The Only Lonely Panda Essay

My first book was “The Only Lonely Panda” by Jonny Lambert. For the most part I followed the same format that I had planned for “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”. The group was smaller so we sat in a half moon shape with me in the front. Still keeping everything on their level. I started by asking the children about the cover and the pictures inside. We talked about pandas and who had seen pandas at the zoo. We also talked about how pandas eat bamboo and how they can be so big and eat leaves. Even though the group was smaller, I still double panned so all the students got a good look at the pictures. Throughout the story, I asked the student various questions about the different animal’s colors and why pandas would have a hard time dancing and

bouncing or being a peacock. We did not act out any movements during the story because it would require standing and sitting repetitively. So, I waited till the story was over and then we danced like flamingos, bounced like lemurs, stomped like boobys, and wiggled our tails like peacocks. We all had a lot of fun doing this. Then to wrap up, we talked about how we make friends and how to talk to kids we see playing alone.

My second book was “The Very Stuffed Turkey” by Katharine Kenah.

Again, I followed the same format that I had planned for “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”. The group was about the same size as before. We began by looking at all the foods on the cover and what the turkey was wearing. Then we flipped through the pages and I asked them what they thought the book would be about. For the most part they answered Thanksgiving. However, with this book, the pages were filled with images so I took extra time to point out specific details so I could ask follow-up questions later. As I read, I chose one food at each friend’s house to emphasis and then after the story was over I asked them what the food was. For example, at horse’s house they had lots of carrots, I made a big deal out of the carrots and then later asked if anyone could remember what horse had all over his table. We were also able to act out some of the motions in this book as well. We tossed a pumpkin ball, rode a horse, ate Thanksgiving soup, threw ice cream at each other, and played a drum. At the end of the story, we talked about all the things we did and they were able to associate the actions with the friends’ houses we did them at. The motions helped them remember the story better. We finished by going around the circle and talking about what we do for Thanksgiving. I asked if anyone gets on a plane, or drives for a long

time.