BOOK GUIDE sheet:spot’s first walk, by erichill

Supporting literacy development & school readiness.

Spot’s First Walkis a fun story about adventure and discovery, featuring a classic children’s character. The children in your care will love taking turns lifting the flaps to see who Spot has found, developing their fine motor and social-emotional skills. There are many opportunities to develop vocabulary by discussing the animals, colors, and shapes Spot finds during his walk, and the sequencing of the story will support cognitive development. Have fun exploring with Spot!

INtroducing the book

Making your own “First Walk.”

  • If you’re interested in doing something other than a story time song to transition into reading, consider inviting children to take a walk around the room and bring back one thing they found on their “walk.” Each child can share before you explain how this ties into the book you’ll be reading.

Discuss the book cover before reading.

  • Ask children what they see on the cover of this book. Who can point to something with wings? Who can point to something with a tail? What color is this puppy?

Introduce characters and concepts beforehand.

  • Have you ever gone on a walk before? What kinds of things did you see?
Reading the book

Use the illustrations to discuss:

  • Colors:Brown fence; blue shed;redchicken coop;greyrabbit;orangecarrots
  • Shapes and sizes:Round spots;small Spot and big Mom;square window;tall tree
  • Numbers:Onespot on Spot, threeon Mom;six baby chicks;two bumblebees;seven carrots
  • Relationships:Spot climbs through the fence; he opens the shed door to see what’s inside; he looks under the tree branches; he digs up the bone; he falls into the pond!

Invite children to relate parts of the story to their own experiences.

  • What do you do when you go for walks? Do you see any animals?
  • Where would you go if you could walk anywhere?

Have the children reason things out, predict, and make choices.

  • At each flap, ask children to guess what Spot will find. This is especially fun after they’ve read the book a few times.
  • After each flap is lifted, ask children if they can name the animals underneath. What sound do they make? Do they look surprised?
  • What is the cat’s reaction when Spot finds him? Why is Spot wet at the end?

Break up the reading and increase engagement by providing opportunities for group movement.

  • Invite children to (safely) move around the room on all fours, like Spot. What do they see differently from down low?

© The Parent-Child Home Program, 2017