Book of the Week: Room on the Broom

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Summary:  The witch and her cat fly through the sky on her broomstick when suddenly she loses her hat, bow, and her wand.  Several animals help her find her items, and in return, she gives them a ride on her broom.  With all of her friends on the broom, it breaks, and the witch is faced with a ferocious foe.  How will she escape?

Vocabulary:

ginger - a light reddish or reddish-brown color

wail - to make a long, loud cry

keen - to be able to quickly understand

clamber - to climb with difficulty

glee - a feeling of delight or joy

moors - land that is open and wet

bog - and that is soft and wet
glint - a brief flash of reflected light

yowl - to make a loud, sad cry

squelch - to crush or squash

cauldron - a round metal pot that is often hung over a fire for cooking

Questions:

What does the witch look like?  (see description at the beginning of the story or show a picture)

Who was riding with the witch when the story started?

What happened to the witch's hat?

Who helped the witch find her hat?

Where did the witch's bow fall?

Who found the bow?

Where did the witch lose her wand?

Who found the witch's wand?

What happened to the witch's broomstick?  Why do you think it broke?

Who wanted to eat the witch?

Who scared the dragon?  What did he do?

What did the witch do at the end of the story?

Were the animals and the witch friends?  How do you know?  Share details from the story.

You can listen to the book read aloud here: 

or watch the movie here:

Extension activities:

• http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/early-years-story-resources/early-years-story-books/early-years-story-books-room-on-the-broom
• Literacy and Math Freebie from Happy Little Learners
• Writing Prompt from Second Grade Smiles
• https://images.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/b6/b7/room-on-the-broom-activities-1070440.pdf
• Story cut-outs from Kindergarten Nana

Leonardo The Terrible Monster by Mo Williams

Summary
Leonardo is not very good at being a monster, in fact he is TERRIBLE at it. He does not have 1642 teeth, gigantic features or weirdness like other monsters. Even though Leonardo lacks natural ability, he has research skills and makes a detailed plan to scare the tuna salad out of someone. After Leonardo finds his perfect “Scaredy- Cat” Sam, he realizes it is better to be a wonderful friend than someone scary.

Questions 
What is Leonardo’s problem do you think? 

Who is scarier Tony or Eleanor? Why? 

Would you rather have 1642 teeth or be a giant monster? Why? 

How did Hector scare people? 

Was Leonardo scary at all? Why or why not? 

What was Leonardo’s plan? Do you think it will work? 

What does it mean to research something? Have you ever done that? 

Was Leonardo successful with scaring Sam? How do you know? 

What did Leonardo decide to become? 

Was Leonardo a wonderful friend? How do you know? 

Did you like the book? Why or Why not? 

Vocabulary

Scaredy-Cat- Someone who scares easily.

Snapped - Saying something mean as a comeback. 

Research- looking up information.

Candidate- a person who is nominated for a role or certain job.

Unsuspecting- does not suspect anything to happened. 

Wonderful- extremely good or great


Don't Have The Book? 

Extension Activities

Character Study- Mo Williams Popular Books

Lesson Plan Ideas

Book Of The Week: The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin

The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano

Summary:  The alliteration and rhyme-filled story's character, Spookley, is a pumpkin, but he's not just any pumpkin.  He is a square pumpkin, much to his dismay.  He can't roll like the others and is teased until a storm approaches.  Spookley soon discovers that being different is a beautiful thing!

Vocabulary:

rare- not common; not often seen
might - lots of force or power
fair - fine; ok
discovered - to find
bay - part of a sea or lake that cuts in to part of the coast line is partly surrounded by land
fright - a strong feeling of fear or being in danger
teeter totter- to move back and forth
dense- thick; hard to see or more through
wedged - to force something into a small space
sown - to plant or scatter on the ground

Questions:
Where was Spookley hatched?
How was Spookley different from the other pumpkins?
How did Spookley feel about being different from the other pumpkins at the beginning of the story?
What couldn't Spookley do like the other pumpkins?
How did Spookily help save the pumpkins from rolling out in to the bay?
Who knew how special Spookley was?  What did he do?
How did the pumpkin patch change from the beginning to the end of the story?
What is the lesson from the story?



