The 65-page chapter book Freckle Juice by Judy Blume is about two boys named Nicky Lane and Andrew Marcus. Nicky has a lot of freckles, but he does not want them! Andrew, on the other hand, wishes he had freckles. Their classmate, Sharon, offers Andrew freckle juice for just 50 cents.
If your 4th-grade students are reading this book, you may be looking for activities to supplement your lesson plans. Read on for a list of 15 engaging activities you could add to an assignment tomorrow!
1. Venn Diagram
Classroom management theorist, Robert Marzano, finds that comparing and contrasting events is one of the most effective ways for students to learn, and retain, material. This PDF includes instructions for every single teacher to get started with a simple Venn diagram.
Learn More: Texas Def Ed
2. Play Old Maid
Andrew’s mom enjoys playing cards with the neighbors. Celebrate her character by playing a card game with your students. This activity provides a much-needed break from all the reading your students have been doing. Perhaps make playing a reward for when a lesson is finished early.
Learn More: Amazon
3. Design the Book Cover
Unique book activities are hard to find, but this simple one is great! Place some crayons or markers at each student’s table and encourage them to use their imagination by redesigning a cover for the book.
Learn More: EC Prod
4. Match Meanings
Choose sentences from Judy Blume’s book to make this activity your own! Cut out the individual words on one color of paper and write the sentences on the other color. Then it becomes a hands-on matching activity that students can do in pairs.
Learn More: K5 Learning
5. Crossword Puzzle
Even if you have engaging activities, some students will inevitably finish sooner than others. Having crossword puzzles related to your content makes for a great addition to your fun, yet purposeful, early-finisher activities. The best part is that this one is ready to go!
Learn More: Word Mint
6. Create a Story Map
A story map makes for a great ongoing homework assignment or a long-term in-class assignment. Both student instructions and instructions for teachers are included in the link below. Have colored pencils ready so students can draw the setting, characters, the book’s main issue, and the solution.
Learn More: Northern Polar Bears
7. Play Kahoot
Games like this provide teachers with real-time student data as you can see who did well and who may need help. All Kahoot games are quizzes with auto-correcting. Kahoot will quickly become a classroom favorite that you can use in many future lessons.
Learn More: Kahoot
8. Quizlet Flash Cards
Pre-made digital activities are the best for this generation. Students can answer questions at their own pace using Quizlet. In this picture, the key term was “reflection.” You can assign a Quizlet as homework, or use it for in-class practice.
Learn More: Quizlet
9. Play Who Said That?
You can use these as pre-reading questions for your students to make predictions about the book, or simply use them as an end-of-chapter discussion follow-up activity. One side has a character dialogue, and the box contains a character list.
Learn More: Texas Def Ed
10. Play Bingo
Shake up your list of vocabulary activities by adding this in! Your job is to say the definition of the word or reads a passage from the book that includes that word, without saying the word. Then, students have to figure out which Bingo square to fill in.
Learn More: My Free Bingo Cards
11. Sequence Events
Teaching students, especially young ones, the order of events can be challenging. Use these pre-made strips of paper to place the storyline in the correct order.
Learn More: The Mailbox
12. Text to Self
Interactive notebook activities such as this one are a great way to relate to the book. This worksheet also allows students a chance to look inward and think positively about themselves, which can be a great way to boost self-esteem. Add five colored pencils to spruce things up!
Learn More: Teacher Sherpa
13. Live Worksheet
Get immediate feedback by checking answers yourself, or having them emailed over to you. This live worksheet would make for an easy substitute activity if you’re absent. It’s easy to use and asks age-appropriate comprehension questions.
Learn More: Live Worksheet
14. Make the Juice
Have students work together to create their very own freckle juice recipe! Ask students to bring something edible in from home, or bring in some groceries yourself. Then, they can work together to create a secret freckle juice recipe for the whole class to enjoy (or not)!
Learn More: SC Elementary
15. Connect the Dots
Fillable student PDFs such as this one make lesson planning so much easier. I would provide students with ten different markers and have them do a color match to find the definition for the underlined word.
Learn More: The Mailbox
16 Social Singing Activities To Combat Social Isolation