understanding of plot and character. If children start to ...

Below you’ll find a week’s worth of read aloud plans that can help guide you to transfer the read aloud

prompts that accompany We Are Readers into A BIG Mooncake for Little Star, by Grace Lin, which tells

the story of Little Star who bakes a mooncake with her Mama. Repeated readings of a well-structured story

such as this one with a strong plotline and engaging characters will engage your students and inspire them

to “read” that story again and again on their own and with a partner. This story has a lyrical nature, while

using language that your students will be able to latch onto in their own “readings.” You’ll want to use this

replicable plan to read, think, and talk about a wide variety of similarly-structured stories, including those

that provide a mirror or window for your class of readers.

In all book conversations you will want to be thinking about the biases that you and your students may hold.

Asking things like: Is this always true, or just in my life and only what I know? What is the book really

saying about this? What do the people who live in this family value and think is important? Is there another

way to think about this idea or part?

In, A BIG Mooncake for Little Star, examples of biases may be: All Asians celebrate The Autumn Moon

Festival; All Asians eat mooncakes; Mooncakes are gross; That’s weird that she doesn’t have a dad

You will want to think about how you can respond to students and help facilitate a conversation that helps

students to explore and understand new ways of thinking about these things that arise in our conversations.

For example a student may suggest, “What are mooncakes? They sound gross.” You might ask, “Is this

what I think and that is true to me? Do others have a different opinion?” You might ask yourself, “Have I

ever tried this? Just because something is new or different, doesn’t mean it is gross. You might be scared

or nervous to try something. That is a more specific way to talk about something, rather than just labeling

it gross.” Let’s think about what this book is really teaching us. In this book, this family bakes mooncakes

to celebrate one of their holidays. You can ask yourself, “Do I have a holiday that I celebrate with my

family and prepare special food for the occasion? All families have different traditions and food that is

important to them. We shouldn’t be quick to judge things that are important to others when we haven't tried

it ourselves or frankly just have a different opinion.”

A few other beautiful picture books that you might like to use this month include I Am Enough, by Grace

Byers, Violet’s Music, by Angela Johnson, You Hold Me Up, By Monique Gray Smith.

Kindergarten Read Aloud Plans 2020-2021

©2020 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Schools who partner with TCRWP have permission to duplicate for classroom use.P

repared for: Camille Blackwood ([email protected])

Copyright 2022 Reading and Writing Project. of 12

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We have numbered the pages, counting the page that starts, “Little Star’s mama laid the big mooncake…”

as page 1.

In this first read, resist the urge to point out that this story incorporates moon’s phases. While Lin does

create something of a fable here, your first few reads should work to help students build a solid

understanding of plot and character. If children start to wonder about this over time, address it in those

repeated reads.

Introduce the book, proving a gist for the story.

“This book is called, A BIG Mooncake for Little Star, written by Grace Lin. This

book is about Little Star. She and her mama have just baked a big, beautiful

mooncake. It looks delicious, but Little Star is supposed to wait to eat it. Oh my

goodness! I bet it will be SO hard for Little Star not to take a little nibble!”

Take a book walk, scanning over a few important pages, recruiting kids to say

aloud what they see and solidifying the gist of the story.

“Let’s take a peek at some of these pictures and find out how the story goes.”

Stop to look at the end pages, pointing to elements in the picture and describing

what the characters are doing.

“Look at this! There is Little Star, and she is with her mama making a mooncake.

Can you see the cracked eggs? And the honey? And look, mama and Little Star are

making the mooncake. What are they adding now?”

“Now, let’s peek inside the book and see what happens when they are finished

baking!”

Take a look at the title page and few more, perhaps stopping on the page where

Little Star goes “Pat, pat, pat…” to nibble the mooncake and the following page

in which she takes a nibble.

“Oooo, before the story begins, mama puts the mooncake in a big oven. What do you

think Little Star is thinking?” Allow students to call out a few ideas.

Page 1-6

“Oh, look. What’s happening.” Encourage kids to call out things that they see and

notice.

“...and now… what’s happening?”

(cont’d on next pg.)





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(cont’d)

Page 7-10

“Oh, no… what will she do?”

Page 11-12

“Look… What is she doing now? Tell your partner what’s going to happen in this

story!?”

“Now let’s read the story to see what happens with Little Star and the mooncake!”

Read the text straight through with expression, incorporating simple gestures

and inviting the students to chime in and gesture along with you during the first

read.

Read the book with a sense of wonder and discovery, studying the pictures and

responding to both the beauty and the story depicted there. You might say, “Wow

look at this… Mama is putting the mooncake out to cool and the cake almost looks

like a moon too!” Then read the words. You might choose to act out the mother’s

dialogue, gently wagging a finger, as you read to make it clear that mama is speaking

right to Little Star. Invite the children to do this with you. Then, you might also act

out the part of Little Star too, dutifully nodding, “Yes, Mama!” as she clutches her

bunny.

