If you teach kindergarten, first or Giraffe's Can't Dance. Young readers always love this story and we love it for the message it teaches. This book makes a great back to school read but can really be read at any time in the school year. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Gerald is a giraffe who wants to dance, but does not think that he is good at it. When it is time for the Jungle Dance, Gerald becomes sad because he thinks he is a bad dancer. When Gerald tries to dance, the other animals make fun of him and he leaves the dance floor feeling sad and alone.
Gerald walks into a clearing where he meets a cricket. The cricket teaches him that he needs to listen to the song that is right for him. Gerald listens carefully for music coming from the moon. He is ecstatic when he realizes he is finally dancing! Gerald returns to the Jungle Dance and all the animals are shocked by how well he can dance! Gerald tells them that everyone can dance when they find music that they love.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
You can use Giraffe's Can't Dance to teach so many different skills!
- Explore the rhyme and rhythm of the book.
- Practice identifying the moral of the story.
- Integrate opinion writing by having students write the thoughts about events from the book.
- Write a letter from the perspective of a character in the book.
- Teach students about a new suffix using examples from the book.
- Practice using compound words.
- Lead a class discussion on diversity and individuality.
- Introduce students to the idea of growth mindset.
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
Can you believe you get all that in just one resource?! Think about how much time you'll save planning!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
- Flight School by Lita Judge
- The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
- The Thing Lou Couldn't Do by Ashely Spires
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!
