September - November Literacy Events

Most recent listed first.

My focus in November was on Community Helpers.  We created a community within the classroom.  We had the “Good Food” grocery store, that had two cash registers and all kinds of play food that was priced according to the type of food it was.  The fruit was $1.00, the bread was $2.00, etc… it was all labeled and set up by the children.  I converted the house into a hospital that had bandages, stethoscopes, gloves, and masks, dress up clothes, a doctor’s chair and all kinds of hospital items.  We had a bank called the “School Bank” that again was named by the children, it had a cash register, paper to fill out money request forms, pens, wallets, purses, etc… We had a Restaurant called the “Healthy Restaurant” that was an Italian restaurant.  The children served pizza, spaghetti, desserts, Danishes, ice cream and anything on the menu.  The children created the menus.  They cut out pictures out of magazines to illustrate what they had in the restaurant.  At times they had to go shopping to the grocery store to pick up more supplies.  They also had to visit the bank to give the bank back some money, so that more people could take money from the bank so that they had money so to eat at the restaurant.  We had a beauty salon.  There was a mannequin head with curlers, brushes, barrettes, elastics and combs.  We had a post office with mailboxes for each of the children.  To make the mailboxes, I used empty, washed out 2L milk cartons and I took digital pictures of each child.  I then printed off the photos with the child’s name printed underneath so that the children knew who to address their mail to.  I then attached all of the milk cartons together. We had a great little community.   

 

Theme Books: Community Helpers

  • The Fire Engine Book illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia

  • Pooh Plays Doctor by Kathleen W. Zoehfeld, illustrated by Robbin Cuddy

  • No Dragons For Tea.  Fire Safety for Kids and Dragons) by Jean Pendziwol and Martine Gourbault

  • Dinofours, I’m Super Dino! By Steve Metzger

  • Big Fire Trucks by Joanne Barkan

  • What Makes You Ill?  By Mike Unwin and Kate Woodward

  • Denis and the Fantastic Forest by Adrian Raeside

  • Going to the Hospital by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright

  • The Berenstein Bears Go to the Doctor by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • A Visit to the Sesame Street Firehouse by Dan Elliott  The Fire Station by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko

  • The Fire Engine Book by Jesse Younger and Illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia

  • Now you Can Read About Planes by Marjorie Rogers

  • Pass the Fritters, Critters by Cheryl Chapman

  • I Want to be a Fire Fighter by Linda Lee Maifair

  • Dinofours: It’s Fire Drill Day!  By Steve Metzger

  • Harry at the Airport by Derek Radford

  • Let’s Look inside a bus, train, ferry, and plane.  By Derek Radford

  • I’m Going to be a Fire Fighter by Edith Kunhardt

October

My focus in October was on Fall, Thanksgiving and Halloween.  We talked and learned about a variety of different things.  We studied pumpkins, seasonal change, spiders, bats and family celebrations.

Theme Books: Fall and Thanksgiving

  • Autumn Leaves Are Falling by Maria Fleming

  • Winnie the Pooh’s Thanksgiving by Bruce Talkington

  • Chatty Chipmunk’s Nutty Day by Suzanne Gruber

  • ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving Story and Pictures by Dave Pilkey

  • I Can Read About Seasons by Robyn Supraner

  • Why So Leaves Change Color?  By Betsy Maestro

  • Fall Colors by Rita Walsh

  • The Tiniest Pumpkin by Janet Craig

Theme Books: Halloween

  • Bats by Lily Wood

  • Journey to the Haunted Planet by A.J. Wood

  • The Giant Book of Creatures of the Night by Jim Pipe

  • The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

  • I Love Spiders by John Parker

  • The Roly Poly Spider by Jill Sardegna

  • I Can Read About Spiders by Deborah Merrians

  • Creatures That Glow by Melvin Berger

  • Eyes on Nature: Bats by Celia Bland

  • Don’t Eat Spiders by Robert Heidbreder

  • Bat Jamboree by Kathi Appelt

  • Spider by David Hawcock and Lee Montgomery

  • The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Forest by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • I See by Claire A. Olsen

  • There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Simms Taback

  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider As told by Iza Trapani

  • Suddenly by Colin McNaughton

  • The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis and Susan Varley

  • The Magic School Bus: Spins a Web by Joanna Cole

  • Where Do Monsters Live? By Rozanne Lanczak Williams

Poems

It is Autumn.

