Storytime Plan Theme 2
Showing and talking about our feelings
Launch the Theme Introduce the Poster Hang the poster “Jump for Joy!” and ask children what they think the expression means. Then ask questions about the poster to highlight the animals’ emotions.
An important aspect of a child’s social and emotional development is learning to express feelings through appropriate gestures, actions, and language. Books about emotions make happy and hard feelings easier to talk about—and sometimes even easier to experience. This Storytime Plan offers tips and suggestions for helping children name and discuss the ups and downs of everyday feelings.
What are the little birds learning to do? How do you think they feel?
TM & © Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Illustrated by Rob McClurkan.
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Skills Focus • Vocabulary: Emotion Words • Comprehension: Retelling
Use Emotion Words Encourage children to name emotions by asking them how they feel in different situations.
• Print Awareness: How Books Work • Social & Emotional: Understanding Feelings
How do you feel when a friend invites you to play? When you hear a sudden loud sound? When you learn to do something new? When a friend takes your toy without asking?
Friendship Cut-Outs Guide children to think about friendship by helping them become more aware of themselves in relation to others. Begin by making butcher paper cutouts of each child. Write each child’s name on the cutout. Then arrange the cutouts in a line as if the children are holding one another’s hands. Work together to write down ways in which each child is a good friend to others. Play the CD Play the song “Pata Pata” from the Kid’s African Party CD. Invite children to sing and dance along and to jump for joy!
Resources
• Big Book: Miss Mary Mack by Mary Ann Hoberman • Read-Aloud: Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard • Read-Aloud: Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka • Music: Kid’s African Party • Character Cards: Grumpy Bird & Friends • Poster: Jump for Joy! Refer to the Program Guide for Family Time and additional activities.
First Language Support • Provide translations of key words that will help children better enjoy and
understand the stories. For example, for Spanish speakers: feelings = emociones ; happy = feliz ; grumpy = gruñón
• Invite families to share how to say, write, and read the word friend in their first language. Post these words on a friendship word chart.
1111 STORYTIME 1
After Reading Aloud Talk About It! Ask children questions to help them retell the story. What does the elephant do in the beginning? What happens to the elephant after it jumps over the fence? How does Miss Mary Mack feel about the elephant? How can you tell? Add Movements As you read the book aloud, encourage children to make up hand motions to accompany the song. For example, children can point to their backs to show “silver buttons all down her back, back, back.” Then read through the book again and invite children to sing, clap, and do hand motions for each page. Reread This story has details in the illustrations that are not mentioned in the text. For example, Miss Mary Mack’s dogs appear on each page and react to all of the excitement too. Reread the book, encouraging children to retell the story focusing on what happens to the dogs. English Language Development Explain that the Fourth of July is a holiday during which Americans often celebrate with picnics and fireworks. Point out that sparklers, catsup, soda, etc. are often found at Fourth of July picnics. Help children identify other picnic items on those pages. Research Connection As you read books with children, develop print awareness by pointing out how books and words work. Show that we read English from left to right and top to bottom. When reading aloud, point to the words on the page, so children see that we read the words, not the pictures. This way, children learn that words have meanings and what we say can be written down and read.
In Miss Mary Mack , a girl befriends an elephant that escapes from a zoo. The rhyming and repeating story tells about the elephant’s exciting adventures.
Share this traditional clapping song that inspired the book you’re about to read. Refer to the beginning of the book for the hand-clapping movements. Invite children to join in on the repeating words. Miss Mary Mack Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black With silver buttons, buttons, buttons All down her back, back, back. She asked her mother, mother, mother For 50 cents, cents, cents To see the elephants, elephants, elephants Jump over the fence, fence, fence. Share the Big Book Introduce Miss Mary Mack Show the cover of the book and read aloud the title and author’s and illustrator’s names. Explain that the book tells the story of Miss Mary Mack and an escaped elephant. This silly and fun book is filled with rhymes, just like the song! Let’s read to find out about Miss Mary Mack and the elephant. Read Interactively As you share the book, engage children by pointing to and talking about some of the expressions on Miss Mary Mack’s face. What does the look on Miss Mary Mack’s face tell us about how she is feeling? How can you tell? Why do you think she is feeling like that?
