Book Spotlight: Language & Grammar Books

So, I love picture books that teach students grammar and language skills. Three that I think are fantastic for this are:

Dear Deer by Gene Baretta (Homophones)

This is a cute book about Aunt Ant who moves to the zoo and writes a letter to her niece, a deer, telling her all about it. Some of the funny things she mentions in her letter are a moose eating mousse and a doe who had the need to knead dough.

Reading Extension Ideas:

• Have students pick (or randomly draw from a hat) 3 homophone pairs to use in a letter to a family member or friend.
• Allow students to pair up and make a picture homophone matching game (with index cards). Later have the students switch with another group and try to solve the puzzle.

Even more Parts by Tedd Arnold (Idioms)

This hilarious book is about a boy who is scared to leave the house because he doesn't want everything has has heard people saying to happen to him. These things include his nose running, his tongue getting tied, losing his head, or his ears burning.

Reading Extension Ideas:

• Have students pick a saying and then illustrate it on a piece of computer or construction paper. Then, have the class try to guess each saying from the picture.
• Have students try to think of other idioms they've heard or create their own.
• Make an idiom dictionary with 10+ idioms.

There's a Frog in My Throat by Loreen Leedy

& Pat Street (Similes, Metaphors, Idioms, & Proverbs)

The authors of this book gathered 440 animal sayings with wonderful illustrations to match. The cool thing about this book is that all of the sayings come with translations for students. For Example: "Keep him on a short leash: Don't give him too much freedom", "I'm in the doghouse: I'm in trouble", "He sang like a canary: He told secrets", etc.

Reading Extension Ideas:

• Put the book(s) at a center and have students find and record 10 similes and 10 metaphors (idioms and proverbs as well if it is in your curriculum).
• Allow students to work together in groups to create a large wildlife scene on a sheet of butcher paper with the animals in the picture each having a different animal saying (like the book's illustrations). Make sure the students write the explanation for each saying!

Enjoy!