November Pre-K Literature

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This month, in our kindergarten readiness time, we are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carl. The children will follow the progress of a hungry little caterpillar that hatches out of his egg and eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep.

Intro to book (predicting)
Before opening the book, the teacher will tell the children the title and author of the book. Without showing them the inside of the book, she will ask what they think the book is about. Predictions will be recorded, using the child’s initials to show who said what. The group will turn through the pages, without reading them. The teacher will then ask if the children have any new predictions.
OR:
Before opening the book, the teacher will tell the children the title and author of the book. The group will look at the picture of the caterpillar on the cover. Each child will say one color that they see on him. The teacher will then ask: why do you think the caterpillar is so hungry? What do they think he might want to eat? Do you know where caterpillars live? The group will go through the book and look at the different kind of foods that that the caterpillar eats. The group will then read through the book.

What do you think? (classifying/feelings)
The group will read the book together. The teacher will ask the children: would you like to be the caterpillar? Why? What would you do if you were a caterpillar? What kind of fruits would you eat? What kind of vegetables? Do you like the ending? Do you like the pictures? Do you like the holes in the book? Why do you think the book says the caterpillar ate through the foods instead of saying he just ate them? The teacher will chart the children’s answers.

Days of the week
As the teacher reads through the book, she will write the days of the week for everyone to see. The group will read the list together and count the words on the list. She will ask the children how many days are in a week.

Survey Says…(graphing/feelings)
The group will graph which foods in the book are their favorite. The teacher will put two fruit sorters on the graph mat and have the children choose which one they like best. They can use a beanbag to “vote” with by putting their beanbag by the red fruit, the yellow fruit, etc. The group will discuss which fruits are the most liked/least liked/no one liked (zero).

If you were a caterpillar (feelings/dictation)
The teacher will ask the children if they were a caterpillar where would they like to live. Who would be their friends? What would they eat? What would their name be? Do caterpillars have names? How long would it take them to spin a cocoon? The teacher will chart the children’s answers on paper and display.

One/More than One (Charting)
The teacher will make a chart with two columns, labeling them “One” and “More than One”. As the teacher reads through the story, she will write the name of the food under the correct column.

Who said it (listening)
The teacher will record the children reading the story. Each child read a page.

Listening
Prior to group time, the teacher will record different teachers or children saying “but he was still hungry”. During group time, the teacher will read the book, pausing and playing the recording of someone saying “but he was still hungry” instead of reading the words. The children will try to guess whose voice it is.

It weighs how much? (observing/weighing)
The group will read the book together. The teacher will put out a scale and fruit/animal sorters. She will have one child put a certain number of fruits on one side of the scale and have another child try to balance the scales by placing animals on the other side. Everyone will get a turn.

Drawing (imagination/dictation)
On writing paper, the teacher will have the children draw a picture of a caterpillar, a butterfly, their favorite part or favorite food in the book. She will ask them to tell her about it. She will dictate their description on the bottom of the page.

Dramatization
The teacher will have a child be the caterpillar through various stages. First, he/she will curl up in a ball to be the egg. Next, he/she will crawl around like the caterpillar. The teacher will then have others in the group be the food. One child will stand up and be Monday’s apple. The caterpillar will say “But I’m still hungry!” Another child will join the apple and they will now be the 2 pears. The caterpillar will say “But I’m still hungry!” etc.
OR:
The teacher will have all of the children dramatize together. They will all be eggs and then they will all crawl along like caterpillars. They can crawl through a tunnel or obstacle course. They can roll around on the floor with terrible tummy aches. They will roll up into a cocoon. Finally, they can fly around like beautiful butterflies.

My favorite part is (recall)
The group will read through the story together. The teacher will have each child open their book to their favorite page. She will ask them to tell her why it is their favorite. Toward the middle of the month, she will ask them to tell her what it says on that page.

Rubbing their tummy (listening)
The teacher will ask the children to listen to her read the story and when they hear “but he was still hungry” they are to repeat the phrase and rub their tummy. She will encourage the children to share the clues they used to help them know when to say the repeated phrase and rub their tummy.

Fruit Sorter Patterning
The group will read the book together. The teacher will make a pattern with fruit sorters. The children will be asked to pattern their sorters the same way. The teacher will then ask each child to make a pattern for all to copy.

Alphabet Soup (letter recognition)
The teacher will spread out A-H foam letters in the middle of the circle. She will explain that it’s soup…alphabet soup. She will draw a letter for everyone to see, name it, and ask a child to find that letter in the soup.

Recognizing Site Words
The teacher will write “but he was still hungry” in large print. As she reads through the story, she will not read the words “but he was still hungry,” instead she will hold up the written words, pausing for the children to yell out “but he was still hungry.” (Variation: The teacher may announce what level of voice the group will use on each page.).

Reading Area
The teacher will record someone reading the book. She will put the recording and book in reading area.

Sunshine House Preschool

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