Guess what? We have a new singable book to add to our collection: it’s the Opposites Rhyming Song Picture book! (ONLY $3!!) And it also has it’s own project for kids to make their own Opposite Rhyming Songbook, too! (Also, only $3!!) You can listen to the new song that goes with it on iTunes, or you can find it as a bonus song on Sing & Spell Volume 6, but watch out: just a snippet of that song, and you won’t be able to get it out of your head all day long! LOL! Keep reading for some free samples of the project and flash cards below.
This book was illustrated by Jessica Dunn, who is the daughter of a dear friend of mine, and so that makes this book EXTRA special! I love the way it turned out! 
I brought a set of these new Opposites Rhyming Song Picture books to the first grade classroom that I have been helping out in, along with a new learning center activity that I made to go with it. They loved it! And it was absolutely AMAZING how quickly the kids caught on to reading that book! Between the pictures of the opposites, the simple text, and the rhyming words, there are so many contextual clues in the book that nearly every child in the class was able to be successful with the book on the first try. I love it when that happens!
These are the flash cards that go with the book. They are provided for practice in matching the opposites, the rhymes, or in reading the words. (Only a $3 download!)
This is what I did. First, I read/sang the book to the class whole group. I told them that they were welcome to join in with me in singing and reading the book once they had figured out the pattern and could guess the words. Even though the book is relatively small, (8.25″ x 6″ closed), the bold faced words next to each picture were large enough even for the children at the back of the group of 24 (seated on the floor) to see and read along with me, which was a nice surprise!
By the time I was halfway through the book, most of the children had caught on to the pattern and were happily reading and singing along with me. Of course, a few of the kids were “pretend reading,” with a lot of healthy guessing in there, guided by their peers that were really, truly reading. But most of the first graders in this Title One school could actually read this book, and I was so pleased!
After that, we broke up into small groups for a group rotation. I was excited to listen to the children try to read this new book to me, so my teacher friend Mary kindly let me teach the reading group! I passed out a book to each child, and gave them instructions for pointing to the words and saying them aloud together. Then we all read the book- but we were actually singing the book while we read it! It was so much fun, and the children did so well!
When we finished reading the book together, I asked the children to try to read it alone. Only one child “claimed to have finished” the book within just a few seconds, probably because it was a bit too hard. I reminded him gently that I knew that he didn’t “really read” it, because that wasn’t enough time to have finished the whole thing. I asked him to look at the children around him; weren’t they all still on just the beginning part of the book? So I helped him read through it as much as he could, using the pictures clues, rhyming words, and beginning sounds as strategies to help him through.
Children use the picture from The Opposites Rhyming Book to help them figure out which pictures and/or words go in the pocket created by two plates stapled together.
An Opposites Literacy Center Activity
Then I introduced the children to the learning center activity that goes with the book! I told them that it would help them practice to match up the rhyming words and also to read those same words! I decided to call this learning center, “Opposite Plate Pockets!” In this activity, children use the picture from the Opposites Book to help them figure out which pictures and/or words go in the pocket created by two plates stapled together. So, it could be used by readers and non-readers alike! If your students are not reading, simply don’t give them the flash cards with the words on them.
To make this learning center, all you need are the Opposites Book Flashcards, and some paper plates!
These Opposites Plate Pockets are made with 7 inch diameter paper plates and the Opposites Rhyming Book Flash Cards ($3 download!) The plate in front is cut to be four inches long, and then the desired flash card is stapled to it. Then the cut plate is stapled to the other plate. It was actually pretty quick and easy to put together! Children can place either the matching words or simply the matching pictures inside the plate-pocket that is formed.
To make managing this activity a little easier, I recommend that you give the children just half of the set of Opposites Pockets at a time. The entire set of cards and plates spilled out on the table was a bit overwhelming! Of course, by the time the fourth (and last!) group came to the table, I had it all figured out, and gave them half of the set at a time, and they breezed right through it. But in any case, the kids had a great time with those Opposites Pockets! They were delighted when I told them I would leave the set with their teacher for a few weeks, along with the books. Several children asked if they could read the book again on their own, and that request really made me happy!
The flashcards can be used for children to simply practice their matching the opposites without reading the words, if that is what they need to do!
The one thing that I LOVE about this little book is the student project that pairs with it! I can’t wait to try this with a group of children, because I think that the little projects that my daughter Kimmie and I came up are absolutely adorable, if I do say so myself! We really, really concentrated on keeping this one simple enough for pre-K, yet fun enough for older children to complete if they wanted to, and this is what we came up with:
So, just for fun, here are few more pictures of this fun project! Here are some free samples of the project pages and the a free sample of the flash cards that go with it.
To purchase the $3 book, click here!
To purchase the $3 book project, click here!
To purchase the $3 flashcards, click here!
And be sure to check out the Opposite Song on iTunes!
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