There+Was+An+Old+Monster

Written and Illustrated by Rebecca Emberley, Adrian Emberley, and Ed Emberley

Download the song from [|There Was An Old Monster from Scholastic]


 * Make the Story**: Have students fold a piece of paper into half, then thirds to make six sections. In each section, draw a picture of an animal that the monster ate. Then cut a monster body from a 9”x12” piece of purple construction paper. Add details with scrap paper. Finally, cut a lion from an 11”x14” piece of tan paper. Add details to the lion as well. Cur out the pictures of the small animals that they drew on the first paper and glue them onto the monster in the order he ate them. Then glue the monster onto the lion to show the lion ate them all.


 * Healthy Eating Habits:** Have kids make a full body cut out of themselves (could be life sized or a small model). Inside the body, glue pictures of everything they have eaten. You could have them keep track of what they eat for 24 hours. Evaluate the foods they have eaten to see if they are on track with the food pyramid. Try again one week later to see if they have improved.


 * Make a Monster:** Have students cut pieces for a monster from construction paper—eyes, ears, hands, tail, horns, feet, body, etc. Put all of the pieces in an envelope for each student. Randomly distribute the envelopes so each student has pieces they did not cut out. They should then use those pieces to put together a monster. Share their monster so those who cut out the pieces can see if the monster looks like they expected.


 * My Monster:** Give each student a piece of white paper and describe a monster, one step at a time. For instance, my monster is tall and furry; my monster has a green bumpy tail. Give enough details to make a complete picture of a monster, then compare what the different monsters look like given the same set of directions.