Monthly Book Activity - The Napping House

July Book Activity – The Napping House by Audrey & Don Wood

Story Summary

It is a rainy afternoon. A boy, his granny, and their pets are all sleeping peacefully piled up in the same bed. Suddenly a flea bites the mouse and wakes him up. This causes a domino effect of one waking up the other and ends with a broken bed.

Recommended Ages: Grades 1st – 2nd

Activity 1

Gather the class on the carpet and tell them they are going to read a story called The Napping House. Before reading, talk about the word napping. What does it mean? Make a list on chart paper of other words that mean the same as napping. Words from the book to add to the list include: slumbering, dozing, and snoozing.

Materials

Activity 2

Read The Napping House. While reading, ask the class to notice how the colors change from the beginning of the book to the end. Also, ask them to watch the people and animals sleeping. Do any of them move? Notice the bike left outside in the rain. Is it the boy’s or Granny’s?

Materials:

The Napping House book by Audrey Wood (also found in this children’s classic pack)

Activity 3

After reading, talk about the characters in the story. Who was the biggest? Who was the smallest? Let the class know they are going to do any activity where they put the characters in order from smallest to biggest. Give each student a worksheet with the characters on it. They are to cut them out and then paste the characters on construction paper in the right order from smallest to biggest.

Materials

Elmer’s Glue Sticks
Tru-Ray Sulphite Construction Paper “18×24”
Fiskars Student Scissors
Teacher-made worksheet of book characters

Activity 4

Have the students notice the treehouse in the first picture. Ask the students, “What if the story took place in the treehouse? Would there be different characters?” Make a list of “sleepers” that might pile up in the treehouse. Tell the students that they are going to write their own story of The Napping Treehouse!

Materials