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Week of March 31, 2025 | TK | Connection: Little Red Hen Play
Compare and Contrast Beloved Older Books with Newer Books
 Published 1969 |  Published 2005 |  Manhattan Beach Blvd. at Highland Ave |
The Little Red Hen, by William Curtis Holdsworth (1969)
None of her animal friends will help the little red hen plant and care for the grain of wheat she finds, but they are willing to eat the bread she bakes from it.
The Little Green Witch, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath (2005)
The little green witch's three friends are too lazy to help her tend the pumpkin seeds she has planted, but when they all want to eat the pumpkin pie that she makes, the witch has a surprise in store for them.
Crafty Connection Little Red Hen coloring sheet
None of her animal friends will help the little red hen plant and care for the grain of wheat she finds, but they are willing to eat the bread she bakes from it.
The Little Green Witch, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath (2005)
The little green witch's three friends are too lazy to help her tend the pumpkin seeds she has planted, but when they all want to eat the pumpkin pie that she makes, the witch has a surprise in store for them.
Crafty Connection Little Red Hen coloring sheet
Week of March 31, 2025 | KDGN | Connection: Three Piggy Opera
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My Lucky Day, by Keiko Kasza A crafty little pig comes knocking at the door of a hungry fox who soon realizes that getting dinner into the pot is harder than it seems.
Good Little Wolf, by Nadia Shireen When the Big Bad Wolf teases him about being good, Rolf tries to prove himself by howling at the moon and blowing down Little Pig's house.
Wolfie the Bunny, by Anne Dyckman When her parents find a baby wolf on their doorstep and decide to raise him as their own, Dot is certain he will eat them all up until a surprising encounter brings them closer together.
Activity The Three Little Pigs Coloring Sheet
Good Little Wolf, by Nadia Shireen When the Big Bad Wolf teases him about being good, Rolf tries to prove himself by howling at the moon and blowing down Little Pig's house.
Wolfie the Bunny, by Anne Dyckman When her parents find a baby wolf on their doorstep and decide to raise him as their own, Dot is certain he will eat them all up until a surprising encounter brings them closer together.
Activity The Three Little Pigs Coloring Sheet
Week of March 31, 2025 | First Grade | "Ugly Ducklings"
Compare and Contrast Beloved Older Books with Newer Books
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. at Highland Ave |  Manhattan Beach City Hall |  Downtown Manhattan Beach |
 Published 1956 |  Published 1969 |  Published 2015 |
Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion (1956)
Harry is a white dog with black spots who loves everything . . . except baths. One day, before bath time, Harry runs away. By the time he returns home, Harry is so dirty he looks like a black dog with white spots and his family doesn't recognize him.
The Sky Dog, by Brinton Turkle (1969)
A little boy is convinced that the white dog he finds on the beach is the same one he used to see playing among the clouds overhead.
A Dog Wearing Shoes, by Sangmi Ko (2015)
Mini finds a dog and begs to keep him. Based on a true story. The author's niece once found a lost dog with shoes on, and after returning him to his owner, she adopted a dog named Ray. Sangmi lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, with two adopted dogs, White and Malti.
Crafty Connection "Reader of the Pack" dog coloring sheet
Harry is a white dog with black spots who loves everything . . . except baths. One day, before bath time, Harry runs away. By the time he returns home, Harry is so dirty he looks like a black dog with white spots and his family doesn't recognize him.
The Sky Dog, by Brinton Turkle (1969)
A little boy is convinced that the white dog he finds on the beach is the same one he used to see playing among the clouds overhead.
A Dog Wearing Shoes, by Sangmi Ko (2015)
Mini finds a dog and begs to keep him. Based on a true story. The author's niece once found a lost dog with shoes on, and after returning him to his owner, she adopted a dog named Ray. Sangmi lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, with two adopted dogs, White and Malti.
Crafty Connection "Reader of the Pack" dog coloring sheet
Week of March 31, 2025 | Second Grade | Poetry Month
Compare and Contrast Beloved Older Books with Newer Books
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. at Highland Ave. | Manhattan Beach City Hall |  |
 Published 1957 |  Published 1991 |  Published 2011 |
The Outside Cat, by Jane Thayer (1957)
Samuel wants to get inside. He finally does, only to discover that the family and cat who were living there have moved. Now Samuel wants out, but he’s trapped in an empty house.
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore (1991)
A clever cat lives with six families.
Won Ton : a Cat Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw (2011)
Prefaced with a clear explanation of the traditional Japanese haiku, a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5 | 7 | 5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.
A cat arrives at a shelter, arranges to go home with a good family, and settles in with them, all the while letting them know who is boss and, finally, sharing his real name.
Crafty Connection Haiku worksheet
Samuel wants to get inside. He finally does, only to discover that the family and cat who were living there have moved. Now Samuel wants out, but he’s trapped in an empty house.
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore (1991)
A clever cat lives with six families.
Won Ton : a Cat Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw (2011)
Prefaced with a clear explanation of the traditional Japanese haiku, a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5 | 7 | 5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.
A cat arrives at a shelter, arranges to go home with a good family, and settles in with them, all the while letting them know who is boss and, finally, sharing his real name.
