If you don’t know Penelope Rex, you should. Thank you Ryan T. Higgins for creating these books! They are just perfect for teaching social emotional lessons with kids, and they’re SO MUCH FUN.
Last year in kindergarten we read We Don’t Eat Our Classmates (practicing social skills) and this year those same kiddos learned with Penelope Rex again with We Will Rock Our Classmates. In this story we learn about believing in ourselves and trying new skills.
We Will Rock Our Classmates Lesson:
Optional props to use in this lesson: Toy Microphone, Shaky Eggs to dance with at the end to the song, a mean air guitar. Here is a PPT I use in this lesson.
Centers:
Lego Center: Build Penelope Rex a stage to Rock out!! This is a great STEM challenge too. All you need is some lego bases and some legos (thrift stores are your friend).
Listening Center: Have students listen to Higgin’s newest book We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish
Playdough Center: Have Students rock their classmates by tracing these laminated instruments with playdough. It is such a fun sensory center and the kids are so funny about which instrument mat they choose. See the above pic
Silent Reading Center: Have copies of these books available for the kids to silently or whisper read.