- basket of objects for tapping (pencils, sticks, etc.)
- loud
- rhythm
- sound
- tap
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.9: With prompting and support, make connections between a story or poem and one’s own experiences.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.3: With prompting and support, act out characters and events from a story or poem read aloud.
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: Max Found Two Sticks #2
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Sounds have a source; Different objects make different sounds; An action has to happen to make a sound
ELA Focus Skills: Fine Motor Skills, Letter Recognition, Parts of a Book
Tell children that you are going to reread Max Found Two Sticks by Jerry Pinkney. Review that the story is about sound and a little boy with dreams who uses sound to express his feelings.
Before You Read
Hold up the book and point to the title as you read it.
- Now have children describe what they see in the illustration. Ask, What do you think Max dreams of becoming when he grows up? Why do you think that? Let’s read the story and see if we can find out.
- Distribute tapping sticks and tell children you want them to tap out some of the sounds Max makes as you read. Tell children they are to tap only when you pause in reading the story. Explain that if they tap whenever they want, it would get too loud and other children may not be able to hear the words.
As You Read
Place special emphasis on the rhythm of the words that describe the sounds Max makes with his sticks.
- Pause as you come to the rhythmic words each new object makes, for example, pat . . . pat-pat. Have the children tap the rhythm out on their thighs.
- Continue with the other sounds of the book.
After You Read
Ask questions such as, Do you think Max wants to be a drummer when he grows up? What makes you think so?
- Have children create rhythm patterns like Max did in the story. Guide them to say the pattern and tap out the pattern. Have the group repeat the rhythmic pattern.
Safety Tip: Make sure to show children how to play with the tapping materials safely. Reinforce any rules you have established that prohibit children from tapping each other or interferring with others personal space.