About the Junie B. Jones Book and This Guide

The lovable, mischievous Junie B. of Barbara Park's humorous series is growing up! She has graduated from kindergarten and moved up to the first grade. Follow Junie B. as she continues to get into one scrape after another. While laughing along with Junie B. and her friends, your students will expand their word recognition, develop a sense of story, and begin to read these early chapter books on their own.

In this guide, a language arts lesson familiarizes children with the use of rhyming in poetry. It also opens up discussion of graduation and other accomplishments your students might be proud of. The second lesson revolves around word study, concentrating on the word families -at, -all, and -oat. This will aid in their understanding of clusters of words.

About the Books

#17 Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl
All the children in Room Nine are excited when they get their bright white graduation gowns. Mrs. says to keep them in their boxes until the big day. But Junie B. Jones just can't help herself. Then-uh-oh!-an accident happens! Can Junie B. find a way to fix things? Or will graduation be a spotty dotty disaster?

Barbara Park says . . .

"When I wrote the first adventure of Junie B. Jones, my plan was to keep her in kindergarten forever. 'Almost six' seemed exactly the right age for a spunky little girl who could almost keep her slightly outrageous personality under control . . . but not quite.

Then, little by little, I began to change my mind. After all, part of the fun of going to school is knowing that your hard work will be rewarded at the end of the year by a promotion to the next grade level. And Junie B. has definitely come along way since the first day she rode the 'stupid smelly bus' to kindergarten.

So hurray! Graduation Day has finally arrived for Room Nine! And, of course, when Junie B. Jones is part of the ceremony, things almost go smoothly . . . but not quite."
© 2001 by Barbara Park

#18 Junie B., First Grader (at last!)
Hurray, hurray for a brand-new school year! Only, for Junie B. Jones, things are not actually that pleasant. 'Cause first grade means having to get used to a whole new classroom. And a whole new teacher. And a whole new bunch of strange children. But here's the worst thing of all: when Junie B. tries to read words on the chalkboard, she can't seem to see what everyone else is seeing! Is it possible she might end up wearing glasses?

Classroom Connections

Pre-Reading Activities

Begin by showing the class the cover of Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl. Discuss why a cap and gown is worn. Discuss the significance of graduations and why they are such an accomplishment. Ask the children what they notice about Junie B.'s outfit. Have the children guess why she has purple splotches all over her white gown. Knowing the kind of trouble Junie B. often finds herself in, what do they suspect happened to her outfit?

Junie B. has made it to first grade (at last!). Ask the children to remember their feelings on their first day of school. What were they nervous or anxious about? Can they imagine what Junie B. Jones might be feeling as she begins first grade? Have the children turn to their neighbor and discuss what might be different for Junie as she embarks on her first-grade adventures.

Rhymes and Reason

In Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl, Mrs. asks the children to work together to compose a classroom poem, but Junie B.'s class gets off track when silliness takes over. Start by writing the poem that Room Nine began on the chalkboard (p.12), "Roses are red, Violets are blue. Graduation is here . . ." Ask the class to think of a meaningful way to end this poem with a rhyme (more seriously than Junie B. did!). Write several ideas on the board. Discuss the use of rhyming in this poem. Now have the children compose their own poems, either about graduation, like Junie's, or about another accomplishment they are proud of. Conclude by bringing the class together to share their work.

That's All Folks!

Junie B. must overcome a whole new set of obstacles in Junie B., First Grader (at last!), beginning with her first assignment from Mr. Scary. He lists several words on the blackboard and asks the children to illustrate one. We soon learn that this task is not so easy for our favorite first grader! Mr. Scary lists clock, bat and ball, dog and cat, and coat and goat. Write the suffixes at, all, and oat on the board. Ask the children to think of other words that end with each suffix. Have the children pair up and compose their own lists for each suffix. Bring the class together again to share their ideas.

Printable Activities

For use with #17 Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl:
My Own Graduation Gown

For use with #18 Junie B., First Grader (at last!):
Showing and Telling Crisscross Puzzle
Click here for the answers.