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It’s Halloween!
Only here’s the trouble. Junie B. Jones is afraid to go trick-or-treating.
’Cause what if witches and monsters are really real? And what
if pumpkins with sharp teeth can eat your feet? And don’t even
get her started on the candy corn issue. So how is Junie B.
supposed to even enjoy this scary holiday? But then—with a little
help from a friend—she gets an idea for a costume guaranteed
to outscare even the creepiest competition. And so maybe Halloween
will turn out to be a real scream after all!
In this
guide for Junie B., First Grader: Boo . . . and
I MEAN It! Junie B. fans learn that
math can be fun, especially when you involve candy wrappers!
Learning is easier when students get active, so take a survey,
tally the answers, and then graph their results. Students perform
better on standardized tests when they discuss what they’ve
read, so the questions here help guide their responses to the
book. A lesson on snacking is also a fun way to remind students
to think about what they eat. By adding prices when Junie B.
goes shopping for her clown costume, students review addition of
money values.
Pre-Reading
Activities
Write
on the blackboard the question: What are you afraid of? Then,
as a class, brainstorm a list of all the things students find
scary. Ask the students whether they think everyone is afraid
of something? What do you do if you’re afraid? Should you
face what you’re afraid of or just try to avoid seeing it?
Why? Can people ever stop being afraid of something? How?
Give
each student a blank piece of paper and crayons or markers.
Ask them to draw a scene from Halloween and give them ten
minutes to complete their work. Then, as a class, brainstorm
a list of things that are associated with Halloween. Prompt
the students to use all five senses as they create the list so
that it is more than just simple objects. Circle the things
they think would scare many students. Ask students if anything
about Halloween scares them? Do people sometimes like to be
scared? Why? Is it worth being scared to get free candy?
Let’s
Talk About It
- Why
is Junie B. afraid of Halloween? What would you do if you
had heard the five secrets? Would you want to go trick-or-treating?
Why or why not?
- Should
Junie B. Jones believe Paulie Allen Puffer? Why or why not?
How do you know whether someone is telling the truth or not?
- Do
you think Junie B. should ask someone she trusts about the
five secrets? If so, who? If not, why not? Would you?
- Why
does Junie B. decide to dress up as Squirty the Clown? Describe
Junie B.’s costume.
- Does
Junie B.’s plan work? Does she scare anyone? Does she get
plenty of candy?
Fear
Not!
When
Junie B. is scared about what to do for trick-or-treating, she
turns to her very dear friend Phillip. Phillip happens to be
a stuffed elephant, but so what? He is very supportive. Ask
students to bring in their favorite stuffed animal for class
one day. Once the animals have arrived, explain that a dialogue
is a conversation between two people. Reread Junie B. and Phillip’s
conversation as an example of dialogue. Just like Junie B. they
can pretend to have a conversation with their stuffed animal
about things that scare them.
Have
students take a blank piece of paper and fold it in half lengthwise.
Then put their names at the top of one column, and their stuffed
animals in the other. Have them write a conversation back and
forth between the two, being sure that each has time to talk
about what scares them and what they can do. To extend this
activity, students can pair up and have their animals talk to
each other about where they live and what their favorite thing
is about their kid!
Candy
Wrapper Count
Junie
B. may be scared to go trick-or-treating, but she knows she’s
willing to face her fears to get lots of candy. Teach students
how to tally and create a bar graph about their favorite thing
. . . candy! Have students bring in the wrappers from several
different types of candy from their trick-or-treating. Then
give each child a blank piece of typing paper. Have them fold
it several times to create at least six squares. Students can
tape or glue their wrappers onto the squares, one for each block.
After that, students can walk around and ask students to make
a tally mark on the one square of the candy they like best.
(Or, if you prefer a quieter approach, send the papers around
the room one at a time, waiting a brief interval for each child
to answer.) Finally, have students graph the results in a bar
or pie graph.
Printable
Activities
Trick-or-Fruit
Clowning
Around with Math
This
guide was created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist
and children’s author. Visit her Web site to find many guides
to children’s books.
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