Read Aloud Plan #1

My selection is My Many Colored Days By Dr. Seuss. I will read it to the 4 year olds in my PDO class primarily to teach colors, but also to teach feeling words. I think it is good choice for this age group because they are currently learning both their colors and also how to respond appropriately to their emotions in the context of cooperative play and learning. I will read it in groups of 2 or 3 and assess comprehension by following up with a coloring activity.

The kids liked the book. Since I used very small groups, it was easy for them to get close enough to see the pictures clearly. I scrapped the coloring activity because it didn't fit into my schedule. Instead I asked them to show me where the beginning, middle, and end of the book was. Every one of them got it right, which I think is awesome! Then I let each kiddo flip through the pages and show me what kind of day they were having. Their answers surprised me. They often answer with a "herd" mentality. One of the extroverts answers, then everyone else in the group picks the same thing. But this time they each did their own thing. One little girl showed me the black howling wolf picture. I asked her how that feels for her and she said "Good." And I said "Really? Because some kids might think that this picture looks scary or angry." And she said, "No, it looks happy." Alrighty, then. To each his or her own.