Lessons+from+the+Library

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Author Study-Mo Willems

I like to do this with the primary classes. We take about a month or so to read most of the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo, as well as some Pigeon books. We talk about inferring, linking his books with the Gear model. The students practice inferring what the characters are feeling by looking at their faces. We also tie in some questioning, particularly the "what if" questions. As a wrap up, I have a big Elephant and Piggie party. During their regular library time, students are put into 4 groups which then visit 4 different stations. I intergrate the fine arts with the literature (Mo's books). I come dressed as Piggie, as do the leadership students that are helping run the stations. We also have balloons (pink of course). Station Activity ideas: 1. Let's Draw the Pigeon- directed drawing 2. Elephant and Piggie Dance-using a laptop and projector, students access the Pigeon Presents website. Under games, there is a Piggie and Elephant dance party. The kids love this station. 3. Make Me Laugh Piggie-students are paired off, one as Piggie and one as Elephant (Gerald). Piggie has to try to make Gerald laugh by making faces and funny sounds. They see how many times they can make Gerald laugh. After 1 minute, they switch roles 4. Act Like a Piggie-a charades game using the characters found in Mo Willems books. These include Piggie, Gerald, the bus driver, the Pigeon, ect. 5. My Favorite Toy-a pictionary game. Students take turns drawing their favorite toy on the chalk board while the others try to guess what it is. 6. Dress like an Elephant-students have a dress up relay putting on all kinds of cloths. I find 6 people in a group is a good size. We rotate through each of the 4 stations, having about 4 minutes at each station (longer, depending on what activities you decide to do), leaving time to do a book exchange at the end and have a chat about what they have learned over the last month or so. Tamara Porteous