Patty Lovell’s heartwarming story about bold, unapologetic Molly Lou Melon is a remarkable book to share with your elementary readers. Molly Lou’s story is a tale of standing up to bullies, being yourself, and harnessing self-confidence. Its themes lend themselves well to class discussions on bullying and what makes us unique. From book companions to confidence-promoting crafts, and group discussions on self-esteem during story time, this list of Molly Lou Melon activities will inspire thoughtful learning from this not-to-be-missed story!
1. Character Traits Anchor Chart
Character studies are a common part of early elementary literacy curricula, and Molly Lou Melon is the perfect candidate! During class discussion time, challenge your students to generate a list of vivid, positive words to describe Molly Lou’s traits from the story. Hang this character trait anchor chart as a resource for future writing prompts.
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2. Inner and Outer Traits T-Chart
To help your students further develop their understanding of character traits, discuss the difference between physical and emotional traits, then create a T-chart detailing Molly Lou’s inner and outer characteristics. As an extension, have children then generate a list of their own inner and outer traits as a journal entry!
Learn More: Miss Patton’s Class
3. Class Poster
After your initial read-aloud, get your whole class brainstorming how they can make people feel that they belong at school. Create a poster or banner together to display in your classroom and remind your students of the expectations for kindness and respect all year long.
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4. Compare & Contrast
Encourage students to look for similarities and differences as they compare Molly Lou Melon’s story with Lucy from Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun. Use the printable worksheets with fill-in-the-blank answers, or use the questions provided as a prompt for students to create Venn diagrams.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
5. Book Companion
This digital activity about Molly Lou’s story is low-prep and includes both digital slides and a printable version. Assess students’ comprehension using the digital task cards for sequencing, or use the story map in the whole group to review concepts of story elements.
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6. Boom Cards
Use this Boom Cards deck for some quick comprehension questions to assess students’ memory of the events in Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. This is an easy, digital activity where you can collect real-time student data, or they could be assigned as a distance learning activity!
Learn More: Made for Me Literacy
7. Character Analysis Freebie
Utilize this character analysis freebie as a journal prompt or graphic organizer for a descriptive writing activity. Children will consider which character traits of Molly Lou Melon are most important to include as they write a response to this wonderful book.
Learn More: The Picture Book Teacher
8. Sequencing Freebie
This sequencing freebie is a quick Molly Lou Melon printable to add to your lesson plans or students’ interactive journals. It’s already differentiated for different reading levels by including options for children to cut and glue sentences or pictures to retell the plot of the story.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
9. Tall/Short Math Integration Freebie
In her descriptions of her character, Patty Lovell mentions that Molly Lou was the shortest girl in class. Use this detail as a prompt for math workshop questions about comparing the heights of students in your class, or ordering themselves from smallest to largest. This is an excellent way to integrate math into your literature study!
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10. Illustration Analysis
David Catrow’s free-spirited illustrations add so much to Patty Lovell’s popular story. Get children thinking about the important job of a book illustrator and have your older students analyze these joyful illustrations as a journal prompt. Have students include their own Molly Lou-inspired illustrations at the end!
Learn More: Imaginative Play
11. Developing Positive Self-Talk
Molly Lou’s story is an excellent prompt for teachers and families to start discussions on how to cultivate students’ positive self-talk. Task children with filling the bathroom or classroom mirrors with positive affirmations that encourage positive self-regard and lift each other up. Just a few simple words can bring a smile to almost anyone!
Learn More: Hanselor the Counselor
12. Character Traits Worksheet
Encourage students to make text-to-self connections with this no-prep character traits worksheet where students will compare Molly Lou’s personal attributes with their own! Use this activity to build community among students by coming together as a group afterward to see what attributes they all share!
Learn More: The Core Coaches
13. Sentence Starters: Confidence
Molly Lou Melon’s story is a perfect jumping-off point for many emotional learning discussion topics; including the concept of confidence! Molly Lou’s positive self-identity is bolstered by her grandmother’s encouraging words. Challenge children to be their own best cheerleaders and write about how they can be confident using this sentence starter!
Learn More: Classroom Adventures
14. “I Like Me” Craft
This Molly Lou Melon Craftivity and a writing prompt is a sweet way to inspire children to think of their favorite parts or qualities. This simple writing activity is a quick exercise for building confidence that can be displayed in your classroom as a reminder of every student’s individuality.
Learn More: Smitten with First
15. Sunflower Craftivity
This is another sweet Molly Lou craftivity coupled with a social-emotional learning activity! During this simple, 3-step lesson plan, teachers first help children make handprint sunflowers. Then, children brainstorm what makes them special; either in small groups or one-on-one. Finally, teachers help them record their ideas and assemble the final product!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
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