Eyes that Speak to the Stars 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
"Eyes that Speak to the Stars" by Joanna Ho is about a young boy did not run to his dad when he picked him up, like he usually does. When asked what was wrong, the boy shares that a friend drew a picture of him with straight lines for eyes. His father then shares the importance of this generational trait, as the eyes speak to the stars and make them visionary. We see similar eyes within the boy’s grandfather, brother, and dad, who all have the potential to change the world. This story incorporates themes of emotions, growth mindset, and diversity. We learn about Chinese culture and the way we are bonded to members of our family.
 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.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- 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.
- Discuss why authors use similes.
- Use examples of possessive nouns from the book to teach a lesson.
- Use this book to discuss a variety of emotions with students and how to manage them.
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
- 30Â 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.
- Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
- The Empty Pot by Demi
- Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
- Amy Wu and The Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang
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!
