Leonardo the Terrible Monster written and illustrated by Mo Willems

I love Mo Willems!  I seriously think this man is an early childhood genius because so much of what happens in his books is developmentally appropriate for younger kids. His use of minimal text per page is perfect for shorter attention spans. His illustrations often have really dramatic facial expressions, making them ideal for discussion about emotions, for building empathy, and for making social predictions. Plus, all those dramatic illustrations make it really easy for the story reader to act out the role (try reading any of the pigeon books without becoming a frazzled pigeon—it’s impossible!).

His illustrations are also really fantastic for art lessons because they can be reproduced pretty easily by younger children and grown ups alike. (example: how to draw the pigeon in 10 steps)

The book: Leonardo the Terrible Monster is a really fun and quick read. The book centers around Leonardo who can’t seem to scare anyone, making him a terrible monster. He researches and decides to scare Sam, who is supposed to be a scaredy cat. Leonardo doesn't really successful scare Sam but instead finds out that Sam is really upset about a lot of things. In the end, Leonarado decides to be Sam’s friend.

I love the use of “space” in this book, from a visual standpoint as well as literary one.

There’s only a sentence or two on each page (with the expection of the page where Sam screams about why he's crying!) The illustrations are just the characters on muted colored backgrounds. Because of this I think expanding on the book while reading it is pretty natural, such as acting out of the motions of events (like creeping up on an unsuspecting boy). 

The use of space also allows for conversations about the book. It allows for a pause to ask your students questions about the story (such as “How do you think Leonardo feels after hearing why Sam was crying?”) 

This book easily kept the focus of all 10 of the toddlers in one of my art classes. They especially loved the one page in this book where Sam lets loose a torrent of words:

(If you are reading this book to a group of kids, look over this page beforehand! It can be a doozy if you read it cold!)

Springboard for lessons: This book can be used for lessons about emotions. Preschool students can be given materials to make monsters and encouraged to make different facial expressions for their monsters (happy, sad, angry, etc.)

This book can also be used to discuss friendship. Students can be asked "What makes a good friend?" or "Who are your friends?". Younger students can illustrate their answers with teachers helping to create a sentence describing their answers. 

Today I feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis and Illusrated by Laura Cornell

Today I feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis and Illusrated by Laura Cornell

Lesson Title: Moods/Emotions that Make My Day Lesson Plan

Grade Level and Subject: English-Language Arts – Kindergarten

Time allotted: 45 minutes

Materials and Supplies: Curtis, J. L. (1998). Today I feel silly & other moods that make my day. HarperCollins Publishing, large Emotions KWL Chart, large poster board for writing activity walk-through, student worksheets, markers, pencils, crayons, tape, various props for “engagement” phase (days of the week cards, silly clothes, music, etc.)

Objectives:

1.      Students will be able to make predictions about the story by applying what they previously know about feelings/emotions.

2.      Students will be able to individually connect emotional experiences from their personal lives by writing sentences about emotions as well as illustrating emotions and acting them out.

3.      Students will be able to use more sophisticated vocabulary when referring to specific emotions and be able to fully comprehend each new words definition (for example, students will know that word “cranky” could be potentially used in place of the word “upset”).

4.      Students will be able to articulate what behavioral and environmental clues help us understand and express emotions, such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.

Rationale:

The focus of this lesson is to make certain that students will be able to identify emotions and feelings that they encounter on a day-to-day basis. This lesson gives children an opportunity to respond to literature through an interactive read aloud. As they listen to a story, students build comprehension skills and make personal connections from their own experiences. Students respond orally to the story by making predictions applying what they previously know about feelings/emotions, act out the emotions and sharing their personal reactions to the story as a group with different emotions. In all, students will enhance their vocabulary when referring to emotions.

Engagement Phase:

Teacher will begin by telling the students that they will be playing a short game that will require them to pay close attention. The teacher will explain that he/she will act out short scenes. Teacher will emphasize that the students must closely observe her behavior, her facial expressions, and other clues, such as props, to figure out what is going on in each scene.

Teacher will act out various emotions throughout the course of a “week”; these are the same emotions that will later be emphasized as new vocabulary words throughout the lesson.  At the beginning of each scene, teacher will hold up a day of the week on an index card followed by a short scene portraying that emotion. On Monday, the emotion will be “cranky”. On Tuesday, the emotion is “silly”. On Wednesday, it is “discouraged”. On Thursday, it is “joyful”. On Friday, it is “excited”.

Students will be asked to explain what they saw in each scene. Teachers will ask prompting questions such as “What did you see happening on Wednesday? How did that differ from what happened on Monday?” “What kind of emotions did you think you saw in these scenes? What clues helped you figured out those emotions?”

After a student discussion about what happened in each scene and what types of emotions were present, teacher will reiterate that emotions change throughout time and that how we feel is sometimes connected to a specific situation (example: I am happy when I am at my friend’s birthday party).

Lesson:

1. Teacher introduces the storybook (Today I feel silly & other moods that make my day) by sharing the illustration on the cover (or title page), and draws students' attention to the title of the book. Students are asked to make predictions based on the title and connect it to their own past experiences with “moods” or “feeling silly”. Teacher will ask: “What do you think this story will be about?” Teacher may continue questioning: “Do you ever feel silly? What other feelings do you have today?”

