|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Classroom Activities
To Help You Connect Trumpet Books to Your Curriculum
|
|
Ogres! Ogres! Ogres!
A Feasting Frenzy from A-Z
Classroom Activities
 |
About the Book
Two children peek through a trap door in the floor to find ogres eating. But they're not eating just anything. There is a method to their madness: alliteration, repetition, and a clever alphabet pattern allow emergent readers to anticipate the upcoming letter and maybe even the upcoming ogre's name! For students with mastery over the alphabet, the fun pictures include a "seek and find" component of famous pictures within the picture.
|
Before Reading the Book
Play a singing/chanting game of "A my name is Alice." [A my name is Alice, my brother's name is Al. We come from Alabama and we sell Apples!] Have the class seated in a circle on the floor. Each student sings a verse of the song using the appropriate letter. That is, if the last person sang "T my name is Tommy…" the next person would begin on the letter U. If you have more than 26 students, start at the beginning once you reach the end of the alphabet! Explain to the students that they have just used something that famous, grown-up writers use. It's called alliteration. Explain what it means. They will be very proud when they recognize the alliteration in the book!
Read Together
- Read Ogres! Ogres! Ogres! aloud to the class. As you read, ask the class to identify the patterns in the text. Students will notice the colorful first letter on each page and will recognize the alphabet pattern. Ask why the word "butter" is on the A page. "That's a b-word! What's it doing here?" As the patterns become clear, students will enjoy guessing what letter, names and foods might be coming up next.
- To help students recognize their own ability to predict words and also to practice symbol-sound correspondence, engage your students in the following activity:
- Cover the last word on each page with a card or Post-it® note.
- When you come to that word, allow the students to guess what word is behind the Post-it®. Students will use a variety of clues to help them know the missing word. They will rely on picture clues and as the pattern of the book becomes clear, they will rely on the pattern.
- Give clues for the harder ones, such as "dumplings." "Hmm, there are a lot of cartons of Chinese food around this ogre. What letter is this food going to begin with again?"
- If students can't guess certain words, reveal the word letter-by-letter to give them practice using their developing symbol-sound correspondence.
[If you want to do a mini-lesson on verbs, you could also cover-up the verbs on each page instead of the last word.]
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Make a Class Book:
- Ask students to get themselves in a line in alphabetical order by first name. For students whose names begin with the same letter, teach them to go to the second letter — or further — until there is a different letter. For students who have the same first name, keep them placed in line based on their first initial. Within that placement, order them by the first initial of their last name.
- Once students are in an order, tell them to remember who comes after them in line. You could write the names in order on the board, or post the list on chart paper for reference. This way, it's an easy solution for students to help themselves remember if they forget.
- Have students return to their seats. Find out if they have ideas for the theme of the class book. (Some suggestions might be toys, games, colors, etc.) It is not necessary to change the theme from food, but might be a way to get the book to include more spontaneous language instead of language borrowed from the book.
- Discuss explicitly the pattern of the book. Each page starts with the name of the character, then there is verb or "action word," then there is a noun naming the food. (There are variations on this theme in the book, but for this activity we suggest you keep it simple!) The noun begins with the next letter in the alphabet. In this activity, the noun will begin with the initial of a student in the class. Explain carefully that the class book will not include the whole alphabet — but the alphabet letters that are represented by the first names in the classroom.
- At this point, brainstorm a list of verbs — based on the agreed upon theme — that begin with a variety of different letters. This will help the group think about what words are verbs, and what verbs might be used on their page of the book. If you anticipate some names being hard to pair with verbs, ask for student suggestions so that there are sure to be choices for each child. Post this list where students can see it.
- Pass out markers and a piece of paper to each student. The paper should have a space for drawing as well as a couple of lines along the bottom of the page for writing. (You can just draw these in with a marker. Then xerox a number of sheets so you are sure to have enough!)
- Each student will write one sentence of the book. This sentence will comprise the student's first name, a verb that begins with the same letter as his/her name, and a noun that begins with the first initial of the person who stood behind them in line. Then, in the box, they will draw their own picture to go with their sentence.
- Laminate each page and bind it and put the book in your classroom library!
|
|
|
|
 |
|
