(Don’t forget about the discussion questions and activities already included with each book! Use these extra ideas as a springboard to further enrichment of student learning.)

Activities for Meghan Rose All Dressed Up
LANGUAGE ARTS

• Read Marc Brown’s story Pickle Things. As a class, brainstorm a list of other possible pickle things—the sillier the better. Have each child pick his favorite idea, draw a picture of it, and write a sentence about it. Collect all answers to create a class book. (Sentences may follow a pattern, such as, “Have you ever seen a pickle _______?”)
• Collect and read as many different versions of Little Red Riding Hood as you can find. Compare how they are alike and how they are different. Next, review how to write a letter. Finally, have students write a letter to one of the characters FROM Meghan Rose. Meghan could write a thank you note to the huntsman, a letter to grandma inviting her to dinner, a letter to Red Riding Hood suggesting a new wardrobe…there are many possibilities.
• Meghan Rose’s retold version of Little Red Riding Hood as a reader’s theater.

SCIENCE

• Meghan got a bad case of poison ivy. How many other poisonous plants can you list? Do some online research. Then make a warning poster with a picture of the plant and where it can be found.
• Explore sound, just like Meghan did in the doctor’s office. Fill several small plastic containers (butter tubs, Easter eggs, film canisters, or spice bottles) with different materials (rice, beads, pennies, nuts, candy). It might be helpful to number the containers. First, show the kids a list of the materials you used. Then have children shake the containers and guess what’s inside. Check answers, then talk about how sound is made by vibrations. The vibrations travel to our eardrums, and our brains “hear” the sound.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• What is a brand name? (A name, design, or symbol used to identify a seller or product.) List as many different brands as you can, like Nike, Gatorade, Apple, Ziplock, Coca Cola, Pillsbury, and General Mills. Have students invent their own product and brand name. Some students may also enjoy researching a particular brand name to find out the history behind it.
• After reading Little Red Riding Hood (see Language Arts above), talk about maps. Ask students to create a map of Red Riding Hoods path to grandma’s house

MATH

• Ask five students to come forward one by one. Sort them into two different categories according to their clothes (such as short sleeve shirts/not short sleeve shirts; buttons/no buttons; sweatpants/ not sweatpants). See if students can guess your sorting rule. If not, sort a few more students.
• Make a shoe Venn diagram. You need two large hula hoops (or yarn you can form into circles). Set the hoops on the floor so that they overlap enough to form a shared center space. On three 3X5 cards, write these categories: shoes without laces (for hoop on the left), tennis shoes (for hoop on the right), tennis shoes without laces (for overlap center between hoops). Obviously, some shoes will not fit into any category. That’s okay! Set them aside. Discuss which category has more, less, how much more, etc.
• If Meghan knew poison ivy had three leaves, she might have avoided it. Ask your students to list other things that come in threes. Examples: flag colors (red, white, blue); Mother Goose (blind mice, little pigs, men in a tub, Billy goats Gruff, bears, Musketeers); three strikes you’re out. Extend this activity by listing things that come in groups of two, six, or twelve.

 

ART

• Design clothes for Meghan Rose. What would you dress her in for picture day? Draw a picture of Meghan Rose all dressed up!
• Design a Pickle brand poster advertising various Pickle clothes or knick-knacks
• Design a Pickle brand mascot.
• It was Picture Day at Meghan’s school! Someone took her portrait, but many famous artists have created self-portraits. Study some of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portraits. There is a great list at http://www.vggallery.com/painting/main_se.htm. Give each student a small mirror and ask them to draw a self-portrait.

MUSIC

• Meghan created some fun rhythms in the doctor’s office using wooden blocks. First, talk about and show real percussion instruments. Instruments include cymbals, bells, drums, chimes, glockenspiel, tambourine, triangle, sandpaper blocks, maracas, and more. If you have instruments available, allow students to experiment playing with them.Extend the activity by clapping a rhythm and having students clap it back. Then try tapping out a variety of other rhythms on desktops or walls. Stomp out a beat, add snaps, and have fun.
• As a class, a rap or song for the Pickle brand. Videotape the students performing their tune.