Evaluation

I think this book would be perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners. All children love to pretend they are super sleuths. It is also a great book to encourage discussion. The teacher can ask the children to put their thumbs up if they think the author is talking about a gumball machine or a round pearl. The teacher may have the students predict what they think is “Round like a ball” before reading the story. For younger grades, this prediction may include a few words and an illustration of their prediction. Not only are there vibrant illustrations, but the “round object” starts out small and gets bigger and bigger and bigger as the story goes on.

This would be a great book to use around Earth Day since the “earth” is what is “round like a ball.” You may even have the students bring in an object that is “round like a ball” from home to share with the class prior to reading this story. The teacher may also create her own picture book or opening exercise that uses this very same guessing game to introduce a different topic. For example, if the students were talking about saving the rain forest the teacher may play the game, “what is as green as a clover?” Students could raise their hand and brainstorm objects that are green. The teacher can use this style of questioning to introduce numbers, letters and new colors as well.