Peek-a-Boo Book Scene

If you are looking for a creative way to assess student summer reading, have your kids design a Peek-a-Boo book scene. The purpose of the Peek-a-Boo book scene is to think about point of view, put yourself in the main character’s shoes, and see what the character sees. Or, you could add a twist to the project and ask students to consider events from a flipped perspective and design a scene that shows a different angle than what the narrator described in the book.

Peek a Boo Book Scene

For the activity, students choose a favorite scene from a book they read and imagine what the character’s world looks like through his/her eyes. Students draw the scene using details from the text and then build their “window” pocket. To finish, readers slide the snapshot of the character’s view into the frame to create a unique peek inside the book’s world.

Peek-a-Boo Book Scene Options

  • The simplest option for the drawing is to have students choose a favorite scene, imagine they are the main character, and create a drawing of the scene the way the book character would see it and describe it. If you want to make the activity a little more challenging, have students consider a different vantage point. They can draw the scene as an onlooker observing the main character or from the perspective of another character in the story who is involved in the scene.
  • Draw multiple scenes and stack them in the frame pockets, so students can switch the view if they want to see something new.

Peek a Boo Book Scene

  • Use THESE PEEK-A-BOO TEMPLATES for the story scene drawings and the frames. You have the option to print a frame that has a wooden texture on it, or you can print solid white frames and let students design the outer edge. In the image below from Danny the Champion of the World by Dahl, you see a view through a keyhole into Danny’s gypsy caravan home. The frame has been decorated to look like an old gypsy caravan.

Peek a Boo Book Scene

  • Create your own type of frame. You could think about what Ivan sees in the mall and create a frame that looks like an animal cage if you are reading The One and Only Ivan by Applegate. You could design a shop store window and peek into Sarah’s bakery in The Bread Winner by Whitmore. I like THIS EXAMPLE for younger students with curtains. And I love THIS SCENE that gives the illusion of night with a flashlight beam.
  • If you think creating the pocket for the scene picture to slide in and out will be too complicated for your group, simply attach the scene behind the window view with tape or glue. You would still need to cut the openings in the window view, but you could leave all the white border edges around the drawings and attach straight to the back of the peek-a-boo frame.

This craftivity can be adapted to use with almost any picture book or novel. In the samples below you see Luke’s view from the attic vents in Among the Hidden by Haddix (image 1), and Chester the cat’s view of the family living room in Bunnicula by Howe and Howe (image 2).

Peek a Boo Book Scene

Peek a Boo Book Scene

When readers think about story scenes from multiple viewpoints, they develop a deeper understanding of the characters. By analyzing the scene in different ways, students activate their critical thinking skills and become more observant readers. We often ask students to create a mental image of what is happening in the books they are reading; the peek-a-boo book scene gives students the opportunity to illustrate a concrete image of what is happening in the story and build a stronger connection to the book character’s world.

If you need more creative ideas to spice up your novel studies and guided reading activities, CLICK HERE to see another blog post with project ideas for chapter books.

To purchase low prep novel units mentioned in this blog post, click the links below.

Tiny Books

Kids love to self-publish and there are so many fun ways to make booklets with materials you already have in your classroom or at home. One easy booklet I like to make with students uses one piece of copy paper and scissors. I call it a Tiny Book. After it is finished, the book will have six interior pages.

There are many ways students can fill the Tiny Books. I have students use these little books to practice procedural writing and make “How To” instructional manuals. When we read Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl, the students create a step-by-step guide for one of the poaching methods.

While practicing Helping Verbs and Verb Tenses, the students re-write and illustrate nursery rhymes in past, present, and future tense using a Tiny Book.

When we study colonial life, students research a specific role in the settlement and describe the colonist’s life in a tiny book. They write about clothing, food, housing, and jobs for a specific person and add illustrations with captions. It does not take too much time to complete and reinforces non-fiction text features.

