This week we read Mice, another beautifully illustrated book by Lois Ehlert. The children are starting to recognize her signature collage style from all of the read alouds we've enjoyed. We recreated the red cardinals in her book, Snowballs, in the fall. Mice is a simple story that asks the reader, "Do you think mice are nice?" I asked the class that very question and we graphed our answers on the board. Most students do not think mice are nice! We read the story and marvelled at the clever ways Ehlert incorporates real objects in her work. The kids were excited to see real crackers and ziplock baggies on her photographed pages. After seeing what mischief the mice were up to, the class recreated scenes from the book.
Everyone started with the same supplies. First they chose a body colour from pre-cut rhombus shaped papers in red and brown. We looked at a wooden rhombus from our tub of pattern blocks and discussed the 'diamond' shape. They cut their rhombus' in half to make two triangles for the body and head. Then, they those chose different coloured paper to cut out ears, eyes, teeth and tail. We used twine to replicate the arms and legs. The exciting bit was deciding what object to add to their page. They chose between a cupcake liner, a ziplock snack baggie with cheerios, a variety of crackers, and a paper ruler. I think these mice are nice, do you?
Everyone started with the same supplies. First they chose a body colour from pre-cut rhombus shaped papers in red and brown. We looked at a wooden rhombus from our tub of pattern blocks and discussed the 'diamond' shape. They cut their rhombus' in half to make two triangles for the body and head. Then, they those chose different coloured paper to cut out ears, eyes, teeth and tail. We used twine to replicate the arms and legs. The exciting bit was deciding what object to add to their page. They chose between a cupcake liner, a ziplock snack baggie with cheerios, a variety of crackers, and a paper ruler. I think these mice are nice, do you?
