Today I read Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park. This chapter book is about Junie B and her first time going to kindergarten on the school bus.
Starting kindergarten doesn't make Junie B. Jones nervous — but riding
the bus is another story. She thinks the bus smells like egg salad and
black smoke, has screechy brakes and no glove compartment for Kleenex,
and is filled with pushy boys and girls. Rather than ride home in the
bus, Junie decides to hide in a classroom closet. After that, she roams
through several rooms trying out various school supplies and equipment
in the nurse's office. Finally, her mom, teacher and others find her,
and Junie's mother arranges for Junie to sit with a girl from her class
on the next day's bus ride.
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus falls into the Contemporary Realistic Fiction. Her storie about the five year old, Junie B., could happen in the real world to any child and it just seems real to you while reading it. The illustrations are pencil draws (black & white) that give lots of character to the story while you're reading this chapter book. There are not a lot of pictures - just a couple when they want to express an issue.
Some motivational activities I would have my kids do would be 1.) Make a dictionary worksheet. I would have the kids look up 8 words from the book that they heard and didn't know in the dictionary and write their meanings. This would help to grow their vocabulary. 2.) I would have the kids write their first experience on a school bus and how they felt then share it to the class.
At the end of the book I would ask my kids 1.) What happens when you make judgments about people before getting to know them? 2.) Why is it important not to touch things that don't belong to you?
I have heard of the Junie B. Jones series but never read one till now. I found this one to be very cute. I really liked how Barbara Park made it sound like Junie B. was really a five year old with her vocabulary and thoughts that she had throughout the book. One example - "The bus made a big roar. Then a big puff of black smelly smoke came out the back end of it. It's called bus breath, I think." This statement in the book really made me laugh. I will defiantly have this set in my classroom for kids to read.
Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworths, Inc
Park, B., (1992). Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. United States: Random House, Inc
I love Junie B. Jones!! This book is great for kids of all ages. There are so many activities you can do with this series. I personally would have students write a few sentences about what scared them on the first day of school and draw a picture. I would allow them to share their ideas so that they can see that everyone gets nervous about school. Another fun activity would be to teach about the 5 senses. In the book it talks about Junie smelling certain smells and touching things that were not hers. You could bring in fun things for students to touch and smell while blindfolded (or with their eyes closed) and have them guess what they think it is!
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