We read our fair share of picture books. However, my guy has been showing an interest in chapter books. We started with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and found my child has an interest in Roald Dahl. After looking through my bookshelf, he came across James and the Giant Peach. All those crawly insects had him incredibly interested.
Being a classroom teacher, we couldn't just READ a book. We have to LIVE the book. I was trained in doing cross-curricular teaching whenever possible to help make connections for students. Immediately, I started thinking of all the fun stuff we could do with this awesome book.
Scouring the Internet is one of the most time-consuming activities there is. There are so many links that don't work, things that say they are FREE, but really aren't, and even sorting through the quality resources. While I was working through this book, I knew I wanted to hold onto these activities for future use.
So, I began to jot down my ideas and put them in one place. As I have gained new subscribers, I thought that someone else might want these activities too. Now, that we are all homebound due to CORVID-19, I can't help but wonder how many families might benefit from a great read aloud with some fun activities.
In this FREE download, access units based on chapters that include science, math, writing and some geography skills. Each activity is either included in the download or linked to the website to download your own. There are so many things in here, we were unable to get to all of them, but I wanted to save them for next time.
Each unit revolves around the insects that make up the book. Think lots of outside time looking for creepy crawlies while learning about food chains, life cycles and metamorphosis.
Don't forget the practical skills such as counting using number strings and even learning to tie knots that might help James keep the seagulls on the line. Each unit includes hands-on activities that allow your student to explore and journal what happens in the book.
Tie that in with geography and science rules of motion as your student discovers why the peach continues to roll down the hill.
This has truly been a FUN and ENGAGING experience for my students, and I know it will be for yours too. Whether you choose to do all the activities or only a few, you are sure to have some quality time reading together while working on some practical skills as well. And if reading aloud isn't your think, check out the audio book. It is HILARIOUS with a great narrator.
Please leave me a comment sharing your experience! I would love some pictures and hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Stay healthy!
