- river
- stream
- water
MA Standards:
Literature/RL.PK.MA.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or a poem read aloud.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.10: Listen actively as an individual and as a member of a group to a variety of age-appropriate literature read aloud.
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: Row, Row, Row Your Boat #2
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Concepts of Print, Listening and Speaking, Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Before You Read
Show children the cover of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Ask children to recall what they remember of the book. Ask, What happens to the bears as they row, row, row their boat down the river?
As You Read
Read slowly and hold the book so everyone can see each of the illustrations as you read.
- Pause on the spread with the beavers building their dam. Point out that the beavers are stacking up sticks and logs in a pile. Explain what a dam is; then ask, When have you blocked the flow of water like the beavers? What happened? Why do you think the beavers are stacking up the logs that way? How does that help block the flow of water?
- Use the illustrations to clarify the meaning of the words damming, logging, and jamming.
After You Read
Talk about the book with children. Ask questions such as,
- Have you ever been on a boat trip before? How was it like the bears’ trip down the river?
- Was the water always calm, or did it get fast? What happened when it got fast?
Take It Further: Extend children’s reading to talk more about beavers and their habitats. Gather nonfiction books about beavers and read them with children to learn more about why beavers build dams.