Elementary teachers looking for lesson plans and activities for Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea will love this post. It includes tons of helpful teaching ideas for this book.
With themes of perseverance and teamwork, this Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea picture book by David Small is a favorite in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. It is sure to be a big hit in your classroom too!
Engage Your Students with Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea Lesson Plans & Activities in 3 Easy Steps:
- Read a summary of Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea.
- Check out the teaching ideas for reading comprehension strategies, grammar topics and social emotional learning skills that can be taught using this children’s book.
- Download the book companion to make lesson planning simple with Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, teaching ideas & no-prep extension activities.
KAMALA AND MAYA'S BIG IDEA SUMMARY
Kamala and Maya had the great idea of turning the courtyard in their building into a playground. After all, it wasn’t being used and it would give the children a place to play. They asked their mother how they could make it happen and she told them to talk to the landlord about it. The girls wrote a letter and drew a picture and brought them to the landlord to discuss their idea. Right away he told them no. While the girls were disappointed, they kept thinking about how to change his mind.
The girls talked to the other children in the building who were just as excited about the idea of a playground. Later, they all returned with a longer letter and again he told them no. He did tell them they could build the park if they did it on their own. Determined, the girls got started on the project. They talked to their parents, made posters, and knocked on doors. Unfortunately they got the same answer from everyone: no. One neighbor, Mr. Green, did stop to talk. He offered to get some scrap lumber and sand from work to build a sandbox. Another neighbor brought an old tire for a teeter-totter. Slowly, more and more people started to help turn the courtyard into a park. The neighbors, children and landlord were all impressed with Kamala and Maya and what they were able to accomplish.
KAMALA AND MAYA’S BIG IDEA LESSON PLAN IDEAS
Each of our 400+ Starts With a Story book companions come with a teacher’s guide to make lesson planning quick and easy, printable worksheets and digital resources that cover ALL of the standards-based reading comprehension skills.
When it comes to writing lesson plans and finding activities for Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, we’ve already done all of the heavy lifting for you.
We found this book was especially good at teaching the topics listed below.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
The text-based Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea reading comprehension questions focus on:
- summarize / retell
- analyzing character
- plot | problem – solution
- author’s purpose
- identifying theme | message | moral
LITERATURE-BASED SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS
We found this story to be a great SEL picture book to promote:
- perseverance
- teamwork
GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY & WORD STUDY
- nouns
- verb tense
- articles
- pronouns
KAMALA AND MAYA’S BIG IDEA ACTIVITIES
You’ll receive all of the following resources aligned to the story:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
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BOOK INFO FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS
What are the reading levels for Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea?
- Lexile® Measure: AD560L
- Guided Reading Level: M
- DRA Level: 28
- Accelerated Reader Level (ARC): 3-3.2
Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
The book was written and illustrated by David Small.
What genre is Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea?
It is a fiction book. You may want to check out our genre activities or read our blog post, How to Teach Genre to Elementary Students.
How many pages are in the book?
The story is 32 pages long.
