For starters, we read this book (Amazon affiliate link). First we previewed the book. All the kids immediately noticed the gleaming white shoes! Then, we took turns describing our own shoes. Next, we started reading the book. After the incident with the strawberries, we made predictions about what might happen next. When we finished the book, we discussed how we would feel if those things happened to our own new shoes. Finally, we went back through the book, this time while playing the song.
What happened next really depended on the group. For the younger kids (3-year old preschool classes), I created this album on my iPad's camera roll by saving pictures from Google Images (If you don't know how to do that, you can read about it HERE).
As we scrolled through the album, kids took turns selecting the shoes ("Oh No! Cat stepped in cotton candy! What color are his shoes now?").
For the older preschool students (4-5 years old), we drew these "If...then" strips and answered the questions (examples: "If Cat's shoes are blue, then what do you think he stepped in?" or "If Cat stepped in plums, then his shoes would be what color?"). If you're wondering, the strips are in an undecorated Crystal Light container. I wanted to decorate it with duct tape, but I'm bored with the two patterns I have. So I'll get to that as soon as I get some new tape!
And with some of my groups, we colored shoes by following directions and/or answering questions. You can make this as simple or complex as you'd like. Some examples:
- Color the first pair of shoes the color of strawberries.
- Color the next shoes the color of spinach.
- Color the last pair of shoes the color of an elephant.
- Color the shoes that are under the gray pair the color of blueberries.
- Cat stepped in strawberries. What color should you make his shoes?
Kiddos working on articulation used this sheet from 3 Dinosaurs (I covered the "Color in the shoe patterns" title before photocopying). The students said their target word a specified number of times, then rolled a die (the one from the Chipper Chat game that only has 1-3). Then they got to color in that many pairs of shoes. The person who finished coloring their shoes first was the winner
I did find some nice resources online for this story and I will list a few for you. Here they are:
- 3 Dinosaurs - huge printable packet
- Fun for First - lots of nice activities/worksheets with a focus on adjectives
- Making Learning Fun - story props, worksheets, magnet pages, etc.
- Finally in First - class book idea
- Mrs. Plant's Press - emergent reader featuring color words
- Creating and Teaching - activity cards
Do you use this book in your therapy sessions? If so, what are your favorite activities to accompany the book?
