- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- alphabet
- coconut
- enough
- top
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.8.A: Respond with movement or clapping to a regular beat in poetry or song.
Mathematics/Counting and Cardinality/PK.CC.MA.1: Listen to and say the names of numbers in meaningful contexts.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation & Knowledge: Shows interest in shared reading experiences and looking at books independently.
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation & Knowledge: Recognizes how books are read, such as front-to-back and one page at a time, and recognizes basic characteristics, such as title, author, and illustrator.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 1: Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (taking turns in talking; listening to peers; waiting until someone is finished; asking questions and waiting for an answer; gaining the floor in appropriate ways).
English Language Arts/Language 2: Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
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.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Mathematics/Number Sense 1: Listen to and say the names of numbers in meaningful contexts.
Science and Technology/Inquiry Skills 1: Ask and seek out answers to questions about objects and events with the assistance of interested adults.
Read Together: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom #1
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Hold up the cover of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. Ask children to look at the cover illustration and tell what they think the book will be about.
Before You Read
Point to the words as you read aloud the title, the authors, and the illustrator. Then talk about the letters on the cover illustration.
Open to the end pages of the book and explain that Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an ABC book or an alphabet book, say, That means it is about the letters of the alphabet.
- Invite children to recite each letter of the alphabet after you. Then read the story aloud.
As You Read
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has a lively musical rhythm. As you read, emphasize the beat and rhythm of the words.
- Invite children to join in when you read the repeating lines “Chicka chicka boom boom” and “Skit skat skoodle doot. Flip flop flee.”
- Point to each letter as you read its name. Move your finger up the tree when you read the phrases “up the coconut tree” or “to the top of the coconut tree.”
After You Read
Talk about the book with children. Ask questions such as,
- Why do you think the letters of the alphabet run up the coconut tree?
- What happens when all the letters of the alphabet get to the top of the tree? (They fall down!) Why do you think they fall down?
- Let’s count the letters in the alphabet. (Count aloud as you point to each letter.)
English Language Learners: Name and act out some of the actions in the story. Have children repeat the action words and pantomime after you.