EASTER ("week 21")

Rabbits and Eggs in the Library

This 6-day week was right before Spring Break - so finding books engaging and interesting enough to hold the students' attention was no easy task.  Here are some of the books I started out this "week" using, but quickly realized they weren't going to do the trick - not this week, at least:





         



  Thank you, Beatrix Potter!  You are the BOMB!

This is Peter Rabbit and his mother.  He hasn't lost his jacket yet and his mother is asking him NOT to go to Mr. McGregor's garden.

With rabbits in mind, I thought of Beatrix Potter and found the best youtube 2 part version of The tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny.  In addition to exposing the PreK, K, and 1st graders to the world of Beatrix Potter, this video (which went exactly by the book, illustrations and all) really kept their attention.  There is nothing like being on the edge of your seat waiting to see if mean Mr. McGregor catches Peter and puts him in a pie.

The videos only took 20 minutes, so the students colored worksheets with an Easter them (rabbits, eggs) while we did check out.

I started out doing "stained glass egg frames" with the second grade and rabbit "baskets" with third, but I ended up switching that around and the timing worked much better. I am still trying to get a handle on the abilities of each grade level.  

When time allowed, particularly in 2nd grade, I showed a quick video about Humpty Dumpty on youtube.  Humpty, of course, is the most famous egg of all time and Easter is about eggs....this video was great.  It was a cartoonish rock version of Humpty Dumpty and they made up lyrics:  

"Do you like scrambled, do you like fried?   

Do you like boiled? Toast is on the side.

Eggs taste nice, they're good for you.

Poor old Humpty! What we gonna do?"

The 2nd graders who did get to hear the 2 minute video loved it.  Many of them were singing it as they left the library. This video was by RockstarLittle at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpkgoDv6FFk 

One book that was very well-received was Dav Pilkey's Dumb Bunnies' Easter.  We have read a lot of Dav Pilkey this year and he never fails to disappoint.  All I have to do is ask what else he has written and as soon as I say, "Captain Underpants," I have everyone's attention.  The third grade loved this book, and after switching crafts, I started reading this to 2nd grade as well.

Rabbit baskets or masks, an egg and one of the "keys" for the Easter Egg Hunt.

The 4th and 5th grades seemed very excited to do an Easter Egg hunt in the library before check out.  After I tried it with my first 5th grade class of the week, I realized that only 2 different versions of the egg hunt weren't going to cut it.  Too many kids were charging after the same books and it was chaotic.  Even after I made more eggs and more worksheets to alleviate the problem, it was still chaotic but a little less so.  BUT I think this worked...I think it finally clicked with many of the students that weren't getting it before:  "I need the call number to find this book and I can get that from the catalog."  I was so happy.