If you have ever taught on Halloween, you know the excitement to come can be very distracting. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a perfect read-aloud to combine movement and keep students engaged.
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The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything Summary
Once there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything. One day, while she was in the woods strange things, appear on the path trying to frighten her. The clomping, clapping, shaking, and wiggling things follow her home. In addition to being a fun Halloween story, this book encourages students to practice listening skills. You can invite students to help create movements to the repeated verbs and join in clomping and wiggling throughout the story.
Read Aloud Questions
Before Reading
- What is something you’re afraid of?
- Where do you think the setting of this story is?
- What do you predict will happen?
During Reading
- Why did the little old lady run?
- Who do you think is at the door?
- What do you think the little old lady’s idea is?
After Reading
- How did the lady solve her problem?
- What do you think you would have done if it had been you?
- What could you do if you felt afraid?
Connecting Standards to The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Sequencing
Have students retell the order the objects appeared on the path. This works great for kids to do in pairs. They can write down the words of the objects on index cards or draw quick illustrations to help them sequence events.
Vocabulary
This story contains onomatopeias. Those are words that sound like the noise it describes such as crunch and splat. Most kids really enjoy these words. You can often find them in poetry, comics, or music lyrics. Have students work in pairs or small groups to create a comic strip and encourage them each to contribute an onomatopeia to include.
Verbs
The objects in the story all correspond with a specific action word. Have students brainstorm a list of objects in your classroom, school, or at home. Or stick with the theme and choose Halloween related objects. Have them assign a verb to each word (bang, snap, click, beep, swoosh, pop, etc.). Then let them write a sentence for each noun/verb combination.
More Halloween Fun with the Story
This PBS Kids in Motion video invited students to join in the actions of the story as it is read aloud. A great choice for adding to your lesson plans the week of Halloween.
If you’re looking for more activities that are standards-based but will keep students engaged as Halloween approaches, check out the Learning Through Literature book companion in the Resource Ranch store.
Resource Ranch
Rhonda is the author of Resource Ranch. Most of her classroom experience has been in early elementary. She has also taught Title I Reading, ESL, and gifted students. She is certified as a Texas teacher in grades 1-8 and as a K-12 librarian.
