Junie B. Jones | Classroom Clubs

About the Junie B. Jones Book and This Guide

Meet Junie B. Jones, that lovable, mischievous kindergartner, in this humorous series by Barbara Park. Follow Junie B. from her first day of kindergarten to her last as she gets into one scrape after another. While laughing along with Junie B. and her friends, your students will begin to expand their word recognition, develop a sense of story, and begin to read these early chapter books on their own.

In this guide, your class will take a fun approach to learning about bar graphs in the first activity. The social studies lesson in the second classroom activity will put a new spin on field day!

About the Books

#15 Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket
It's almost the end of the school year, and Room Nine is taking a field trip to a farm! The whole class is very excited . . . except Junie B. Jones. 'Cause farms have scary ponies, that's why. And scary roosters, too. Will Junie B. find anything good at this place? Or will this turn out to be the "worstest" field trip ever?

Barbara Park says...

"When I tell people that I grew up in New Jersey, they're usually surprised to learn that my small hometown was surrounded by farms. And believe it or not, just like Junie B. Jones, I visited a farm on my very first field trip.

I still remember the thrill of getting off the bus and seeing all the cows and pigs up close and personal. But the best part of the trip was getting to see the baby animals. I couldn't imagine how wonderful it would be to live with all those little 'pets' right in your own backyard.

I was shocked that Junie B. wasn't as excited about her farm visit as I was about mine. But then again, the thought of a mean old rooster with peckery lips might have made me want to stay on the bus, too. And I never even considered the scary ponies…"

#16 Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day
Afternoon kindergarten is having a field day, and Junie B. Jones is team captain! Only, here's the problem. Room Eight keeps on winning too many events. And so how will Room Nine ever become the kindergarten champions? As Captain Field Day, will Junie B. find a way to lead her team to victory? Or will it be up to someone else to save the day?

Barbara Park says...

"I would have loved having Field Day when I was in elementary school

All that exercise!

All that team spirit!

And best of all-NO TESTS!

Luckily, both of my sons did have school Field Days. Each spring, my husband and I looked forward to going down to the playground and cheering them on. Of course, like most parents, we spent lots of time trying to convince them that it didn't matter who won or lost. 'The fun of sports is in the competition,' we insisted.

They didn't buy it.

Neither does Room Nine.

Okay, fine. Maybe losing isn't 'joyful.' But as Junie B. and her class discover, even when things look their gloomiest, life can still deliver some happy little surprises."

Classroom Connections

Pre-Reading Activity

In Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket, Lucille's drawing of a flamingo and Paulie Allen Puffer's drawing of a catfish suggest kids in Room Nine kindergarten are not clear about what kinds of animals they will see on Farmer Flores's farm. Help students identify those animals most likely to be found on farms and discuss how farm animals help in doing work (like horses, dogs, etc.) or are raised for their products (such as milk, eggs, meat, and wool).

According to Junie B. in Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day, "losing does not feel joyful." Start a classroom discussion about friendly competition. Ask your students how it feels to win and to lose in events such as little league games, spelling bees, and field events. Write the phrase "it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game" on the board. Ask the students what they think this popular phrase means.

Farmer Flores Had a Farm . . .

Ask students to choose their "favorite" from a selection of pre-cut or to-be-cut blank farm animal templates. Allow them to decorate their animal with crayons, feathers, cotton balls, yarn, or other appropriate art materials for display. Put together a class display of favorite animals. As a class, count the number of each animal in the display and prepare a "Favorite Farm Animals" bar graph.

Field Day Goes International!

The relay racing and tug-of-war games in Junie B.'s Field Day are traditional in Field Day competitions throughout America. But what would Field Day be like in Ethiopia? Brazil? Using resources such as The Multicultural Game Book or Children's Traditional Games, give Field Day a whole new dimension by introducing kids to games and activities from around the world. Organize an International Field Day in which teams play games such as Catching Stars (Zaire), Coyote and Sheep (Mexico), and many others in their program of events.

References
Kaminski, Robert & Sierra, Judy. (1995). Children's Traditional Games: Games from 137 Countries and Cultures. Oryx Press. 0897749677

Orlando, Louise. (1995) The Multicultural Game Book: More than 70 Traditional Games from 30 Countries. Scholastic. 0590494090

Printable Activities

For use with #15 Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket
Junie B.'s Barnyard Babies
Click here for the answers!

For use with #16 Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day
Junie B.'s Muscle Mania

Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D. teaches Children's Literature at Hostos Community College/City University of New York and serves as educational and editorial consultant to publishers of children's books.