Pistes d'exploration

Based on the title, what words might you find in this book? Start an illustrated anchor chart of farm vocabulary and add to it as you read.

With a partner, discuss your favourite page and any prior knowledge you have about the subject of the photograph. Share your partner’s thinking with the class.

Brainstorm rhymes for the farm words (e.g. wheat/treat, rake/take). Play a guessing game of matching the rhyming words to their farm word partners.

Make a book called “What’s In My School?” Work together to take photographs or create drawings and label them. Notice how the author organized the information about the farm. Try to do the same with your school book.

In small groups, brainstorm a list of words you know that are related to farms, fruits and vegetables.

Make a mind map of the farm words. How can you organize them?

Create a class book in a similar style called “What’s in my house?” In small groups, choose a room. Take pictures and label them. Assemble the pages into a picture dictionary. Add to it as you find new words.

Town Mouse, Country Mouse, Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , comparisons , country life , farm animals , farms , illustrations (photographs) , visual dictionary

Commentaire descriptif

This small book is rich with photographs on a farming theme. Farmers, farm animals, equipment and food products are represented in gorgeous, crystal-clear images that fill each little page. For urban children, the book is an excellent resource of visual information about the origins of their food. All young readers will delight in the photographs of animals and their babies, lush images of fruits, vegetables and other farm products. Vehicles, tools and barn structures are depicted with both aesthetic and schematic clarity. The illustrations are captioned with very brief descriptions in large, clear type: “farmers,” “four horses eating,” “handful of cherries,” “pie.” This is a great confidence booster for beginning readers. Kids will appreciate the final, uncaptioned image of a cow sticking her tongue up her nose. A puffy, hardcover binding makes this book fun for little hands to hold.