I am so excited because today we are spotlighting my all time favorite Halloween read aloud. I remember getting this book as a gift when I was a little girl, I was so excited. Each school year, I look forward to sharing this book with my students. It is always a class favorite. We aren’t just spotlighting this book because it’s my favorite. This book is a great read aloud choice because it lends itself to teaching so many different strategies. It is a story that students in the lower and upper elementary grades will enjoy. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Piggie Pie tells the story of a grumpy witch named Gritch. One morning, Gritch wakes up and is very hungry so she decides to make her favorite meal, Piggie Pie. However, Gritch realizes she does not have the most important ingredient, pigs! She flies over to Old MacDonald Farm in search of pigs for her lunch. When she gets there, she is not able to find any pigs. She asks the hens, cows, ducks and farmer and they all tell her no pigs are there. Little does Gritch know, the clever pigs disguised themselves as the other animals.
Gritch is approached by a thin, sick looking wolf who explains that pigs are too hard to catch and tells Gritch how hungry he is. Gritch decides to invite the wolf to her house for lunch. Both head home imagining the delicious lunch they will have.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
I love that Piggie Pie can be used to teach almost any reading comprehension strategy. In fact, it’s hard to pick just a few when planning your lesson. In addition to reading comprehension, I love incorporating writing, grammar and social emotional lessons into this book.
- Practice inferencing skills with Piggie Pie. There are so many different parts in the book where you can stop and have a discussion about what students can infer.
- Retell the story as a class. This is a comprehension strategy that takes a lot of practice and Piggie Pie is a great story to practice with.
- Engage students in a “how-to” writing activity as they imagine how Gritch would make Piggie Pie.
- Reluctant writers will enjoy creating different lists based off the book.
- Piggie Pie is filled with action verbs. Teach a lesson to your class on these verbs.
- Explore synonyms and find examples throughout the book.
- Discuss different strategies for anger management and problem solving.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
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
If you are looking for a resource to teach Piggie Pie in your classroom, you will want our Starts With a Story Book Companion. Our goal with these book companions is to help make planning read alouds easier for teachers!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Bedhead by Margie Palatini
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
- Hooway For Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
- Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds
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!
