Book Bag Activites for
The Grouchy Ladybug
By: Laura Burns

• Carle, Eric. The Grouchy Ladybug. Scholastic Inc. New York, NY. (1977).

Rationale:

• I chose to use The Grouchy Ladybug for my book bag because there is so much that I can do with this book. I can incorporate many different subjects with this book. Eric Carle is a very popular author and has many children books that I could also use.

Information about the author:

• Eric Carle was born in 1929, in Syracuse, New York. When he was six years old he moved with his parents to Germany. He was educated there and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Kunste, in Stuttgart. In 1952, he moved to New York. He got a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. He later was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.
• Eric Carle’s art is very recognizable and distinctive. His artwork is created using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images.
• Eric Carle’s best known work is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, published in 1969. Since then he has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote. The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature. Most of his books offer children the opportunity to learn something about the world around them.

Questions to use with the story:

• Before: Try to think of a time when you felt grouchy. Why were you grouchy? What made you happy again? Why do you think that the ladybug is grouchy? Do you think that the ladybug will learn to be friendly?
• During: What would you do if someone talked to you like this? Can you put your own clock at 5:00 PM?
• After: How were the two ladybugs different from each other? Explain why the Grouchy Ladybug went to the Yellow Jacket after the friendly ladybug. What other animals could the Grouchy Ladybug visit? Describe how the story may have been different if the ladybug tried to fight everything that was his own size. Decide what you would have done if you were the friendly ladybug at the end of the story.

Activities to use with the story:

• Have students make manipulative clocks out of pizza circles, paper fasteners, and construction paper to use as you read the story aloud. This will allow them to tell time with the story.
• Watch the video “Picture Writer” as a class. This video demonstrates the author, Eric Carle’s, illustrations for his books. After watching the video, students will work individually to make there own Eric Carle illustrations.
• Make a “Grouchy Teacher” book. Make paper clocks and put in times that are part of the school day. Have the children write down how they think I felt at that specific time of the day. You can use this lesson before or after reading the book.
• Have each child write and illustrate a tale about a ladybug encounter that results in good luck. Set aside time for students to share their stories to the whole class, then put the stories together to make a class book titled, "The Good Luck Bugs.”
• Create a list of spelling words from the story; ask the students to use the words in a sentence, original stories or research reports. You could also create a list of spelling words from names of insects.
• Guide the children in retelling the story. Have them get into groups. Then have them act out the story, using their own improvised language. Have them reenact it many times so that children can play many roles.
• Children can be assigned different pages of the story to illustrate or can be partnered to complete murals to use as back drops for the play in Activity #6. They will get paper and paint to do their illustrations.
• Have children work in pairs for this activity. Have papers with illustrations of animals and insects that the grouchy ladybug wanted to fight. Have children reread the story and set up the illustrations in the correct order on the table or floor.
• Have students write a letter to the main character. They can express their feelings about the book and write how they felt about the ladybug’s behavior.
• Rewrite the story in-groups using new animals. Make sure to have the students describe the animals with vocabulary adjectives. Have the student put on a play with costumes and all, based on their story.
• Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence Activity: Have students write a letter to the main character of the story. They can express their feelings about the book and write how they felt about the ladybug’s behavior.
• Logical/Mathematical Intelligence Activity: Have students make clocks out of pizza circles, paper fasteners and construction paper. Read the story, then have them tell time with the story.
• Visual/Spatial Intelligence Activity: Have them make a ladybug puppet with a black film canister, gluing two half circles of foam for the wings, black felt or paper for the spots, google eyes, and pipe cleaners for the legs and antennae.
• Body/Kinesthetic Intelligence Activity: Have children move like the animal in the book. Then ask the children to describe how they feel when they move like different animals.
• Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence Activity: Have students write a poem on different insects or on an insect of their choice. Teach them a song that reminds students that a ladybug can defend itself. (See song on separate page.)
• Intrapersonal Intelligence Activity: Have each student write and illustrate a tale about a ladybug encounter that results in good luck. Have students share stories and then combine stories into a class book title “The Good Luck Bugs.”
• Interpersonal Intelligence Activity: The students will get into groups and rewrite the story using new animals with describing words that we have worked on in the class. The students will then put on a play, costumes and all, based on their story.

Props:

• Ladybug stuffed animal or puppet
• Insects or animals from the story
• Real lady bugs in a jar
• Construction paper to make lady bugs
• Clock or watch
• Insect magazines

Bibliography of other related books:

• Bright Beetle By Rick Chrustomski
• Are you a Ladybug? By Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries
• Ladybug at Orchard Avenue By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
• What about Ladybugs? By Celia Godkin
• The Ladybug and Other Insects By Gallimard Jeunesse and Pascale de Bourgoing
• Ten Little Ladybugs By Melanie Gerth

Assessment:

• Students will be assessed with rubrics or checklists for almost all of the different lessons. The students will also be assessed by their participation in small groups and whole class work.