by Amy MacDonald
read aloud kindergarten, readability grade 2
Little Beaver is very lonely, he has no brothers, no sisters, and no friends to play with. One day he hears someone crying out for a friend on the other side of the lake just as he was crying out for a friend. Little Beaver sets off on a journey to find the lonely voice, and on his way he gains a canoe full of friends. This is a cute story for young readers that emphasizes that sometimes friends are there right under our noses whenever we need them.
Little Beaver mistook his echo as a real voice. Here are some echo games:
- Clapping Echo: Clap your hands in a simple pattern and have your class repeat the pattern exactly after you. As they get used to it, clap more complicated patterns and get faster. My class loved the challenge of this game, it is a good activity to promote listening skills as well as sense of rhythm.
- Telephone Game: Have your students sit in a circle. Whisper a phrase into your neighbor’s ear. Have each student repeat the phrase all the way around the circle. When the last person hears the phrase, have them tell the rest of the class what they heard. How close was this to the original phrase?