Recently we bought a piece of furniture from IKEA and it came in a large, sturdy box. When it was headed for the curve I begged my husband not to throw it away. "Why not?" he asked. "It's just a box." Kindergarten teachers—you and I know it was NOT JUST a box! So I made asked him to drag it to my classroom.
First of all, it was the tool for a group lesson in number combinations. We took turns getting in and out. The kids recorded the action with pictures and numbers in their math journals.
Next we read Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.
We looked at the pattern of the book. For a shared reading experience, we alternated reading the brown pages or the red pages by teacher/students and boys/girls.
Finally, we drew pictures to create a new book. (Sadly, there is not a picture...so use your imagination. After all, that's what the book is all about!)
