The Carrot Seed

Happy Wild About Books Wednesday! On the first and third Wednesday of every month, I blog about  a specific books and discuss ways that it can be used to enhance speech or language skills. I adore books and they're my favorite therapy tools! I use them ALL the time!

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Today, I'm feeling a little retro! I'm going to talk about the classic - The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. It's the story of a little boy who plants a carrot seed! He diligently pulls the weeds around the seed and waters it everyday, despite his family constantly telling him that "it won't come up." Eventually, the little boy's hard work pays off and the carrot comes up "just as [he] had known it would." Spoiler alert! haha.. It wasn't just any carrot, it was GIGANTIC! This book is precious and has a wonderful message!

There are countless ways to use this book to enhance your students' language skills!

1) Predictions - Many students with language disorders struggle with making predictions, especially predictions that are realistic or relevant to the story. This is a great story to teach the basics of predicting... Do you think the carrot will come up?
2) Sequencing - There are million ways to sequence this little story! You can bring in little cups of dirt and actual carrot seeds and students can act out the story! You can also have students draw pictures or write about the events of the story. It has a very simple chain of events, so this is great for students who need to sharpen their sequencing skills.
3) Inferencing - Pose the question, "what do you think the little boy is going to do with the carrot?" I think this will create such a fun discussion! Scaffold students so that they can tap into their prior knowledge. Maybe he will sell it at a farmer's market? Maybe he will share it with him family? Maybe he will eat it? Endless possibilities! In fact... inferencing can occur throughout the entire story.  
4) Think Alouds - this is also a great book to use for think alouds. You can model for your students how to make an inference.. Example: "I know that when you water seeds they grow, so I infer that the carrot will come up!"
5) Describing - Bring in carrots for your students to eat! They can then describe the carrot using all of their senses!
6) Articulation - this is a great book to use for /k/ and /s/!

Recently, I found this adorable felt farmer's market toy from the Target dollar spot and some stuffed carrots! I thought these would be perfect companions for this book! Students can act out the sequence of planting a carrot seed!

Do you have any ideas on how to use this book? I love exposing my students to classics!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Thank you for visiting my blog!

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