Read alouds are a great way to teach students important life lessons. We highly recommend Madonna’s book, Mr. Peabody’s Apples, because we love the lessons it teaches. This is a great book to use to teach students the power of their powers and the importance of honesty. The book is based off of an old moral tale about “feathers in the wind.” If you have problems with honesty or rumors in your classroom, this is a great resource! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Mr. Peabody is a teacher in Hapville and a beloved baseball coach. After a baseball game one day, Tommy saw Mr. Peabody at the fruit market. He watched as Mr. Peabody admired an apple, put it in his bag, and walked away without paying. Tommy rushed off to tell his friends and soon the whole town knew what Mr. Peabody had done. At the next baseball game, Billy is the only one to show up. He explains to Mr. Peabody that no one else is there because they all think he is a thief for taking the apple. However, the boys learn that Mr. Peabody pays for the apples at the beginning of each week when he goes to buy his milk. Mr. Peabody asks Tommy to bring a feather pillow to the baseball field. He has Tommy cut open the pillow and shake the feathers out into the field and then asks him to pick them up. When Tommy says it’s impossible, Mr. Peabody explains it is just as impossible to repair the damage Tommy had done. He explains to Tommy it is important to be honest and you should never spread rumors.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
There is so much you can teach with Mr. Peabody’s Apples. Our book companion for this story addresses a number of reading comprehension skills, integrates a variety of writing styles and introduces grammar and social emotional learning concepts. Here is a sneak peak at some of the different lessons you can use this book to teach.
- Practice identifying the moral of the story. Students should provide details from the book to help explain the moral.
- Examine the cause and effect of character’s actions throughout the book.
- Encourage students to write about their opinion of events in the story and back it up with specific reasons.
- Allow students to get creative and write their own versions of the moral.
- Teach a lesson on articles and prefixes using examples from the book.
- Review adjectives and compound words.
- Teach a lesson on the importance of honesty.
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
There are so many different activities included in this book companion. Teachers love how easy it is to select the resource they want to use, print, and be ready to teach. The best part is there is so much variety you can use these activities across multiple grade levels and subject areas. You will be so happy you purchased this resource!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- The Empty Pot by Demi
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
- Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
- Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
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!
