Illustrate a famous book!

What You Need:

• Picture book
• Paper
• Pencil
• Crayons or markers.
• Stapler, string, or brass clips

What You Do:

1. Pull out an unfamiliar book and sit down somewhere comfortable with your class. Without opening the book, look at the cover. Ask them what the pictures make them think of. What’s happening in it? Looking only at the picture, ask them to predict what they think the story will be about.

2. Now tell your class you’re going to read a story, but just this one time, they won’t be able to look at the pictures. Instead, ask them to use their imagination, and come up with images in their mind while you read.

3. During the reading, stop periodically and ask questions. For example, “Why did Sally go outside when her mother said not to?” Try to incorporate questions that require kids to make predictions as to what will happen next.

4. Once you’ve finished the book, tell your class that they are going to illustrate it! Now’s the time for discussion. While adults can often remember what happened in a story long after they’ve finished reading it, this is a skill that young kids need help developing. Give your class some prompts. Ask what happened first and then let them draw it. Ask what happened next, let them draw it, and so on. As they finish each picture, help them by writing some text below the illustration, using the words the child used when they retold it to you.

Bind the story and make a cover. Together you can compare their versions to the original and see what’s different.

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