Act out the text as you read the next few pages.

The next few pages are full of action. Read them deliberately, pointing to the actions

and then inviting children to act out with you. On page 9, when you read, “Pat, pat,

pat”, point to each word, then pantomime tiptoeing. Look to your students to do the

same. Adding actions and gestures will help children to not only understand the story,

but it will give them ways to “read” this book on their own later. Also encourage

students to say “Mmmmm, yum!” with you, and then pantomime sneaking back to

bed.

Dramatize the next portion of the book, emphasizing the pattern of characters

actions and the repetition of keywords.

In this part of the book, Little Star returns night after night to nibble at the mooncake.

Make a show of quickly acting out the repeated actions: tiptoeing to the mooncake,

taking a nibble, and then flying back to bed undetected by Mama.

Before reading this page, stop to notice the picture, naming that something is

changing on this page.

“Uh-oh, it looks like Mama has figured out what has been happening. I wonder if she

will be upset!”

Read on. Make sure to over-dramatize Mama’s reaction so that your students

understand that she is not so upset and is a little amused by her daughter’s month of

nibbles.





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Read to the end of the book, including the end pages to confirm that the whole

story starts again.

The last two pages contain dialogue that you will want your students to recite along

with you. Consider reading these lines more than once, encouraging kids to say it

with you as they mirror their faces with those in the pictures. End your read by

commenting on the end pages, which suggest that the whole story starts over again!

Retell the story, paging through important pictures and using some actions to

help.

“Let’s look back to the beginning of this story to retell all of the important parts of

the story. Let’s try to act out what’s happening as we tell each part!”

“Oh yes, before it even starts they make the mooncake and put it in the oven… Let’s

act that out… Oh and here, the Mama says, ‘Let’s see if you can wait a while.’… Oh

yes and here, let’s act it out. Little Star goes ‘pat, pat, pat’ to get a little nibble.”

Give the children a moment to share a favorite part with a friend.

“I can see that this book is becoming a fast favorite in our class. Tell the person next

to you your favorite part of the story… the part you are so excited to read again next

time!”





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In your repeated reads of this text, remember that you have 3 big jobs. First, you will want the children to

get to know the story very well. Make sure they are chiming in with bits of language across the book. Also

encourage them to act out the actions of the characters, thus solidifying their understanding of the story.

Second, you will want your readers to respond to key moments in the story. They might anticipate favorite

parts, or add their thinking about the characters actions. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you want

your students to fall in love with the story. You want them to cheer when they see you pull it out and build

a sense of anticipation for the day you make it available for them to read on their own.

Build excitement for your next read.

“As we get ready to reread A BIG Mooncake for Little Star, think about what happens

in the story and which parts you are so excited to read together!”

Page through the book, quickly, inviting kids to oooh and ahhh over their

favorite parts.

“Let’s remind ourselves of all the great moments in this book before we start

rereading. As I turn the pages, you can put your hand on your heart to let the class

know when we get to one of your favorite pages.”

Read the beginning of the book, making sure to keep the flow going, even as you

invite children to “read” along.

You’ll want to model a fluent reading of the text, adding lots of expressive gestures

as you read. Make sure children know that you want them to say the words they

remember with you. If children mumble over some lines, that’s fine, you’ll want

them to fake it until they know more and more of the words directly from the text.

If, during these repeated reads, students start to notice phrases like “mama laid the

Big Mooncake onto the night sky,” and start to wonder if this cake is, in fact, the

moon, you can chat about this for a moment or two. Be sure to direct the children

back to the text as you do this. You might say, “Hmmm, what are you noticing? Does

the cake look like the moon? Are there any other clues that it might be the moon in

the story? Let’s keep looking as we read on!”

Read the story, pausing to notice new elements for the first time.

You might pause on page 6 to exclaim, “Oh, look at that… I didn’t notice that she

was cuddling her bunny while she slept. Let’s pretend to cuddle our own bunnies!”

On page 9, you might exclaim, “Look at the words pat, pat, pat… they look like little

footsteps on the page!”

If your students notice new things, let them share their findings, adding “That’s the

great part about reading books again and again, you can always find new things to

love!”





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Talk about the illustrations, quickly acting out each mini-scene.

“Little Star is eating and eating and eating! Let’s pretend to be her… what is she

saying or thinking… what sound is she making?”

If students notice that this page looks like the phases of the moon, let the children

talk about it for a moment. Encourage them to use parts of the picture, elements of

the story, or a few words from the text to help them explain their noticing.

