Holi! Hai! 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
"Holi! Hai!" by Chitra Soundar is an exuberant children's book that celebrates the joyous Indian festival of Holi. The story follows a family as they eagerly prepare for and participate in the vibrant festivities. Through playful rhymes and colorful illustrations, the book takes readers on a journey filled with lively music, dancing, and the throwing of vibrant powdered colors, known as gulal. As the family engage in spirited water fights and joyfully smear colors on each other, they embrace the spirit of unity and friendship that Holi represents. The book also highlights the traditional elements of Holi, such as the lighting of bonfires and the exchange of sweets. With its lively storytelling and engaging visuals, "Holi! Hai!" introduces young readers to the cultural traditions and infectious enthusiasm of Holi, fostering an appreciation for diversity and celebration.
 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.
- Have students practice their questioning skills as you read the book.
- Teach students how contractions are used.
- 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.
- Teach students about the importance of having a growth mindset using examples from the book.
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.
- Festival of Colors by Surishtha and Kabir Sehgal
- Binny's Diwali by Thrity Umrigar
- Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
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!