It is Autumn.
We go to School!
We go to School!
I can hear the bell ring.
I can hear the bell ring.
It is 9 o’clock.
It is 9 o’clock.

By Vera Trembach

It is Thanksgiving!

Turkey, Pumpkin
Apple Pie!
It is Thanksgiving
My, oh my!

By Vera Trembach
 

Leaves, Leaves, Falling Down

Leaves, Leaves
Falling down.
Leaves, Leaves
Some orange,
Some brown.
Leaves, Leaves
Falling down.
Leaves, Leaves
All around town.

By Vera Trembach

 

It’s Halloween

It’s Halloween.
Ghost, ghost.
Bat, bat.
Witch, witch.
Cat, cat.
It’s Halloween.
It’s Halloween.
What do you think of that?

By Vera Trembach

 

Zoom, Zoom! Zit, Zat!

Zoom! Zoom!
Fly on my broom.
Up to the moon.
Zoom!  Zoom!  Zoom!
 
Zit! Zat!
With my black cat.
Scare a bat.
Zit!  Zat!  Zat!

By Vera Trembach

 

Halloween Colors

Pumpkin, pumpkin
Orange, orange.
Cat, cat.
Black, black.
Ghost, ghost.
White, white.
Let’s look for colors,
On Halloween night.

By Vera Trembach

September

Theme Stories: Bears

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?  By Eric Carle

  • Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming

  • The Bear Who Came to Stay by Allen Woodman and David Kirby

  • Where’s My Teddy by Jez Alborough

  • Goldilocks and the Three  Hares by Heidi Petach

  • Welcome to the World of Bears by Diane Swanson

  • Bears: A Global Look at Bears in the Wild by Joni Phelps Hunt

  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Nicola Baxter

  • The Teddy Bears’ Picnic by Jimmy Kennedy

  • Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear illustrated by Michael Hague

  • Can’t you Sleep Little Bear by Martin Waddell

  • Cupboard Bear by Jez Alborough

  • The Bear Went over the Mountain and Other Bear Songs illustrated by Maggie Swanson
  • Somebody and the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst
  • Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer
  • Little Polar Bear and the Brave Little Hare by Hans de Beer
  • Corduroy by Don Freeman
  • A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
  • The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit by Stan and Jan Berenstain
  • Bearobics by Vic Parker and Emily Bolam
  • Bears by Ruth Krauss
  • The Berenstain Bears Go to School by Stan and Jan Berenstain

September Stories

  • Miss Bindergarten gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
  • Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward
  • Once Upon a Golden Apple by Jean Little, Maggie De Vries  and Phoebe Gilman
  • Get out of Bed  by Robert Munsch
  • Aaron’s Hair by Robert Munsch
  • Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch
  • Moira’s Birthday by Robert Munsch
  • The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
  • Chimps Don’t Wear Glasses by Laura Numeroff
  • Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
  • Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois
  • Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois
  • Franklin’s Secret Club by Paulette Bourgeois

 Poems

 By Vera Trembach

  I love Bears
 Black Bears.
Brown Bears.
I love Bears.
Happy Bears.
Sad Bears.
I love Bears.
Tall Bears.
Short Bears.
I love Bears.
Fat Bears.
Thin Bears.
I love Bears.

By Vera Trembach


Back Scratch

When a bear tries to scratch his back
It’s a sight to see
He backs right up and rubs and rubs
On a nice tall tree.

By Leslie Tryon

 
Songs

 

Polar Bear

Tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

 Polar, polar, polar bear
Do you wear long underwear?
Way up north, the land of ice.
Where the weather isn’t nice.
Polar, polar, polar bear
Do you wear long underwear?

By Vera Trembach

 

Little Bear Cub

Tune of “Are you Sleeping”

Little bear cub! Little bear cub!
How are you? How are you?
Wintertime is over! Wintertime is over!
Time to Play! Time to Play!

By Vera Trembach

  Teddy Bear

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

Turn around.

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

Touch the ground.

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

Show your shoe.

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

That will do.

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

Turn out the light

Teddy bear, Teddy bear

Say Good night.