#523. Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom/ Chicka Challenge

Literature, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Jul 20 11:43:41 PDT 1998 by Djinn and the Lit. Chatboard ().
Materials Required: varied
Activity Time: varied
Concepts Taught: Literature extension Activities

CHICKA-CHICKA-BOOM-BOOM
Chicka-Challenge

Post: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!

Posted by Djinn on 6/24/98

Ok you Kinder teachers out there! Here is a chance to get all of those wonderful Chicka -
Chicka- Boom-Boom- ideas together in one spot! I know most of us use this book fairly
early in the school year. How about adding your favorite activity here so that we all can
have an extensive store of ideas?
Here goes:
1. give every student a cut out letter or stick puppet letter of the alphabet. As you read the
story the students line up and sequence the alphabet.
2. Give each student an alphabet letter and have them act out their letter as you read the
story.
3. Make a large coconut tree bulletin board and hang your students names from the tree.
Please add your favorites to the list!
Djinn

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Amy k/va on 6/24/98
4. I put up a coconut tree on my bulletin board and put
letters on the tree. I make sure there is the beg. consonant
letter for each child's name on the tree. I take Polaroid
pictures of each child and then they put their pictures on the
bulletin board on the letter their names start with.Chicka
5. Chicka Boom Boom trees- make a green handprint with paint
and them paint the underside of the forearm brown and press
down to make the tree trunk. When it dries, glue colored ABC
macaroni on the tree.
6. For letter assessment, I make Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
trees with capital letters on it and for every letter a child
can tell me a sticker goes on the letter. When they know all
the letters on the tree, they can take it home.

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Tina/K/MN on 6/24/98

After talking about the letters in the book, I teach the kids
the word "initials." We look at our name cards with first and
last names written on them, then I help each child recognize
which letters are their initials. I have a set of letter
stencils in which I duplicated many of the more commonly used
letters (S, T, etc.) I help each child go through the pile of
stencils and find the two letters that are their initials (you
could just use the first letter in their first name, but I find
that some of the kids really get a huge kick out of knowing
their initials!) They trace these letters on construction
paper and decorate them - sometimes just with markers, other
times I throw out my "junk" (cotton balls, sequins, ribbons,
seeds, fabric scraps, etc.) and let them go to town!
Tina/K/MN
.
Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Karen, , on 6/24/98

I use the book at the beginning of the year, but I also use it
when we finish our alphabet. We made T-shirts this year with
fabric crayons. There was a tree on the front and it said CHICKA
CHICKA BOOM BOOM and on the back it said WE KNOW OUR ABC'S We
all wore these proudly on the week we finished our alphabet! They
were adorable! Also (and I can't take credit for this idea) one
teacher on the mailring does a bulletin board at the beginning of
the year that says CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM LOOK WHO'S IN MRS.
BARTON'S ROOM and you put up the letter each child's name begins
with. Hope these help!

Karen
Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by KMM, , on 6/24/98
I use Chicka-Chicka to introduce the alphabet at the beginning of
the year. After reading the book several times we put coconuts
with each letter of the alphabet on a palm tree in our classroom.
At the bottom of the tree is a sign that says "letter of the week"
Each Monday during the rest of the school year we take the
appropriate letter of the week off the tree and place it on the
sign!
We also make our own Chicka-Chicka trees using Alphabets cereal!

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Becky, on 6/25/98
Djinn,
If you are a time challenged teacher like me, I'm still
trying to do all the stuff that didn't get done last year when
school started, how about using the childwood trick and
putting a magnetic letter on a spatula for a letter puppet.
No time wasted cutting out letters.Becky
Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Tiffany on 6/25/98

The children can trace both their hands on green paper. Then
cut out the hand shapes and glue them on a brown paper trunk.
My students had a blast decorating their own personal Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom tree with alphabet stamps and alphabet
stickers!
Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Nedra, on 6/26/98
My daughter's kdg class did this at their end of the year
program. It was so cute. They each had a hat which was a band
with a palm tree on it and one capital and lowercase letter on
it. The kids lined up in order. Each time they said Chicka
Chicka boom boom, they wiggled their hips and pumped their arms
out in front and then in the air. They did many other motions
too like dust their pants and wiggled a tooth for loose tooth T.
Here is a link to another idea.
http://www.eduplace.com/tview/tviews/levine9.html

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Tammy, on 6/27/98

I can't take credit for this idea because it was on the mail-ring months ago. You use small
plastic drink bottles(like what bottled water comes in) and you let the children put
alphabet pasta, beads, glitter, beans, and whatever else you think they'll enjoy inside the
bottle. They can decorate the outside of the bottle with alphabet stickers. They could even
make a little grass skirt out of construction paper or art tissue to tape around the bottle.
These Chicka boom boom bottles can them be used when you retell the story. When you
read the words "Chicka Chicka" the children shake their bottles. When you say "boom
boom" they tap the bottles on their hands. My class had a great time making and playing
with these. They couldn't wait to take them home.
Tammy in Louisiana

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Addie k/mo, on 6/29/98
We made the "chickaboomers" from the plastic bottles too!!! It was really fun!