For back to school, you could have students create a Tiny Book that shares facts about the student as a way to introduce each other to the group. Students could create a Tiny Book promoting any favorite summer reading they completed. I love the books because they do not involve a lot of prep and can be used for many different lessons… and they are mini, and I am a sucker for anything mini.

Materials:

  • basic white copy paper, 8 1/2″ x 11″, (one per student)
  • scissors

Directions:

  • Step 1: Gather your paper and scissors.
  • Step 2: Fold one piece of paper in half the hamburger way. Repeat two more times. Unfold the paper and make sure you have 8 rectangles on the paper.
  • Step 3: Fold the paper the hamburger way again, one time. Your paper will be 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ with 4 rectangles showing. From the folded edge of the paper, cut down the middle along the fold line to the center of the paper.

  • Step 4: Open the paper flat. Fold it one time the hot dog way. Hold each side with one hand and push towards the center until your fingers meet. The center of the paper will push out creating 4 flaps.

  • Step 5: Press down, so pages line up into the booklet shape. The finished booklet is 6 pages.

Foldable Mini Books

 

As most all teachers do over the summer, I have been tinkering with student materials (when I should be catching up with missed doctors’ appointments and bathroom cleaning and dog hair vacuuming– or even enjoying a day at the pool). I want a student-made dictionary style resource for commonly misspelled words for my students next year. Ideally, the spelling notes will be in some kind of individual booklet that each student could add to all year. I may have found a solution– a sturdy little mini foldable booklet.

foldable mini book

I called in my temp help to see if the mini books would work, and team RoomMom has been printing, cutting, folding, and testing all day.

mini books materials

Materials

  • 8 1/2″ x 11″ white cardstock OR 4×6 notecards
  • scissors
  • rubberband (medium sized)
  • paper cutter with ruler guidelines

Directions

  • If you are using an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of cardstock, cut it in half horizontally and vertically, so you have 4 pieces of cardstock that are 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. Fold each piece of cardstock in half the “hamburger” way making sure the corners line up neatly. That means the 5 1/2″ side would be folded. Press down firmly along the fold.

mini books divide paper

  • If you are using notecards, fold 2+ notecards in half the “hamburger” way making sure the corners line up neatly. That means the 6″ side would be folded. Press down firmly along the fold.

spelling mini books folded

  • Once each card is folded, stack the cards on top of each other lining them up evenly. I think 3-4 cards is about the right amount for each booklet. You can use a combination of notecards and cardstock. ** Make sure your sizes match if you are mixing cardstock and notecards.
  • Following the center fold, cut a 1/2″ notch from the top and bottom edge of the stack of cards.

mini books cut knotch

  • Wrap a rubberband around the stack of cards. Have the rubberband sit down into the cut sections of paper to act as the mini book binding. If the rubberband is too tight and pulling on the paper, cut your notches a little deeper.

mini books rubberband

  • Decorate the cover and add notes, drawings, information, doodles… to each page of the booklet.

mini books sampleUses

  • I set up a template in Word and inserted the spelling information I needed. I printed front and back, cut down the paper, and folded the pieces into the booklet. There is space for students to add additional notes, but they will each have a starter booklet.

spelling mini books notes

  • Mr. Star Wars wrote a personal narrative about our trip to North Carolina last summer. Using the Word document template, we inserted pictures and printed the pages (it takes a little spatial thinking to get your pictures on the pages in the order you want when you assemble the booklet). He handwrote the story using the printed pictures as enhancement. This would be a great back to school activity. Students could use a blank booklet and write and illustrate a story about something they did over the summer. You could also use the booklet as a way to assess summer reading by having students create a book review in a mini book.foldable mini book
  • Miss Priss used her booklet to report facts about elephants. This was an end of year project for her. She took her researched information, grouped it by topic, and wrote bulleted facts on each page.

mini book elephantThe spelling mini book template with pre-printed notes for 31 tricky words like there, their, and they’re is now available in my Commonly Misspelled Words product at my teacher store. CLICK HERE to purchase.