Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

At a garage sale this summer, I found one of my favorite childhood books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I was very excited to not only have a copy for myself and my future children, but also for my classroom. During my literacy class, a classmate of mine came up with a great lesson idea to follow along with the book; you create your own felt Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree and felt letters of the alphabet and have the kids add the letters to the tree as you read the story. I took her idea and taught it in the Kindergarten classroom I am in part-time right now. It's a great idea, so I thought I'd share!

First I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a pack of colored felt, 3 pieces of dark green felt, and 2 pieces of brown felt.

I used the colored felt for the letters of the alphabet (see right). I divided the sheet of felt into 4 equal sections using a ruler. I cut those pieces out and then drew the bubble letters on with permanent marker. Next, I cut the bubble letters out. I used a variety of the colors for all the letters.

I used the brown felt for the trunk of the tree. I cut two long strips out. I used the green felt for the leaves on the tree. I just free-handed this part; it actually turned out cute with random cuts!

When I taught the lesson, I used a felt board that my cooperating teacher had and it worked really well. I read the story once, and then handed out the letters to all the kids. I read the story again and when I read their letter, the students added their letter to the tree. The kindergarteners were very engaged in the lesson and loved the hands-on activity to go along with the book. It worked on letter recognition and participation in a group setting. After that, the kids drew their own tree on a piece of paper and added the letters of their name or other words they knew onto their tree. 

Some of the kids were really into it and added lots of details to their trees. It was great to see them so excited about learning!