Crafty Connection Haiku worksheet
Week of March 31, 2025 | Third Grade | Poetry Month
Serendipity Poems Created with the Spines of Picture Books
 Read title poem on pages 2-3 |  Example 1  Example 2  Example 3 |  Example 4 |
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming, by Chris Harris
A frolicking romp through the zany world of nonsense verse. Read the title poem on pages 2-3, then click each image above to show the examples of spine poems, simple to elaborate.
Crafty Connection Book Spine Poems
It’s fun! It’s easy! It makes a bit of a library mess! Oh, well! Print worksheet
A frolicking romp through the zany world of nonsense verse. Read the title poem on pages 2-3, then click each image above to show the examples of spine poems, simple to elaborate.
Crafty Connection Book Spine Poems
It’s fun! It’s easy! It makes a bit of a library mess! Oh, well! Print worksheet
- Select books from the picture book side of the library that inspire your poetic fire
- Select books without using shelf marker sticks; books will be put away later
- Select at least 3 books (worksheet can accommodate 6 books)
- Stack books flat, one on top of the other, so the spines are visible
- Move the books around until you like the way it reads, top to bottom
- With a pencil, write the titles on the worksheet in the rectangles the way you want the poem to read, top to bottom
- Go over the titles with a thin marker
- Shade in rectangles with a colored pencil or crayon to create appearance of book spines (lightly shade in, so your lines of poetry can be seen)
- Give your poem a title, write your name as the poem's author, and include your room number
- Leave the worksheet in the library to complete next week and to be considered for a poetry display. Your poem will be returned to you later (so remember to write your name and room number)
Week of March 31, 2025 | Fourth Grade | Poetry Month
Black Out Poems Created with Pages from Weeded Novels
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Black Out Poetry
Video How to: Black Out Poetry by Ariel Bisset (running time 5:37 stop at 4:13)
Choose a page from a discarded book and rip it out neatly. Find the poem by scanning the page and lightly underlining or boxing interesting words. Black out the rest of the page so only the poem is left. Alternatively, highlight the poem with a doodle. Write your name and room number on the back and leave your poem in the library to be considered for a poetry display. Click images above to view examples.
Video How to: Black Out Poetry by Ariel Bisset (running time 5:37 stop at 4:13)
Choose a page from a discarded book and rip it out neatly. Find the poem by scanning the page and lightly underlining or boxing interesting words. Black out the rest of the page so only the poem is left. Alternatively, highlight the poem with a doodle. Write your name and room number on the back and leave your poem in the library to be considered for a poetry display. Click images above to view examples.
Week of March 31, 2025 | Fifth Grade | Poetry Month
 Dr. William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) |  |  |  I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold painted by Charles Demuth, 1928 |
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A River of Words : the Story of William Carlos Williams, by Jen Bryant
This picture book biography of William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) traces childhood events that lead him to become a doctor and a poet. First read two poems from inside cover: This Is Just to Say and The Great Figure. Then show an enlarged example of I Saw the Figure 5 In Gold posted on Wikipedia. Then read the book.
16 Words, by Lisa Rogers
This simple biography about William Carlos Williams shows how being mindful can result in the creation of a great poem like "The Red Wheelbarrow"--which is only sixteen words long.
Delving Deeper Video 1 Analysis of the Demuth painting posted by Ladykflo
Delving Deeper Video 2 Further analysis posted by The Canvas Williams and the artist Charles Demuth knew each other at university. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928) is one of a series of eight abstract portraits of friends, inspired by Gertrude Stein's word-portraits, that Demuth made between 1924 and 1929. This painting pays homage to a poem by William Carlos Williams and consists not of a physical likeness of Williams, but of an accumulation of images associated with him. Williams' poem The Great Figure describes the experience of seeing a red fire engine with the number 5 painted on it racing through the city streets.
Crafty Connection Video United Art and Education Project #170 Instructions for drawing a number then precisely segmenting the drawing in the style of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold.
This picture book biography of William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) traces childhood events that lead him to become a doctor and a poet. First read two poems from inside cover: This Is Just to Say and The Great Figure. Then show an enlarged example of I Saw the Figure 5 In Gold posted on Wikipedia. Then read the book.
16 Words, by Lisa Rogers
This simple biography about William Carlos Williams shows how being mindful can result in the creation of a great poem like "The Red Wheelbarrow"--which is only sixteen words long.
Delving Deeper Video 1 Analysis of the Demuth painting posted by Ladykflo
Delving Deeper Video 2 Further analysis posted by The Canvas Williams and the artist Charles Demuth knew each other at university. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928) is one of a series of eight abstract portraits of friends, inspired by Gertrude Stein's word-portraits, that Demuth made between 1924 and 1929. This painting pays homage to a poem by William Carlos Williams and consists not of a physical likeness of Williams, but of an accumulation of images associated with him. Williams' poem The Great Figure describes the experience of seeing a red fire engine with the number 5 painted on it racing through the city streets.
Crafty Connection Video United Art and Education Project #170 Instructions for drawing a number then precisely segmenting the drawing in the style of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold.
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