retell literacy center activity - Peanut Butter and Jelly

One of our activities for kindergarten that we do the second week of school is become a book expert. We have active literacy centers in our classroom like the retell center and we learn to retell Peanut Butter and Jelly to help introduce those centers. This is how I created a 'Peanut Butter and Jelly' retell activity to go in our retell center as an option for my kindergarten students. It was a matter of collecting some found objects from my classroom and making a free item. 

Once they learn how to do this center (expectations and such) and we continue learning how to retell stories, my kinders get to choose the book(s) they want to retell while they are at this literacy center. They read, they act, they use lots of great vocabulary and are developing fantastic reading habits all while continuing to build their love of reading.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Retell (Literacy Center Activity)

It's one of my favorite literacy centers and we usually introduce Peanut Butter and Jelly the second week of schoo.  I like use it to introduce the concept of stories with patterns and it's a song book so it lends itself to clapping and snapping which helps keep kinders engaged. Plus, every student can hold a peanut or a few grapes since there are plenty which gives everyone something to hold while we retell it as a class. The second week of school we aren't quite ready to learn the lesson of "sometimes we don't get a turn to participate." {wink}

Here are the props I gathered rather inexpensively (and you can too) to bring the book alive once we knew it by heart. I had an apron that I bought from the dollar store in my art cupboard and relocated it here permanently. The plastic knife and fake peanut butter jar came from my home. I just made a label to tape onto the empty plastic nutella jar. The grapes came from the dollar store too, I just plucked them off of the vine. The bread, peanuts and elephant were tools I already had in my classroom.

They get really excited to learn that they can "play" this retell game (as they like to think of it) when we're done retelling as a class. Later on, when everyone does not get a turn to hold a retell object (when we retell as a class) it becomes part of an incentive that they can do it at a literacy center.

Go back to read the Retell Literacy Center Directions {in case you missed it}

You can make this kindergarten activity yourself! Here are the materials you'll need...

Materials:

• Optional: Peanut Butter and Jelly Printables {Free download}
• Elephant (Stuffed Animal or Plastic)
• Peanuts (Plastic)
• Grapes (Plastic)
• Bread (plastic)
• Apron
• Clean, empty Jar (labeled "peanut butter")
• Optional: Plastic Knife/Spatula
• Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Westcott

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More Peanut Butter and Jelly Free Printables

• Grapes Printable
• Bread Printable
• Peanut Butter Printable

More Retell Literacy Center Book Activities for Kindergarten

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Fresh Fall Leaves

Big Pumpkin

Cinderella

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

The Little Red Hen

The Very Quiet Cricket

Red Riding Hood

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Hansel and Gretel

The Gingerbread Man

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Fat Cat

Cookie's Week

The Doorbell Rang

The Three Little Pigs

Swimmy

See All

When do you like to read song books like Peanut Butter and Jelly with your class? What's one of your favorite?

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- Leslie

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