More Fun: Activities, Videos, and Related Content
Cross- Curricular Activities
Math
Graphing
Write Chrysanthemum on the board. Count how many letters are in her name, and make a stack of 13 unifix cubes. Write a child’s name on the board and count how many letters are in their name. Make a stack of unifix cubes for their name and compare it to Chrysanthemum's name to see whose name is longer/shorter. Then pass out unifix cubes to other children for them to build their own name towers. Then they can compare their towers. Find the shortest, tallest, and children with the same size towers. Put the group in order from shortest to tallest towers.
Science
Flower Frenzy
Children are provided multiple pictures of real flowers. Compare and contrast flowers to determine similarities and differences. Allow children to determine which flower is their favorite and explain why.
Fact vs. Fiction Game
This activity focuses on listening skills and knowing the difference between fact and fiction. The adult stands at the front of the room and the child(ren) line up across the back of the room. The adult calls out a statement about the book, the author, the country of origin, etc. The child(ren) move up one step if they hear a fact.
Social Studies
Find the Similarities
Create Venn diagrams visually depicting similarities and differences between a bully and a friend.
This is My Story
Invite a guest speaker to visit or Skype with the group about a cultural, political, historical, environmental or thematic element in this story.
Book Pen Pals
Arrange to have another child(ren) to read the same story. Assign Pen Pals to your child(ren) and have them share book reviews. Pen Pals include information about their own life and how they related to the story in their correspondence.
What Would I Do?
Brainstorm with child(ren) different resolutions and what their outcomes would be. This allows them to see the potential range of opinion (choices) within a group. Child(ren) can share why they placed themselves where they did on the spectrum.
Choices and Consequences
Economics is defined as “life is about choices and choices have consequences”. Have your child(ren) come up with choices for Chrysanthemum. How would they have helped her decide how to deal with people teasing her about her name? How would the decision have been different if some of their decisions were chosen by her?
