Bone Soup Picture Book Companion Halloween Read Aloud Activities

This picture book companion is a must-have for elementary ELAR teachers seeking engaging, standards-aligned activities for Bone Soup by Cambria Evans. With over 43 print-and-go activities, this resource supports diverse learners and reinforces essential reading skills.

Students will make predictions, identify story elements, summarize, and analyze characters while exploring cause and effect, making inferences, and comparing texts. Creative tasks like retelling the story and designing a book cover keep them motivated and excited about reading.

Teachers will appreciate the high-quality activities that promote higher-level thinking and simplify lesson planning, allowing customization for individual needs. This comprehensive resource includes sequencing, character analysis, fun word puzzles, and a creative “Bone Soup Recipe” activity, perfect for read-aloud sessions, small group instruction, or independent practice.

🌟This Resource Includes:🌟

• Making Predictions: Students predict the story before reading.

• Judging by the Cover: Students examine the cover and answer questions.

• Story Elements: Students identify and illustrate key story elements.

• Retell the Story: Students retell the beginning, middle, and end.

• Sequencing: Students sequence and illustrate important events.

• Recalling Events in Chronological Order: Students identify four key events in order.

• Trip to Town: Students illustrate Finnigin’s visit to town with captions.

• Summary: Students use a graphic organizer to summarize the story.

• Story Event Sort: Students categorize and describe events.

• Problem & Solution: Students identify the problem and solution (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Minor Problems & Solutions: Students find four minor problems and solutions (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Cause & Effect: Students identify cause and effect examples (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Making Connections: Students connect events to their own experiences.

• Context Clues: Students use context clues to define underlined words.

• Making Inferences: Students make inferences using text clues and background knowledge.

• Notice & Note: Students note key inferences, cause and effect, and descriptive language.

• Character Feelings (Finnigin; The Witch): Students track how feelings change with text evidence.

• Character Traits (Finnigin): Students select two traits and support with examples.

• Character Traits (Finnigin, The Witch, Little Werewolf): Students choose one trait per character and support with text.

• Character Inside & Out (Finnigin): Students describe Finnigin’s actions, thoughts, and feelings.

• Character Development (Finnigin): Students identify character traits at different points in the story.

• Character Change (The Townscreatures): Students explain how the townscreatures changed.

• Character Perspective: Students compare Finnigin’s excitement with the townscreatures’ reactions.

• Sketch a Scene: Students draw an important scene and describe its significance.

• Setting the Scene: Students identify and explain three settings.

• Before & After: Students compare the Witch’s initial and final reactions to Finnigin.

• Thinking About the Text: Students answer comprehension questions with text evidence (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Thinking Beyond the Text: Students answer higher-level questions with text evidence (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Sensory Details: Students describe an event using all five senses.

• 3-2-1: Students list three food items, two reactions, and one descriptive word (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Theme: Students determine the theme and support with evidence.

• Author's Message: Students sequence four events and explain the author’s message.

• Reading Text and Illustrations: Students analyze how text and illustrations work together.

• Compare and Contrast: Students compare Bone Soup with Stone Soup.

• Crossword Puzzle: Students complete the crossword using clues (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Word Search Puzzle: Students find hidden words in the puzzle (ANSWER KEY INCLUDED).

• Caught on Social Media: Students create a social media post as a character.

• Diary Entry: Students write a diary entry from a character’s perspective.

• Wait... There's More!: Students write what happens next in the story.

• Design a Book Cover: Students design a new cover and explain their choices.

• Book Review: Students rate and review the book.

• Bone Soup Recipe: Students create their own Bone Soup recipe with ingredients and illustrations.

Perfect for enhancing read-aloud sessions, station work, or as independent practice!

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💡Need ideas for different ways you can implement these activities?

• Focus on different reading skills each day for targeted instruction, and have students complete a corresponding printable to check for understanding.

• During centers, students can independently read the story again and complete an activity that reviews a previously taught concept.

• Work with students on a reading concept they struggle with during guided reading or strategy groups.

• Students work with a partner or in literature circles to complete additional reading activities.

This resource is for extension read-aloud activities only. The book is not included.