I am a HUGE fan of finding quality literature to both read and teach with in my classroom. Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid is a perfect book to read during this time of year...and really any other time! In the book Pearl, a porcupine, loves to give hugs. Her friends loved to receive hugs from her, but they hurt a little. Her teacher kept a box of band-aids handy to help with this. So, Pearl decided to do something about it. She tried a few things but finally created a rose dress out of a pillowcase. It worked as the perfect protector for her friends!
Reading this book to your class can be the starting point for some great discussions. Some talking points include:
- What was Pearl's problem?
- What solutions to solve her problem did Pearl come up with?
- Would you have thought of any other solutions for Pearl?
- What kind of friends did Pearl have? Were they kind?
One of the most obvious talking points is the question if you would hug Pearl or not. When I read this book to my class, we took this question a little further!
First, I had my students fill out the sheet below. It got them thinking about if they would hug Pearl and why or why not. Just click the picture to download it!
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| Click to download! |
After my students finished thinking about whether or not they would hug Pearl, we made a class graph using the data. The graph was a perfect talking point to discuss the book but also to get in some key math vocabulary including more than, less than, most, least, equal, and in all. To grab my headings to create your own chart, just click below to download!
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| Click to download! |
Have you read this book to your class? I would love to hear about activities you have done with it!
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