How might we deepen our thinking and teaching around strengthening our learners’ character foundation? What if we spend some time thinking deeply about children’s literature and planning how to use it in our read-aloud moments to connect to character, values, and social-emotional learning and growth?
Our media specialists, Meredith and Myra, continue to develop a collection of children’s books for this purpose. This collection will be available for check out (and back in) all summer. You may also select books that you find and regularly use.
Let’s read 10 picture books and plan learning intentions to use them for character education and values learning during read-aloud and other teachable moments with our students.
When designing these learning intentions:
- Use the same Visible Thinking Routines, Sentence-Phrase-Word and/or Connect-Extend-Challenge, to read closely.
- Notice and note big Ideas, themes, and teaching points.
- Notice and note connection to reading and writing strategies.
- Notice and note connection to Progress Report Checklist of Skills.
See below for two examples and some suggested books:
Here’s what to do:
- Select and read a book.
- Open and make a copy of the lesson intention template.
- Complete the lesson intention.
- Share it with Jill and drop a link to your plan in the comments below.
(There is an example there too.) - Repeat.
Here are some book suggestions from Meredith and Myra:
Here’s my lesson intention for Rachel Bright’s Love Monster and the Last Chocolate.
Sentence: But just as he went to lift the lid, he had a sort of queasy-squeezy feeling in his heart.
Phrase: … stop to think of others…
Word: kinder
Sharing my lesson intention from Giraffes Can’t Dance:
Sentence: We all can dance when we find music we love.
Phrase: Gerald swallowed bravely …
Word: Sommersault
Here is my Marshmallow lesson intention.
Sentence: The bunny cuddled up to him.
Phrase: … that they were friends
Word: Friendship
Here is my lesson intention for The Little Red Hen
Sentence: The Little Red ended up doing all of the work around the house.
Phrase: Not I
Word: All
Here is my lesson intention for Hey, Little Ant
Sentence: Well, now it’s gonna squish you flat
Phrase: ….much like me
Word: should
Here is my lesson intention for Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
Sentence: That night Lilly drew a new picture of Mr. Slinger and wrote a story about him, too.
Phrase: ….really really sorry
Word: felt
Here is my lesson intention for It’s Hard to be a Verb
Sentence: You be in charge of all the wiggles at large.
Phrase: the exact same thing over and over again
Word: focus
Here is my lesson intention for Memoirs of a Goldfish
Sentence: I got some company today.
Phrase: they need me
Word: family
Here is my lesson intention for Sound Sound Switch Around
Sentence: Imagine what would happen, if for just one day, each one of us had to transform the way we talk and the words we say?!
Phrase: the perfect voice to steal
Word: communicate
Here is my lesson intention for Enemy Pie
Sentence: What kinds of disgusting things would I put into a pie for an enemy?
Phrase: lost my best enemy
Word: friend
Here is my lesson intention for What if Everybody Did That?
Sentence: What if everybody did that?
Phrase: just one…
Word: wanted
Here is my lesson intention for Stick and Stone
Sentence: Alone is no fun.
Phrase: Together again
Word: friendship
Here is my lesson intention for A Perfectly Messed Up Story
Sentence: Books are important. They teach us stuff and they inspire us.
Phrase: A book no one will ever want, read, or love.
Word: story
Here is my lesson intention for Me, Too
Sentence: She was wondering if she would have anything in common with her classmates.
Phrase: Looking at this web
Word: connection
Here is my lesson intention for The Teddy Bear
Sentence: He took the teddy bear in his rough hands and hugged him.
Phrase: My bear!
Word: wailing
Here is my lesson intention for The Cow who Climbed a Tree
Sentence: And after that, they couldn’t wait to see what else was possible.
Phrase: For the first time,…
Word: nonsense
Here is my learning intention for Giraffes Can”t Dance
Sentence: We all can dance when we find music we love.
Phrase: Gerald swallowed bravely …
Word: Sommersault
Here is my learning intention for Farmer Duck
Sentence: But nobody spoke!
Phrase: …stole down the hall.
Word: Quack!
Here is my learning intention for Hey, Little Ant
Sentence: You’re so tiny you don’t look real.
Phrase: …you are very much like me.
Word: should
Here is my learning intention for Those Shoes
Sentence: Maybe they wrote it down wrong.
Phrase: with my own money
Word: time
Here is my lesson intention for Me…Jane
Sentence: It was a magical world full of joy and wonder, and Jane felt very much a part of it.
Phrase: observed a miracle
Word: dream
Here is my lesson intention for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Sentence: They all had all that they wanted.
Phrase: that magic must be at work
Word: pebble
Here is my lesson intention for Swimmy
Sentence: We are going to swim all together like the biggest fish in the sea!
Phrase: He taught them….
Word: Think
Here is my lesson intention for The Cow That Went Oink
Sentence: The cows that went MOO laughed at the cow that went OINK
Phrase: tried again
Word: friendly
Here is my lesson intention for The Mixed-Up Chameleon
Sentence: Oh, if I could only be myself!
Phrase: I wish I could be…
Word: me