Hey, Little Ant 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
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SUMMARY
"Hey, Little Ant" by Phillip M. Hoose is a thought-provoking story that explores themes of empathy and respect for all living creatures. The book presents a moral dilemma as a young boy contemplates whether to squash an ant he encounters. The ant pleads for its life, urging the boy to consider the ant's perspective and value its life. Through clever dialogue, the ant challenges the boy's assumptions and encourages him to see the world from a different point of view. The story prompts readers to reflect on the importance of kindness, compassion, and the interconnectedness of all living beings. It encourages empathy and teaches children to consider the consequences of their actions. Ultimately, the book promotes a message of respect for all creatures, no matter how small.
 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.
- Have students identify the point of view and discuss the benefits of the narrator.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Find examples of antonyms in the book.
- Teach students how contractions are used.
- Discuss the importance of making good choices.
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.
- Dear Mrs. Larue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
- Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
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!
