Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 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
"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" by Virginia Lee Burton is a beloved children's book that tells the story of Mike Mulligan and his trusty steam shovel named Mary Anne. Together, they take on a seemingly impossible task of digging the cellar for the new town hall in just one day. As the day progresses, the townspeople become skeptical of Mike and Mary Anne's ability to finish on time. However, Mike's determination and belief in Mary Anne's capabilities shine through as they work tirelessly to complete the job. In the end, Mike and Mary Anne find a creative solution to continue serving a purpose and find a new home. The book teaches important lessons about hard work, perseverance, and the power of friendship, capturing the hearts of readers for generations.
 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.
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Introduce or review how and why author’s use ellipses.
- Explore exclamation points and why writers use them.
- Lead a class discussion on goal setting.
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.
- Otis by Lauren Long
- Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
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!
