Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Wow.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. As I read the story each year, it always reminds me to think about what is most important to my students. Is it 3 shiny quarters? A purse that plays a silly tune? New sunglasses? On the flipside, I think it reminds my students to be kind to their teacher ;). I think many of us can relate to Lilly's excitement about having something new, and wanting to share that something new with the world! Which brings me to share my newest idea for a Kevin Henkes author study: character map posters. Simple concept, but excellent for helping first graders recall specific things about Kevin's complex characters. We made two posters, one for Lilly and one for Chrysanthemum. In creating the posters, I prompted the kids to think of characteristics about the mice that made them seem like they were humans! We also brainstormed the important things about each character, and how they were different and alike! At the imagination station, the kids wrote advice to Lilly. One said, "I think you should be nice to your teacher. He's just trying to help you learn." Wow. "That's just about all I can say is, wow."