstrate that everyone can do science. Language Arts K.2.3 Generate and respond to questions (who, what, where). Gardner: Verbal-Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical

16. Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! Summary: It’s getting dark, but the pigeon won’t go to bed! Will you let him stay up late? Readers will have to say “no” to his convincing arguments.

17. Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!By: Mo Willems 1. Show students the book. See if they can identify where the title is and where the author’s name is written. 2. Read the book out loud to the class. 3. Ask students about a time they wanted to stay up late. Were they allowed too? Was it as fun as it had sounded or did they wish they hadn’t stayed up? 4. Students should illustrate the night they were allowed to stay up or what they would do if they stayed up late. 5. Students can compile their pictures to make their own book about staying up late. Standards used: Science K.2.2. Draw pictures and write words to describe objects and experience. Language Arts K.2.1 Locate the title and the name of the author of a book. Gardner: Visual-Spatial

18. Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm Summary: Harvey Potter was a very strange fellow indeed. He was a farmer but not like any farmer you've ever met. He didn't grow corn, okra, or tomatoes. Harvey Potter grew balloons. No one knew exactly how he did it, but with the help of the light of a full moon, one friendly child catches a peek of just how Harvey Potter does it. And keeps some magic for herself.

19. Harvey Potter’s Balloon FarmBy: Jerdine Nolen 1. Have the students go for a walk outside. Tell them to keep a list of what they see growing. 2. Once back inside or if preferred, stay outside, read the story. 3. Students should begin to ask questions about how it would be possible to grow balloons out of the ground. Do they believe it is really possible or is it fantasy? 4. Students could then discuss what they wished would grow out of the ground. Standards used: Science K.1.1. Raise questions about the natural world. Language Arts K.3.1 Distinguish fantasy from reality. Gardner: Naturalistic, Verbal-Linguistic