Skills Building: Love (PK-5)

Written by Matt de la Pena and Illustrated by Loren Long

TEKS: Reading K.5(D); 1.6(D); 2.6(D); 3.6(D); 4.6(D); 5.6(D)

Pre Reading Questions

  1. How do you show love to your family and friends? How do they show you love? 
  2. What is one thing that you learned about yourself this year? 
  3. Look at the front and back covers of the book. What do you notice? Who is on the cover? How is the weather? What time of day is it?


Post Reading Questions

  1. How is love shown throughout the book? (Flip through the book and show the students pictures to see if they can point out acts of love.) 
  2. Who in your school (e.g., a teacher, friend, afterschool provider, coach, etc.) showed you love and kindness this year? How did they express love and kindness to you?
  3. What are some ways that we can show each other love and kindness?

Creative Enrichment Activity: What Is Love? (Pre-K-5)

Overview: As we read in the book, love is a variety of things and means different things to different people. In this activity, students will illustrate and write about what love means to them.

Materials

“LOVE is…” cards. Download template.
Markers, crayons and colored pencils

Duration: 30 minutes 

2 minutes – Introduce the activity
5 minutes – Brainstorm
15 minutes – Write and illustrate card
8 minutes – Share and reflect

Instructions

  1. Ask students to sit at tables with space to spread out. 
  2. Remind the students of the book, Love, and how love means different things to different people. Everyone has their own ideas of what love is, and that is what makes love so beautiful. 
  3. Today they will be creating a “LOVE is…” card to display in the school. Students will write and illustrate how they define love. For younger students, they can tell the teacher what love is to them and the teacher can help record it on their paper. It should only be a short phrase or sentence. 
  4. Before passing out supplies, have students close their eyes and put their heads down. Tell them to envision love in their minds. 
  5. Give them some time to brainstorm and think about what LOVE is… to them. Each person should come up with their own idea with no guidance or examples from the teacher. 
  6. Once all students have an idea about what they are going to write and illustrate, pass out the “LOVE is…” cards. 
  7. Students can use colored pencils, crayons or markers to illustrate their card. Have them use markers for the writing portion. The teacher may need to assist with the writing. 
  8. Encourage students to fill the entire square with color and to not leave any blank white space. The more colorful they are, the better they will look when displayed. 
  9. After 15 minutes, bring students back together and have them sit in a circle. 
  10. Go around the circle and have students share what love is to them, what they chose to illustrate, and why.

Reflection Questions

  • How did you feel when you were thinking about love? 
  • How does it feel to see all the different ideas of what love is to other people? 
  • How can you show the people in your life more love? Is there anyone in particular that needs someone to show them love?