Lisa Shulman | Activities for Over in the Meadow at the Big Ballet

Activities for
Over in the Meadow at the Big Ballet

Write a Rhyme

Have children identify some of the rhyming words in the book. Then invite them to create their own rhymes.

Write the following frame on the board:
Over in the meadow ________

Help children complete the phrase with a prepositional phrase. Then encourage them to come up with a second line that rhymes with the first. For example: Over in the meadow by a big peach tree, My sister picked a peach and shared it with me.

Write several of these rhymes on chart paper, and have children copy one and illustrate it. Encourage older children to write and illustrate their own rhymes.

Overcoming Fear

Discuss with the children how the little swan felt throughout the book. Why was she nervous? What was she afraid might happen? How did she finally overcome her fear?

Ask children to talk about times that they have been afraid of something, and what helped them overcome their fear. Have them make posters showing things they can do to overcome a fear.

What Are They Saying?

Many of the pictures in Over in the Meadow at the Big Ballet show groups of animals doing many different things. Ask children to look closely at some of these group scenes. What do they think some of the animals are thinking or saying to each other? Have children work in small groups to improvise dialogues between some of the background characters. Invite them to share their dialogues with the class.

Reader’s Theater

Perform Over in the Meadow at the Big Ballet as reader’s theater. Have some children act as narrators, and others read the parts of the animals. Encourage children to read with rhythm and expression.

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