Picture Book Lesson for How Sweet the Sound by Kwame Alexander

This picture book lesson and extension activities accompany “How Sweet the Sound” by Kwame Alexander. This creative, ready-to-use elementary library lesson is excellent for Black History Month. Students will be tapping their feet to the onomatopoeia and rhythm of African American music.

Please note: You will need the picture book “How Sweet the Sound” for this lesson. The picture book is not included in the download.

This lesson has 34 slides and pages, and it includes:

• 29-slide Lesson Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint + Google Slides
  • All body text is editable; you choose which slides you want to use.
  • 6 slides are whole class lesson slides.
  • 23 slides are “scrolling presentation” slides that are great for extending lessons or scrolling in the library during checkout and downtimes.
  • Please note that this presentation is designed to complement a read-aloud. The actual read-aloud story comes from you! Due to copyright laws, read-aloud videos of the books are NOT included.
• Two (2) editable, differentiated scavenger hunts (3 pages, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • Students “hunt” for images and information in the Part 2 scrolling slides part of the presentation. This gives students something to focus on during library checkout and downtime.
  • “Easier” version – Students color the objects as they find them.
  • “Harder” version – Students answer questions about the information in the slides, plus find smaller images.
  • Answer key is included.
• List of 31 recommended books to accompany this lesson (1 page, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • The list is editable and great to hand out to parents, teachers, and students looking for related books.
• Detailed, pre-filled Library Lesson Plan in editable PDF and PowerPoint formats (4 pages), aligned to:
  • AASL National School Library Standards for Learners,
  • National Common Core ELA Standards, and
  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• Lesson tips and troubleshooting help instructions (8 pages, PDF)

6 Lesson Slides:

Part 1 includes only 6 slides, which enables the librarian to get to the read-aloud more quickly.

• Predicting and exploring author Kwame Alexander and illustrator details
• Introduction to music history and Black history through discussion
• Onomatopoeia

23 Scrolling Slides:

Part 2 is the scrolling slides. Set them on a timer to scroll on a screen during library checkout. Students can use the scrolling slides to complete one of the two Scavenger Hunts.

• Vocabulary: spirituals, jazz, scat, decibels, improvised
• How to sign “music” in American Sign Language
• Famous African American musicians
• Would-you-rather and this or that questions

Standards Addressed:

AASL National School Library Standards – See the AASL Standards Framework for Learners to view full text. 

• Inquire – C.1. – D.3.
• Explore – C.1.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards –
© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.10.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.10.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.4. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.10.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.10.

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© Mrs. ReaderPants – By purchasing this product, you receive a one-user license. Copying or distributing to others is prohibited. See our Site Terms of Use for more information. For teacher-librarians: You may use this product with all of your classes and students.

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