Extension Activities:
Identifying Shapes
Text to Self Connections
Pumpkin Sequencing
Thematic Pumpkin Unit
Pumpkin Investigation

Book Of The Week: Creepy Carrots

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

Jasper loved carrots, especially carrots from Crackenhopper Field.  He couldn't get enough of the fat, crisp carrots.  He loved that they were free for the taking, eating them as a snack on the way to school, on the way to Little League practice, and on the way home at night.  He absolutely loved them, until they started following him.  The tucnktunktunk of creeping carrots sends Jasper into a paranoia, leading him to build a fence around Crackenhopper Field.  Unknown to Casper, the carrots have their own plan!


Vocabulary:

• passion - a strong feeling of excitement for something or about doing something
• crisp - hard; and makes a sharp sound when broken or chewed
• yank - a strong, fast pull
• victory - success in defeating an an enemy or opponent 
• sinister - looking like something bad, harmful, or dangerous may happen
• ridiculous - very silly or unreasonable
• hatch - to create or make something in a secretive way
• patch - a small area that is different from the area around it

Literal Comprehension:
Who liked to eat carrots?
Where did Jasper eat the carrots?
What was following Jasper?
Where did they follow him?
What did Jasper do at the end of the story?

Inferential Comprehension:
How did Jasper feel when he ate the carrots?
Why did Jasper think that the idea of creepy carrots was ridiculous?
What did Jasper's parents think about his fear of the carrots?
Who was sneakier: Jasper or the carrots? Why do you think that?
How did Jasper's feelings change throughout the story?
Could this be a true story?  Why or why not?

If you're looking for a fun video that talks a bit more about the illustrations of the book, check out this video!



We also have a FREEBIE at our TPT store that you can find here.  It compliments the video fairly well.

Book of the Week: Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Summary:

This week we are reading, "Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" to get us in the mood for fall. The story follows the Peanuts gang as they get ready for Halloween. Each character has different a idea about how to celebrate. Lucy and Charlie Brown want to go trick-or-treating, Violet is throwing a party, and snoopy pretends he's a World War I fighting ace. Linus is starting early with his celebrating by writing a letter to the great pumpkin. He convinces his friend Sally to skip trick-or-treating and wait for the great pumpkin's arrival in a pumpkin patch. Linus and Sally wait and wait and in the end, they did not find exactly what they're looking for. A great book to do extension activities with, and one that students can continue to relate to year after year as the peanuts characters are well-known, well liked, an interesting to talk about. 

Questions:

What does Linus ask for from the great pumpkin in his letter? 

Do you think the great pumpkin is a hero? Why or why not? 

How does Lucy feel about Linus writing the letter? She says the words, "laughing stock."

Who is willing to go with Linus to the pumpkin patch? Why? 

Who is throwing a party? 

What does Lucy dress as for Halloween? Is cute or ugly? 

When sleep when Snoopy slips off into the night, where do you think he is going?

Do they notice that Snoopy is missing? 

Why does Lucy ask for extra candy? 

Do you think they will ever see the great pumpkin? What do you predict? 

After trick or treating, who goes to the pumpkin patch? 

Who helps Linus get home and into bed? 

Does the great pumpkin ever come? 

What does Charlie Brown do to make Linus feel better the next day? 

Vocabulary:

Sincere

Candy Apple

Patch

beagle 

Embarrassed

spooky 

bobbed

sighed

Beagle

Furious

Language Ideas:

Bulletin Board

Great Pumpkin Writing

Following Directions

Multiple Meaning Words

Comparing and Contrasting

Vocabulary Cards

Antonyms