- plant
- seed
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or a poem read aloud.
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.2: With prompting and support, retell a sequence of events from a story read aloud.
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.4: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a story or poem read aloud.
English Language Arts/Literature/RL.PK.MA.9: With prompting and support, make connections between a story or poem and one’s own experiences.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation and Knowledge: Asks and answers questions and makes comments about print materials.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 6: Listen to a wide variety of age appropriate literature read aloud.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 10: Engage actively in read-aloud activities by asking questions, offering ideas, predicting or retelling important parts of a story or informational book.
Read Together: Vegetable Garden #3
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Plants have different parts: roots, stems, leaves, and fruit; Some plant parts are below the ground and some above; Many of the foods that animals, including humans, eat come from plants; We eat certain leaves, roots, fruits, and seeds
ELA Focus Skills: Book Appreciation, Concepts of Print (Locating Title), Listening and Speaking, Phonological Awareness (Rhythm and Rhyme), Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Hold up Vegetable Garden by Douglas Florian. Have a volunteer point to and (if able) read the title. Have children read the title together.
Before You Read
Review what rhyme words are with children. Tell children that Vegetable Garden is a rhyme book and have them listen for the rhyming words as you read.
As You Read
Pause before reading the last word of each rhyming pair and invite children to fill in the rhyme word. You may need to point to the illustrations for support.
After You Read
Ask questions such as,
- Did you like the book? What did you like about it?
- What was your favorite part of the book? Why do you like that part best?
- Was there anything in the book that you would like to do if you were going to plant a vegetable garden?
Invite children to turn to their favorite page in the book and retell what happened on that page. Have them point to any plants or plant parts in the illustrations they recognize and name them.
Educator Tip: To reinforce rhyme words, you may want to reread each page and encourage children insert their own sets of rhyme words.