Category: The Book Nook

The Book Nook

Hello Spring! Little Blue Truck’s Springtime Picture Book Activity

Elle Thomas
Little Blue Truck's Springtime book with animal baby matching puzzle activity.

Are you looking for a springtime science lesson with a handy literature connection? This is it! Connecting lessons and learning objectives to picture books or mentor texts is one of the best ways to set up pathways between students and learning. Read on for more tips on how to use this FREE resource in your lessons this spring.

Have Fun Teaching with Your Favorite Picture Books

FREE Baby Animal Match-Up Puzzle

Little Blue Truck and his friend Frog are on a journey around the farm in Spring. And what do they see? All of their animal friends and their newly born babies! You and your kiddos will love the beautiful and colorful illustrations in this book. Also cute farm animals, you are absolutely winning here. Click here to find this book!

It’s a yoo-hoo, sky-blue, spring-sing day! Who do they see along the way?

Six animal pairings are introduced in the book: sheep/lamb, duck/duckling, goat/kid, cow/calf, pig/piglet, rabbit/bunny, & hen/chick.

Connecting lessons and learning objectives to picture books or mentor texts is one of the best ways to set up pathways between students and learning.

Little Blue Truck’s Springtime Lesson Ideas

This colorful, low prep baby animal match-up puzzle activity is perfect for your pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, or young child at home. Keep reading to find fun ways you can use this resource, and download it for FREE below!

Read Little Blue Truck’s Springtime during your daily read aloud or science lesson. Extend the literature in the following ways:

  1. Use a pocket chart or magnets to organize animal parents with their offspring. Discuss new animal pairings/parents and vocabulary not introduced in the book: horse/foal, dog/puppy, cat/kitten, llama/cria, turkey/poult.
  1. Introduce the words parent and offspring. Explain to students that offspring is a word used to describe an animal’s young/baby. Write the words making two columns. Shuffle the activity pieces. Ask students to pull a card and sort it into the correct category: parent or offspring.
  1. Make a list of the animal parents you saw in the book. Ask students to name the offspring connected to each parent. Send students to work on a journal entry or illustration about their favorite animal pairing.

This simple and useful FREE activity is the perfect companion for Little Blue Truck’s Springtime.

I would love to see you and your little learners enjoying this resource. Tag me on Instagram (@elementery_elle) or send me a picture!

Pin one of the images below to save this picture book activity for later!

Don’t forget to sign up and grab this FREE resource below!

Little Blue Truck’s Springtime Book Extension FreebieDownload

Are you looking for more picture book activities? Click here to check out this post!

Have fun teaching!

Hi! I’m Elle. I want to help you teach your kiddos and enjoy your teaching. I love creating engaging, easy to use resources for the primary classroom and beyond. Thanks for visiting!

The Book Nook

More Peas…Alphabet Peas!

Elle Thomas

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker is the perfect alphabet book to use with your kindergarten and first grade students. As an added bonus – this simply story about peas gets students thinking about more than just their ABC’s! This has to be one of the most adorable alphabet books I’ve seen. Who doesn’t love a story told by peas? Each letter of the alphabet is beautifully illustrated using peas – alphabet peas – going about their business in a variety of career and life pursuits. For example, letter B peas are builders, bathers, and bikers. Did I mention some of the peas are wearing hats? It’s almost too much.

One of the best parts about this alphabet book – besides the peas, of course – is the fact that you can get two lessons out of one book! Score! Naturally, you can use it to practice the ABC’s and alphabet sounds. The activity below would be perfect to use with the book during the first weeks of school!

However, if you’re loving this book like I am, it also works wonderfully as an about me activity where students have the opportunity to think about their dreams, goals, and ambitions for the future. “We are peas from A to Z. Now tell us, please…” The last page of the story offers up a question: Who Are You? What a perfect springboard into a “getting to know me” writing activity! Give students time to think and write about a future “pea persona” they see themselves taking on. Then, students illustrate their blank pea accordingly.

Click below to download the five page LMNO Peas Book Extension FREEBIE!

LMNO Peas Book Extension FreebieDownload

Have students share their writing, or turn the finished pages into a class book! You could even take the extra step and make a class alphabet book. Assign each student a different letter of the alphabet to use for his or her page. Another added bonus – you have a brilliant read-aloud book for after lunch.

Have you all noticed that there seems to be a lot of lessons and activities starring these funny, little green “peas” floating around lately? Do you use anything related to “peas” in your classroom?

Happy teaching! – Elle