Even after the countless children’s book I have read, I continue to be amazed by authors’ creativity when it comes to book ideas. Authors like Drew Daywalt can bring ordinary objects to life and create a world for them. This week we are spotlighting his book, The Day The Crayons Came Home. If you read The Day The Crayons Quit, you will love this sequel. This is the perfect read aloud if you are planning on teaching letter writing. There is so much teachers can do with this book that we just had to share it with you! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
The book, The Day the Crayons Came Home, by Drew Daywalt, will have students laughing! It tells the story of a boy named Duncan and his missing crayons. One day, Duncan received a stack of postcards and discovered each was from one of his crayons!
The crayons have left the box for different reasons: maroon was lost in the couch, pea green wanted to see the world, and neon red was left at a hotel. Despite being gone for awhile, the crayons are all ready to come home for various reasons. When Duncan does collect all the crayons, he finds they no longer fit in the box! To make them feel at home, he makes them their own crayon fort!
This adorable story will have students laughing as the crayons share their challenges faced outside the box.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
This book is written in letter form by the various crayons in the story. However, teachers can use it to teach more than just letter writing. It is a great read aloud because it lends itself to so many engaging discussions. It can also be an opportunity to encourage students to get creative with their own writing.
- Lead a class discussion about plot by asking students about the story’s problem and solution.
- Stop while you are reading to give students a chance to practice making predictions.
- Encourage students to get creative by writing a story with characters that are ordinary objects.
- Teach students how to format and send a letter.
- Introduce homophones with examples from the text.
- Practice identifying plural nouns.
- Discuss the importance of taking ownership of your actions.
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’re looking for themed student pages to go with The Day the Crayons Came Home we have the resource for you! Our book companions are going to be your new best friends.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
- Ricky the Rock That Couldn’t Roll by Jay Miletsky
- Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
- Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
- The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Drew Daywalt
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!
