IF YOU GIVE A BEAR A BOOK...
Day 1:
Read “If you give a mouse a cookie”
Discussion – name the first item the mouse asked for; name 3 different things
the mouse gets/does in the story; explain why the mouse needs the next thing
(for example - milk after he gets a cookie); think of other things the mouse
could do, and what would happen then.
Activities –
1. File folder games with chocolate chip cookies: matching number of chips in
two sets of cookies or number of chips to numerals (depending on the abilities
of the students); talk about more/less chips.
2. Make cookies: picture cards of ingredients and instructions so the children
can help; counting children to determine how many are needed; predict changes as
the ingredients are mixed together and then baked; eat for snack.
3. Use cookie cutters in playdough or clay, allow the shapes to dry
4. Paint using cookie cutters instead of brushes; discuss the colors
5. Have a bakery shop in the dramatic play area; include cookie sheets, rolling
pins, cookie cutters, aprons, etc. let the children make signs showing what is
for sale, etc. (keep this set up for the week, add new items each day to go with
the book
“Mouse Mess” by Linnea
Riley
“Mouse Paint” and “Mouse Count” by Ellen Stall Walsh
“Who took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?” By Bonnie Lass & Philemon Sturges
“The Gingerbread Man”
“The Gingerbread Baby” by Jan Brett
Day 2:
Read “If you give a moose a muffin”; discussion (topics for discussion similar
to day one, stressing the cause and effect sequences from the book)
Activities:
1. Sing “Do you know the muffin man?”
2. Make muffin cup flowers (on construction paper; make stems, glue cups on top,
glue cotton balls in the middle)
3. Sort and count chocolate chips or M&Ms into a muffin pan using numbered
muffin cups as guides (either with numerals or pictures of how many so the kids
can match)
4. Make muffins for snack
5. Bakery shop – add muffin tins and cups, frosting cans and knives
“Moose, goose, and little nobody” by Ellen Raskin
“Morris the moose” by B. Wiseman
“A moose is not a mouse” by Harold Berson
Arthur books by Marc Brown
“Moose live here” by Irmengarde Eberle
Morris books by Bernard Wiseman
“Down by the Bay” (book and song) by Raffi
Day 3:
Read “If you give a pig a pancake”, discussion.
Activities:
1. Make pancakes for snack – talk about and sample different things (syrup,
honey, jam) that can go on top
2. Chart the children’s favorite breakfast items – talk about what we think
might be the favorites, compare to what are
3. Talk about what is good for you for breakfast and why it’s important to eat
it (gives you energy, helps you be ready to work and learn)
4. Make melted crayon drawings using a griddle – kids wear mittens to protect
their hands; use large piece of construction paper on griddle (unwrapped crayons
held on their sides work best). This activity is for one child at a time with
Teacher supervision at all times!
5. Bakery shop – add whisk, pancake flipper, syrup bottles
“Pancakes, pancakes” by Eric Carle
“We’re making breakfast for Mother” by Shirley Nietzel
“Pigs aplenty, pigs galore” by David M. McPhail
“The three little pigs”
“Perfect pigs” by Marc Brown
“The farm concert” by Joy Cowley
At the end of the unit, children will create a book for the classroom:
Each child will draw, or cut and paste from magazines, a picture; they will then
dictate to a teacher or aide what the words should be that would describe that
picture. The child will be asked what they think would happen next, because of
what is going on in it. The book will be on display after completion so parents
and other visitors to the classroom can view it.
