Bright Star is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
"Bright Star" by Yuyi Morales is a visually stunning and poetic tale that follows the journey of a mother deer and her fawn as they migrate to a new land. Inspired by the author's own immigration story, the book portrays the challenges and triumphs of starting anew. Through vibrant illustrations and lyrical text, readers witness the deer encounter with the unknown and their determination to find their place in a foreign land. As they navigate the obstacles and forge new connections the mother deer calls her fawn a bright star and encourages her to persevere and be strong! "Bright Star" is a poignant and timely picture book that celebrates the strength and resilience of immigrant families and the universal human experience of seeking a better future. The story teaches readers about growth, perservence, empowerment and strength, while also showing them the power of finding their own voice!
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Encourage students to use their summarizing and retelling strategies.
- Analyze the illustrations in the story. Discuss how they provide meaning that the words might not.
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Identifying the theme, message, or moral is an important skill that takes a lot of practice. Use this story as an opportunity to help your students with this reading strategy.
- Introduce or review how and why author’s use ellipses.
- Teach students about the importance of having a growth mindset using examples from the book.
- Talk about empathy in the book and classroom.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
- Islandborn by Junot Diaz
- The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
