As a former New Yorker, I love the Christmas story, “Red & Lulu,” by Matt Tavares. The book details the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree by following the tale of two birds who had their nest in the tree. “Red & Lulu” has wonderful pictures for descriptive language. Children can also study new vocabulary, speech sounds, and answer comprehension questions.
There are many lessons that can be built off of this book. Below are some ideas:
Learn about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - Explore the history of how trees are chosen and how the tradition began. This is a great opportunity to build vocabulary, make inferences, and answer comprehension questions.
Make a Pinecone Bird Feeder Craft - Focus on following 1-2 step directions, describing, and prepositions while crafting.
Practice Sequencing and Story Retell - Use a graphic organizer and/or picture cards to help your child sequence and retell the story’s events.
Adjectives & Attributes - There are many opportunities to practice using descriptive language while looking at the pictures.
Practice Speech Sounds While Reading Aloud - Model these sounds for your child, and then have the child say the words back.
Answer Writing Prompts - Some prompts include: “What would you do if you were Red and Lulu?” and “Why do you think the Rockefeller Center tree is so tall?”
Readers: Have you tried any storybook extension activities at home?
About the Author: Melissa Goff, M.S, CCC-SLP, is the owner of Sunflower Speech & Myo Therapy, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC.
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