“I heard some of you say that it looks like the mooncake is the moon! Can you say

more? What do you see? What is happening? How does that go with the story?”

Pause to name the changing mood in the story.

“Here she comes… this is when Mama figures out what has been happening!”

Read to the end of the book, acting out the conversation that closes the story.

“Let’s act out this last part! With the person next to you, choose who will be Mama

and who will be Little Star. Now let’s try to be the characters, saying just what they

say and doing just what they do!”

Some days you will not convene a whole class conversation to end your read aloud,

but after the fifth read, consider inviting children to act out the book. You may

consider inviting half the class to be Mama and the other half to take on the role of

Little Star. You may host a conversation about the characters and the story and say,

“What are some of the most important things that happen in this story? Let’s talk

about them and why they are important.”

Or you may prompt students, “Does Little Star remind you of anyone you know?

Let's talk about those parts and how they remind you of people you know.”

Or, “We have learned so much about Little Star and her Mama. What are some things

we have learned from them that we want to remember when we are with our own

families and friends? Let’s talk about those parts together.”





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Many teachers find that books with author-illustrators are particularly delightful in the way the two aspects

of the book work together to create the world of the story. We chose the book, Thank You, Omu! because,

just like the writers in your room, Oge Mora wrote and illustrated this story. This book tells the story of

Omu, a generous character who cooks a delicious stew and gives it away to all who ask. When she goes to

sit down for dinner, she realizes she has no food left for herself. Just then, her friends enter her house with

food in hand, allowing us all to think about generosity and the joy of sharing your food, your home, your

world, with friends. This story has a strong story structure that leaves lots of room for children to predict,

consider character feelings and build deeper understanding of why characters do what they do. You will

want to study this plan, making decisions about the prompts and pacing that will be most supportive for

your students.

In all book conversations you will want to be thinking about the biases that you and your students may hold.

Asking things like: Is this always true, or just in my life and only what I know? What is the book really

saying about this? What do the people who live in this family value and think is important? Is there another

way to think about this idea or part?

In, Thank You, Omu, examples of biases may be: People who take food from others must be poor, you

shouldn’t share your food with others, grandmas shouldn’t live alone, she shouldn’t only feed black people.

You will want to think about how you can respond to students and help facilitate a conversation that helps

students to explore and understand new ways of thinking about these things that arise in our conversations.

For example a student may suggest that, “People shouldn’t share their food with others. Why can’t they

feed themselves? Are they poor?”

You might ask, “Is this always true, or just in my life and only what I know? What is the book really saying

about this? Let’s look back and check our thinking. In this book, all the people who knock on Omu’s door

are drawn to her house because of the delicious smell coming from her home. They want to try her stew.

At the end of the book, all of those same people go back to Omu’s apartment to share some of their food

with her. What is this book trying to teach us? What do we learn from all of the characters in this story?

People can be generous; there is joy in sharing with others.”

Below you’ll find a two-day read aloud plan that can help guide you to transfer the read aloud prompts that

accompany Avid Readers into Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora, as well as any other book you’ll choose to

read aloud this month. There are so many beautiful stories that would fit nicely with the work across this

unit. We suggest Carmella Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña; The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk by Kabir Sehgal

and Surishtha Sehgal, to name a few.





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Pages are numbered starting with “On the corner...” as page 1.

Hold up the book and introduce it.

“This book, called Thank You, Omu!, is written and illustrated by Oge Mora. Let

me show you her picture. Omu, in Igbo (a Nigerian language), means queen. But

for Oge, when she was growing up, it meant grandma. Oge said that this story,

which she has written about Omu, a grandmother, was inspired by many different

women in her life. She also loves cooking her grandmother’s recipes. People love

to tell stories about the people they love and the things that they love to do! Just

like us.”

“Let’s take a sneak peek before we read and look at the cover and the first few

pages and name the things that we see and notice. Shout out things that you notice.”

Children call out their ideas.

“I see a little boy or girl eating some sort of food”, “It’s soup.”, “He’s thanking his

Omu, his grandma, for the soup.”, “I see lots of buildings, it looks like a

neighborhood.”, “That’s the grandma, Omu, cooking. That’s the smell of the soup

was going out the window.”, “You can also see in the building people doing things

– like play with the cars.”

Read the blurb and think about what the story will be about

“Turn and talk, what is going to happen in this story. Sounds like there is a big

problem. What will they do?”

Read the page and confirm what you thought the story was going to be about.

Then make a quick prediction.

“We were right. There is Omu, in her apartment building, making a stew, which is

like a soup. It sounds like it is delicious! We know what is going to happen, right?”

Kids shout out:

“Other people are going to want to eat her stew!”





