The Big Oops! by Julia Cook- Book Companion Activities

Description

Turn mistakes into meaningful learning opportunities with this The Big Oops! by Julia Cook- Book Companion Activities! This engaging resource combines reading comprehension, story elements, writing, social-emotional learning, growth mindset, positive self-talk, and art to help students understand that mistakes don’t have to mean giving up—they can be opportunities to learn, grow, problem-solve, and create something new!

 

These activities help students dig deeper into the story while making important connections to their own lives.

PERFECT FOR:

• Elementary classrooms
• Interactive read-alouds
• SEL lessons
• Growth mindset lessons
• School counseling
• Morning meetings
• Character education
• Literacy centers
• Small groups
• Early finishers
• Julia Cook book studies
• Back-to-school lessons
• Mistakes and perseverance lessons

 

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

Reading Comprehension & Story Skills

• Learning objectives
• Teacher story summary
• Interactive read-aloud guide
• Stop & Think discussion questions
• Prediction activities
• Theme/message activities
• Character analysis
• Beginning, middle, and end summary activity
• Story concepts: characters, setting, problem, and solution
• Story reflection activities

 

Growth Mindset & SEL Activities

• Positive self-talk practice
• “Oops Thoughts” vs. “Growth Thoughts” activity
• Answer key
• Turn an Oops Into an Opportunity class anchor chart
• O.O.P.S. problem-solving strategy
• Student O.O.P.S. journal cards
• Real-life mistake scenario cards
• Student reflection activities
• Growth mindset coloring pages

 

Students practice identifying unhelpful thoughts such as giving up or believing they can’t do something and replacing them with productive growth-mindset thinking such as trying again, practicing, asking for help, or finding a new solution.

 

Oops to Awesome Art Activity

Students receive an unexpected mark, shape, line, or “oops” and are challenged to transform it into something completely new! This creative activity reinforces the idea that unexpected results can become opportunities for creativity and problem-solving.

Includes:

• Teacher directions
• Multiple art activity options
• Student reflection pages
• Vocabulary Word Finds
• Two differentiated word-find versions
• Story-related vocabulary and character names
• Answer keys included

 

SKILLS PRACTICED:

Students will practice:

• Retelling and sequencing
• Identifying characters and setting
• Problem and solution
• Beginning, middle, and end
• Theme and central message
• Character analysis and character change
• Cause and effect
• Answering questions using story details
• Making predictions
• Summarizing
• Personal narrative writing
• Opinion writing
• Positive self-talk
• Growth mindset
• Perseverance and resilience
• Identifying and managing feelings
• Problem-solving
• Learning from mistakes
• Encouraging others
• Creativity and flexible thinking

 

This resource makes it easy to turn The Big Oops! into a cross-curricular learning experience that combines ELA, writing, SEL, growth mindset, and creativity.

Students won’t just comprehend the story—they’ll learn an important life lesson: mistakes can help us learn, grow, and discover something amazing!