2. The class will work together to fill out the K and W of the collective KWL chart about feelings. The “K” represents what they know about emotions/feelings. The “W” stands for when or where they feel these feelings. The “L” stands for what new emotions they encountered from this activity/book. In the “K” and “W” section the teacher will write all the emotions the students know and where/when they feel these emotions. The teacher highlights that everyone experiences many emotions and different events can encourage these specific emotions.

3. Teacher turns to the first page of book, pointing to where the text begins ("I'll begin right here"), and starts to read aloud. The teacher stops and explains unfamiliar vocabulary words throughout the story such as “rouge” on page 2, “grumpy” and “fern” on page 3. At the sixth page, after “anger” the teacher stops and asks: “Were our ideas about this book correct so far?” Before continuing to read aloud, ask: “Which of our emotions on our KWL chart were mentioned so far?”

4. The teachers reads continues to read until  page 16, where he/she will pause to identify the unfamiliar words, “shaved” and crooked.” After reading 5 more pages, teacher will stop at the word “pizzazz”, explaining that it means a combination of strong energy and glamour. The teacher then completes the story and asks: “Can any of you remember feeling some of these emotions before?”

5. The teacher guides her students into a brief discussion reviewing the emotions stated in the story. Teacher will ask the students which new emotions they learned from the book. These new emotions will be written under the “L” on KWL chart; students can volunteer to write these new words on the chart. If not already included in the discussion and chart, teacher will make sure to add the words “silly”, “excited”, “discouraged”, “joyful” and “cranky”. These five words will be an integral part of the writing activity.

6. Before beginning writing assignment, teacher will model the sentence structure by doing a walk-through sample on large poster board (Ex. People can tell I am happy when I smiling and laughing.). Teacher will also do a quick drawing to show students how they can illustrate their original sentences.

The class will be split up into 5-6 groups. Each group will be given an unfamiliar emotion that they just recently learned (“silly”, “excited”, “discouraged”, “joyful” or “cranky”). Each student will work individually and write 1-2 sentence(s) describing when he or she remembers feeling that specific emotion.

Each student worksheet will have the new vocabulary word (such as discouraged) in dotted letters so students can trace these new words. Students must fill in the sight words “can”, “I”, and “am”, as well as describing the situations that cause their feelings. Additionally, each student will illustrate the situation and its corresponding emotion on their worksheets.

7. The class will reconvene at the end of the writing activity. Groups will volunteer to act out the emotions and situations that they described and illustrated on their worksheets. The students in the “audience” will give feedback by explaining how they knew what emotions were being acted out (ex: because of body language, the use of props, facial expressions, etc.)

Differentiated Instruction:

For students who are kinesthetic learners, the “acting out” sequence will allow them the opportunity for a more “hands on” approach to grasping the new emotions. Students, who are less kinesthetic or less interested “acting” in front of the class, will be allowed the opportunity to participate as an “audience” member.

ESL students will be encouraged to draw the illustration to their writing activity first. This may help them better formulate their ideas and corresponding vocabulary.

Assessment:

1. Teacher will pay close attention to student predictions being made about the story before the read-aloud. Additionally, teacher will listen to students’ responses to questions he/she poses throughout the read aloud. Emphasis will be placed on students’ ability to link their past emotional experiences to the story.

2. Teacher observes what the students illustrated on the handout and evaluates if it relates to that specific emotion. The teacher also observes how the students act out the emotion given to their group.

3. Teacher listens to student explanations of different emotions, making sure that students are using the newly learned terminology appropriately.

4. Teacher will listen to the explanations of the “audience” during the acting scenes. Students in the audience should be able to explain clues that lead them to their conclusions about the portrayed emotions—such as looking at facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc.

Common Core Standards Addressed:

Students, with prompting and support, will ask and answer questions about emotions and about the situations that influence them. Common Core Reading Standards for Kindergarten, Key Ideas and Details (#1)

Students will ask and answer questions about unknown words in “Today I feel silly & other moods that make my day”, such as the word “rogue” on page 3. Common Core Reading Standards, Craft and Structure (#4)

People Written and Illustrated By Peter Spier

People Written and Illustrated By Peter Spier

 

People offers a child-friendly yet dynamic view of different cultures that highlights important differences while underscoring the similarities of our humanness.

Target Age: Kindergarten and 1^st grade

Springboards for lessons: using this book naturally lends itself to cultural and racial discussions. After reading People, students can create storyboards, a combination of text and pictures, about their own culture, traditions, and what makes them unique. This lesson would illuminate each student’s unique cultural and racial heritage while still emphasizing that even though we are different we all very similar because we are all human.

Llama Llama Red Pajama written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Red Pajama written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney

http://www.amazon.com/Llama-Red-Pajama-Anna-Dewdney/dp/0670059838

Llama Llama Red Pajama tells the story of a little llama who has trouble settling down for bed.  The story is told in short rhyming stanzas, giving a sing-song quality to the story-telling.

Target ages: toddlers, preschoolers, possibly kindergarteners

Interactive components and possible springboards for lesson plans: Throughout the book, little llama goes through a spectrum of different emotions, making this a good book to discuss emotions and feelings that children experience. While reading the book, children and sotry-tellers can act out the various stanzas (like stomping, moaning, adding sound effects to the telephone ringing…etc.)

This is also a book about bedtime which can lend itself into discussion of a child's bedtime routines (brushing teeth, reading bedtime stories, etc.)

Additionally, the rhyme scheme throughout Dewdney’s prose makes it a good introduction to rhyming patterns for preschoolers and kindergartners.