STORYTIME 2
After Reading Aloud Talk About It! Display the Grumpy Bird & Friends Character Cards and invite children to help you retell the story. How does Grumpy Bird feel when he wakes up? What does he do because he feels grumpy? What helps him feel better? Puppet Show Make stick puppets of Grumpy Bird characters by copying the Character Card sheets and helping children glue popsicle sticks to the backs of the characters. Invite children to act out what the bird might say when he feels grumpy and when he feels happy. Encourage children to express Grumpy Bird’s changing feelings. Reread As you reread the story, read Grumpy Bird’s dialogue expressively. Ask children to say how they think Grumpy Bird feels after he speaks. English Language Development Use facial expressions and gestures to help bring meaning to the main points of the story. For example: • Make a grumpy face • Flap your arms for the word fly • Make a walking motion for the word walk Research Connection Help boost children’s language development by modeling rich language and expanding upon children’s words. If a child says “the bird is angry,” you can expand upon their language by adding a description or more information. For example, “I can tell that bird is angry because he is snapping and shouting at his friends.”
In Grumpy Bird, a group of animal friends helps a grumpy bird move through
the day and forget all about his bad mood.
Carefully articulate the names of the emotions and model the related movements. Jump for Joy! Let’s all jump for joy! Let’s hop for happiness and clap for being cranky. Now, let’s shake, shake, shake your wiggles out, and now let’s sit for storytime. Share the Read-Aloud Introduce Grumpy Bird Preview the book by showing the cover. Talk about how the little bluebird might be feeling. Explain what grumpy means by showing a grouchy face. How is this bird feeling? How can you tell? This bird is grumpy. Another word for grumpy is grouchy . Show me a grumpy face. Why do you think this bird is grumpy? Read Interactively As you read, help children notice, name, and relate to Grumpy Bird’s changing feelings. What makes you feel grumpy or grouchy? What do you do to help yourself feel better? How does the bird feel when his animal friends first start walking with him? How do you know that the bird is grumpy? What activity would make you feel happy?
STORYTIME 3
After Reading Aloud Talk About It! After reading, guide children to talk about the story and relate it to their own experiences. What do the boys learn from talking to each other? What are some things you have done to make a new friend? What makes the shy boy say “yes” to being friends? How do you feel when you make a new friend? Our Friends Invite children to draw a picture of something they like to do with a friend and dictate the caption “My friend and I______.” Create a class friendship book with the pictures. Read the book as a class and talk about all of the things friends do together. Reread The characters in this story go through many emotions using very few words. As you reread, invite children to articulate how the boys are feeling, based on the illustrations. What might they say to each other if they were to talk more? English Language Development Young English learners may like to join in as you say “Yo! Yes?” The word yo may be confusing to some Spanish-speaking children because it means “I” in Spanish. To help children understand the intended meaning of yo , be sure to emphasize it as the author intended. Research Connection Sometimes children prefer to stand or lean as they listen to a book read aloud. If they become restless, find a way to engage them by encouraging them to participate in the story. You might invite them to copy the posture of each boy as you read or repeat certain words or phrases after you.
Yo! Yes? has only one or two words on each page. Yet children can see how even the simplest conversation can change someone’s feelings—and even create a new friendship.
Share the Read-Aloud Introduce Yo! Yes? Show the book cover and read aloud the title and the author/illustrator’s name. Help children gain appreciation for themselves and their peers by singing this song together to the tune of “Frère Jacques.” I Am Special I am special. I am special. (point to self) If you look, you will see (point to children) Someone very special, someone very special (hug self) It is me, it is me!
This book only has a few words. The words and pictures work together to tell the story.
Read Interactively Because of the limited text, this story benefits from an especially expressive read-aloud. You may want to exaggerate the posture of each boy as you read. In this story, two boys take turns asking and answering questions. How does your voice sound when you ask a question? How do the boys’ feelings change during the story?
Connect the Stories Display the books and talk about how all three books relate to feelings.
Which character are you most like? What feeling words did you learn from these books? What did you learn about being a friend?
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