I don’t know what it is about scarecrows, but I sort of have a fondness for them. Maybe it’s because they’re supposed to be scary, but they just aren’t. And a scarecrow that’s surprisingly not scary is a nice kind of irony.
These are some of my favorite picture books about scarecrows. All three are great examples of how authors are intentional with word choice and how the detailed moves illustrators make affect our emotions in big ways. They offer up themes of love, loss, friendship, and undying determination. Grab two or more titles and your students can compare & contrast elements across the different books.
💛 The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry
💛 The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown
💛 Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
To tie in some word work, we build words using the letters in the word scarecrow. My students love making-words activities and trying to figure out what the big, secret word is in each lesson.
You can grab this free phonics lesson👉HERE. It includes everything you need for one making-words lesson: student letter tiles, a recording sheet, a sorting sheet, pocket chart letters, word cards, and directions.
Happy teaching!
