5 Ways to Use Spookley in your Preschool Classroom
October is always a fun month in preschool. Students are excited to see the leaves changing and falling down. You may be going to a pumpkin patch on a field trip, and of course, October means Halloween!
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There are many engaging books to read to students at this time. Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano is one of my favorites. It’s an adorable story that teaches students to celebrate their differences.
Read on to learn 5 different ways you can use this book in your preschool classroom.
If you are interested in doing a weeklong Spookley unit with your preschool students, check out this book companion pack from Simply Special Ed. The following activities are right from that pack and can be done each day of the week!
Make a Story Map
A story map is a good way to introduce students to comprehension strategies. These include identifying the title, setting, characters, and plot. After reading the story to your class, you can build a story map as a whole group. I prefer to do this on an anchor chart so that it can be displayed in the classroom for students to see.
Discuss with students each part of the story map. This may be review if you have taught the concepts of a title, setting, etc. before. If you have not taught these concepts, you can use Spookley to introduce them!
You may want to call students up one at a time to glue the pictures and words on the story map under each section. Or, you can have students turn and talk to identify each part and you attach the pictures yourself.
For students that are nonverbal, you can present them with the pictures to hold up or give them a copy of the book to point to the pictures of each aspect as they are discussed.
After completing the story map as a whole group, you can have students complete their own story map independently or in small groups. Depending on how you want them to practice this, you may provide them with cut outs of the same pictures you used for the story map. You also can have students draw their own pictures for each part.
For students older than preschool that may be readers and writers, you can have them fill in their own story map worksheet by writing a sentence for each part.
Learn Vocabulary
Spookley has some great vocabulary that may be new for students. If you follow the Simply Special Ed plans for this book, then you will use the second day of this unit to focus on the vocabulary in the story. The words “teased”, “hatched”, “fright”, “rare”, and “bloom” are the vocabulary words in this pack (shown above).
Reread the book to the class, this time focusing on these words. Students can turn and talk to discuss what they think these words mean. They may need to rely on the illustrations and context clues to help them. As you discuss each word, you can create a vocabulary anchor chart with pictures to go with each word. Students may also follow along with you as you glue down pictures on an anchor chart. They can glue down the same pictures on their own worksheet, in a notebook, etc.
Students can then branch off and work independently, in partners, or in small groups to complete vocabulary matching activities. They can do a picture match, play a memory game with the vocabulary and pictures, and/or use clothespins to clip the correct definition onto the vocabulary cards.
Do a simple craft
Crafts to go along with read alouds are one of my favorite things to do with students! Crafts are a great way for students to practice fine motor skills and following directions.
The craft in the SSE bundle is adorable and requires minimal prep work for you as the teacher. You can do this on the third day of the unit, or at the end of the unit for a fun activity! All you need is construction paper, googly eyes, glue sticks, and scissors.
Students will assemble their own Spookley. They will cut a piece of black construction paper into a smaller square. They will cut a leaf and a stem, eyebrows, and a mouth as well. You may want to provide them with templates to cut around or precut all the materials depending on the needs of your students.
They will tear up a piece of orange construction paper and glue the pieces down on the black paper. They will also glue down the parts of Spookley’s face, leaf, and stem. You may also choose to include a sentence starter with a word for them to trace at the end.
This craft is a fun way for students to practice cutting, gluing, fine motor skills such as tearing paper, and following step by step instructions.
Practice Sequencing
Sequencing is another great skill for students to practice while doing a book study/unit. Following the SSE book companion pack, by day 4, they should have a solid understanding of the events in the story.
At this point, you can have students flip through the pages in the book and practice retelling the story. They can do this with a partner, in a small group, or as a whole class by coming up and taking turns retelling a page.
Depending on your students, you can also have them use the above sequencing sheet to draw pictures of the events of the story in order. This may be done as a whole class while they follow along, or independently/in a small group, again depending on your students.
Assess comprehension
On the final day of the unit, you can assess each student on their comprehension of the book. This does not have to be a formal assessment, especially because preschool students will not have the attention span for that! SSE created a simple circle the picture activity that can be completed in less than 5 minutes with students.
This is an easy way to gauge if the student understood all of the comprehension skills practiced throughout the week. You can call students over one at a time, read them the three questions, and have them circle their answer choices. You can also do this as a whole group activity by reading the questions aloud and having students circle them on a clipboard. They may also participate by holding up a number to show their answer choice.
The Spookley pack also includes three different levels to assess student comprehension. Level 1 is the most basic (circle the picture). Level 2 is a written response, which you may use for older students. Another suggestion for this level is to write down your preschool students’ verbal responses. Level 3 is a blank response. Students can draw a picture or write words.
Spookley the Square Pumpkin is an adorable Halloween story that teaches children about differences, self-acceptance, and being kind. Hopefully these suggestions on how to use the story in your preschool classroom can save you some time! Happy reading!