We made edible Chicka trees...use celery stalks with leaves...spread with peanut butter
and add Alphabits cereal pieces. This idea was off the net too, not my original :-)

Addie k/mo

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Joni, , on 7/01/98
I love all these ideas -- can't wait to use them at the beginning of the year. Here are my
two cents worth;

*Take a metal cookie sheet. Recreate a coconut tree with construction paper to glue on
the cookie sheet. Cover the entire sheet with clear contact paper. Put the sheet, magnetic
letters and the book in a large bag for retelling the story. (Can't take credit for this idea --
it came from someone off the web somewhere!)
* Experiment with a coconut. Be warned they are hard to break!!
*Create a bulletin board with a large coconut tree. Give each child a precut letter to
decorate and put up on the bulletin board.
(did someone already write this?)

Thanks for the ideas!
Joni

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Peachy on 7/01/98

Did anyone mention the tape with Ray Charles reading the book?
It's quite good.

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Jamie/K/KY, , on 7/01/98
Our local teacher supply store carries a series of books,
"Lasting Lessons", thematic literature-based units. I use many
of these in my classroom. My favorite is titled, "ABC, 123,
and the Coconut Tree". It is full of fantastic activities for
PreK-2nd.

I attended one of their workshops a few years ago and had such
a great time, I didn't want it to be over.

Their address is:
Lasting Lessons
6610 Blessing
Dallas, Texas 75214
(214)821-5483 or 1-800-820-LAST

This site has a few of the books listed:

http://www.edumart.com/lastinglessons/

Jamie/K/KY

Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Martha/1st/ME, on 7/01/98

All right, I'm a first grade teacher and we happen to like this
book too. This a chant that I do with the kids. I say a line and
then the kids echo it back.

I said a boom Chicka boom.
(echo)
I said a boom Chicka boom.
(echo)
I said a boom Chicka rocka Chicka rocka Chicka boom.
(echo)
A ha!
(echo)
Oh yeah!
(echo)
One more time!
(echo)

Then we do it over in a different voice. After they get the idea,
the kids decide what voice to use. ( ie. baby,giant, mouse,
whispery, deep, etc.) This is so much fun!!

I also chart it and we change the beginning sound of boom to an
"F" using a sticky paper. Then we read it as - I said a foom
chicka foom. And on and on. Have fun!!
.
Re: Chicka- Challenge!!!!!!
Posted by Gisha on 7/02/98

How about this one? Teacher dresses in an all green sweatsuit--head piece is a headband
with large felt leaves hanging from it with small letters glued to leaves. Sweatsuit has large
sponge letters glued at random all over the suit. While tape is playing ( the Ray Charles'
version) teacher "bops" around the room tossing out letters to kids at their seats. When all
have at least one letter, students take turns telling others the name of their letter and then
hang it from a coconut tree on the bulletin board. I saw this at a convention and the gals
presenting this program had many literature book extensions using the same idea. I know
it loses something in the translation, but it was so much fun to watch and then use in my
classroom, that I had to share it with you. If any would like some of the other extensions,
I'll be glad to post some of the others! Just ask!

Re: Chicka- Challenge-Gisha
Posted by Gisha on 7/04/98

Peachy,
Thanks for asking!! Most of my lit. extensions are at school, but I can send you a few of
my favorites! I use a gray sweatshirt and a gray baseball cap with a band of gray/black fur
and big eyes for an extension of "The Kissing Hand". (I consider this book an absolute
must for my kinderparents, too;-) I put a red heart in the center of every little hand.
Tough, but you can do it!
A red sweatsuit, red cap with long red ears, big eyes, and black nose on the end of the bill
is lots of fun with all of the Clifford books.
I used an orange sweatshirt with big green felt leaves sewn around the neck with the green
leaf headband for "The Carrot Seed" and my plant unit.
"Little Rabbit Foo Foo" was a hoot with a white sweatsuit, rabbit ears and, of course, a
powder puff tail. Props of mice, et. were hidden about the room to be scooped up in a net
carried by Rabbit Foo Foo!
I use a gray sweatshirt for the book called "The Wartzville Wizard" when we do our
theme about earth day. I have "trash" prepared with loops of tape about the room and
stick the trash to myself. Let the kids do this, if you dare! I have a spotted shirt I use for
"101 Dalmatians". We have the whole kindergarten class dress in black and white that
day! I fixed a place to hang my sweatshirts at school and found I used the props much
more for reading to my kinders. You could adapt this idea for just about any book and I
can guarantee you will have as much fun as your kids will. Sorry to run on--hope this
gives you some ideas!