MAIN PAGE

Book Buddies-

My class meets with kindergarten Book Buddies about twice a month, so these resources below may be most appropriate for meeting with grades K-1. Yet first, here is a reference from Scholastic addressing Book Buddies.


Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
Read Measuring Penny with your Book Buddies class. Then call for a time of measurement with a variety of stuffed animals (or if you are allowed to bring in a real dog, bring the students outside for a time of measurement with the dog). Bring dog bones, q-tip swabs, and a ruler/meter stick to measure with standard and nonstandard types of measurement. You can also have students measure themselves with standard and nonstandard types of measurement.

You may even try to adapt and condense the Mini-Metric Olympics from AIMS to make your measurement lesson exciting.


The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy
Ask your Book Buddies class a few questions, like "What is your favorite sport?" or "What is your favorite animal out of these choices?" Have the class decide which ways will be best to display the information collected by the class. You may instead want to do a more simple question for your graphing activity, also, like "What color shirt are you wearing today?"

You may also want to read this math-related book with a math lesson-

Ideas for Book Buddies, Besides just reading a book-

  • Read Babushka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco, and then try an activity where you color a piece of tagboard with different crayon colors and then color over that with black crayon. Then etch patterns in the egg, revealing the colors underneath the black crayon on the surface of the egg.
  • Have a pajama day during the holiday season. Read The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Give each student a jingle bell necklace, bake cookies (either beforehand or with the students), and serve them hot chocolate. Perhaps each student can share pictures of themselves on Christmas Day as well with their Book Buddies and the rest of the class. Play the soundtrack from The Polar Express in the background.
  • Make a movie with your Book Buddies, and teach them about green screen technology a little. Film them, perhaps, in front of planets, "traveling" through space. Students can also share facts about space. It honestly depends on the class, yet never underestimate your Book Buddies.
  • Read Where the Wild Things Go by Maurice Sendak, and then have students sketch an animal they would find out in nature to put a collage together for display in the hallway.
  • You may also want to film your Book Buddies acting out a book. It depends on the class, but perhaps a Miss Bindergarten book would work.
  • Bring your Book Buddies on a fall nature walk outside, collecting different types of leaves. When you are done collecting leaves, bring them back to class and compare them with your Book Buddies. Perhaps also try painting your leaves to make an art project with stamping. (This is a cute movie to watch for inspiration.)
  • Plant a garden with your Book Buddies. Here are some books about gardens for younger students. And the Good Brown Earth by Kathy Henderson (#10) seems like a great book for this activity. #9, Sunflower House by Eve Bunting, seems really cute, as you can plant sunflowers together with your students.
  • You may also want to do some science experiments with them. Some of the best to do are-
    -Putting pencils through a water-filled plastic sandwich bag above their heads. The plastic bag acts as a vacuum and doesn't leak water.
    -Exploding sodas with Mentos and diet Coke fascinates my fourth grade students, so younger students are even more excited.
    -Perhaps go with the tried-and-true seed-growing activity in a bag with a damp paper towel by a window, drawing and describing the seed growth over the course of a few visits. You may also want to bring in a variety of seeds for the students to label and compare.
    -You may also want to build small model rockets to launch outside. This is a neat activity.

    This website is designed, created, and maintained by V. Jasztal. All rights reserved, copyright 2009-beyond. No part of this website may be copied without written consent.