There Was An Old Monster

Click here to buy the book!

Title: There Was An Old Monster

Rebecca Emberley (Author)

Ed Emberley (Illustrator)

Reading Skill: Sequencing

Art Modality: Music/Visual Art

Summary:

In this variation on the traditional cumulative rhyme, a monster swallows ants, a lizard, a bat, and other creatures to try to cure a stomachache that began when he swallowed a tick. (Summary from book.)

Materials:

There Was An Old Monster

small, empty boxes (recycle food boxes)

school glue or Mod Podge

colorful paper scraps

paintbrushes

Lesson:

Fellow teachers of boys and ghouls....usually I try to give you a teaching idea first and follow with some internet links. However, pleeeaase click this link NOW and get ready to scritchy-scratch with a free audio of There Was An Old Monster.

www.scholastic.com/oldmonster

Isn’t that just pure inspiration? Not only will your little ones want to read along, they’ll want to scritcy-scratch along, too! These collage-style shakers—inspired by Emberley’s colorful illustrations—are sure to do the trick. For each child, pour a small amount of rice into an empty food box. Seal the lid with masking tape. To complete his instrument, a child cuts or tears colorful paper into shapes. He then uses a paintbrush and slightly watered-down glue to adhere the scraps to the box. (Older students might want to make their boxes look like monsters. Younger students may prefer abstract designs.) When the child is happy with the designs on the box, he paints a final layer of glue over it. When the shakers are dry, play the audio and sing and shake along!