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Orient students to the page and talk about the picture. Paraphrase phrases or

new words. Ask kids to predict at the end of the page.

“Talk to your partner about what you see in this picture. Look at all the parts.

What’s happening?”

“Now, I am going to read.”

“Here is the page, ‘KNOCK! Someone was at the door. When Omu opened it, she

saw…’ We don’t know who it is….who is it? Make a guess.”

“The boy!”

“A neighbor!”

“Maybe another Omu.”

Confirm predictions. Talk about the character feelings

“Were we right? It was the little boy, who is a neighbor from downstairs! He looks

like he feels really happy. What about Omu, how does she feel, turn and talk?”

Study the picture and name the things that people see and predict what will

happen.

“Let’s talk about what we see happening in the picture.”

“I see a police officer.”

“I see the little boy with soup in his hand walking down the street.”

“I see a school bus”

“Let me read and get ready to predict what will happen next.”

“Turn to your partner, and guess what will happen next.”

“I heard someone say that the bus driver will eat the soup. Someone else said

maybe the boy will spill the soup. Let’s see.”

“Turn and talk. Retell who is in the story, where are they, and what has happened

in the story so far!”

“Everyone loves Omu’s stew. She is cooking it for dinner and the little boy

knocked on her door and so did the police officer. They all love Omu’s stew. They

say it is scrumptious or delicious! Yum!”





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Talk about the pictures. Predict what is going to happen next. Ask students to

act out the characters and make them talk and think like the characters.

“Let’s first look at the pictures and say what we see.”

“What do we think we’ll learn next?

“Let’s try and act this out. One of you be Omu. And the other partner be the hotdog

vendor! Go! Make them talk and move like the characters.”

“Let’s think about this. Is this a problem? Yes! Turn and tell your partners, what

is the problem. What might Omu be thinking and feeling?”

“Oh no! Now I don’t have dinner.”

“I fed everyone, but I am hungry and don’t have anything.”

“Whooops! Nothing is left for me. I am sad.”

“Study the picture on the page. What do we know about how Omu feels?”

“Disappointed, sad, and maybe hungry.”

“Let’s read this part and think, how will this story end.”

“Who could that be? What is going to happen at the end of the story. Turn and

talk.”

Prompt students to think about the important parts of the story.

“Let’s talk about the end. What happened and why did it happen? Think about how

Omu feels at the end of the story!”





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Prompt readers to remember the story and retell the important parts.

“Let’s make sure we remember important parts of the story. I am going to read the

inside blurb again and quickly move through pictures. Retell the most important

things that you remember in the story to your partner!”

“Let’s make Omu talk and think on this page! Let’s act it out!”

“What’s the same in this part with the other part?”

“What’s different?”

“Do you have questions? I do. Why does she feed everyone? Why doesn’t she save

some for herself? Why do people think they can ask her for food? Why do people

want her stew so badly? I have so many questions! Before we answer… can you

all ask questions to your partners and try and answer them?”

“So many good questions and answers you are coming up with! Over here I heard

you all ask, ‘Why does she feed everyone?’ and you all said, ‘Maybe because she

likes to give to other people. She’s so generous.’ Over here, you all asked, ‘Why

do people ask her for her stew?’ You answered, ‘Because they know she is a good

cook. They know her, she is part of the neighborhood. She cares for them and they

care for her!’”

Pause to prompt children to think about the change in the story and ask,

“Why?” Have them consider the lesson in this part of the story.

“What has changed? What might Omu say and think now? Turn and tell your

partner.”

“I heard that Omu now has no more stew left for herself. Some people said that

Omu will probably be upset and other people said that she may feel bad about

giving away all of her stew.”

“Let’s keep reading to see how Omu will react and what that might teach us.”

Pause to prompt children to notice new details in the text.

“I’m starting to notice some details on this page that I didn’t notice before in both

the illustrations and the words.” (point to noticings on the illustrations and words,

such as the scents wafting off of all of the food, etc.). “Turn and share with your

partner one new detail that you noticed.”





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Stop and discuss what the characters learn at the end.

“Readers, now that we’ve finished the story, let’s talk about what the Omu realized

or learned at the end of the story. Turn and tell your partner what Omu learned.”

“I heard students say things like, ‘It’s important to share,’ and, ‘People will be nice

to you when you are nice to them.’”

Engage the class in a conversation about the book by discussing what they

have learned from the character and can take into their own lives.

“I think that we can all learn from Omu’s experiences. Turn and talk about what

you’ve learned.”

Or: “Let’s think about what we learned from this story, that teaches us how we

want to be the best neighbors. Let’s talk about the parts that remind us of how we

want to be.”

Or: “The title is Thank You, Omu. Why did Oge Mora, give this story that title?

How do the parts fit with the title?”





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