The Way to Start a Day Lesson Plans
Author: Byrd Baylor

This page contains The Way to Start a Day lesson plans,
teaching resources, a fun group project,
and a creative writing assignment.

On this page you will find a student project and creative writing assignment to use with your students after you have read them Byrd Baylor's Caldecott Medal winning picture book.

The brilliant illustrations and colors of the southwest, the emphasis on different cultures and countries, and the positive message that this book sends to children has made this one of my favorite picture books to read to my students.

This book shows how different cultures and countries start each new day with a ritual to greet the rising sun with songs, praise, and thanks. "A morning needs to be sung to. A new day needs to be honored." Children will learn the morning customs and rituals of the early cavemen, ancient Egyptians, American Indians, Peruvians, and the people of Egypt, India, Japan, China, and the Congo.

The Way to Start a New Day emphasizes welcoming a new day with your own song, gift, or blessing for the world and to celebrate each new day.

This book helps students embrace the concept that the people around the world, from different times and various cultures, are more alike than they are different and together everyone can make it a good day for the world.

I have read this book to my students at various times of the school year.

1. If I read this book at the beginning of the year, after my students and I have discussed the book, we apply the book's message to the the topic "The Way to Start a New Year of School."
2. I love the brilliant colors and illustrations in The Way to Start a New Day. For me, the colors remind me of autumn, so I have often read this book to my students as the leaves start turning colors and falling from the trees.
3. This book makes students reflect on what they are thankful for, so I have read this book near Thanksgiving. There are illustrations and references to Native Americans in the story, which can tie in with a Thanksgiving theme.

The Way to Start a New Day, written by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Peter Parnall, is a Caldecott Honor Book, an ALA Notable Children' Book, and on the Horn Book Fanfare List.

On this page you will find a set of teaching resources that I have created specifically to go along with this award winning picture book by Byrd Baylor.

The Way To Start a Day

Written by Byrd Baylor and Illustrated by Peter Parnall

The Way to Start a Day Lesson Plans Resource Set
Author: Byrd Baylor

1. Country Holiday Wheel
Cooperative Group Project

After reading this book with my students, we discuss the 8 countries and cultures that are highlighted in Byrd Baylor's story: Egypt, China, the Congo, Mexico, Peru, Japan, India, and Native Americans.

During our discussion about the book and these countries, I slowly move the focus towards talking about holidays celebrated in different countries around the world.

For this fun group project, students research an important holiday that is celebrated in another country.

Your students will enjoy learning about the holidays and traditions that are important in other countries, writing a description about them, and drawing a picture that best represents that holiday.

This Country Holiday Wheel group project set of teaching resources contains the following:

• directions worksheets
• first draft worksheet
• final draft templates (40 different country choices + a blank template)
• bulletin board accent pieces (40 different children carrying their country flags)
• matching 5 page bulletin board display banner

For this country wheel group project, you will need to glue 8 country templates together to form a circle.

After your students have drawn and colored pictures in the top of the cone templates, and you have assembled these projects together, you will have a unique display of your students' work that captures everyone's attention!

Above: First Draft Worksheet

• It takes 8 final draft templates to form a country wheel project.
• I split my class into groups of four students and each student researches two countries.
• I also have this as an assignment that my students can choose to do if they finish their classwork early, so some of my students research more than 2 countries.
• This activity also makes a great idea for a homework assignment.
• Students choose a country, or I assign the countries to my students.
• Next, my students research their country to find out information about a major holiday that is celebrated in that country.
• Students write a short description about an important holiday that is celebrated in their country.
• The line spaces on this first draft worksheet match the line spaces on the final draft country templates.
• Before I give my students their final draft country templates, they edit and revise their first drafts on their own, with a partner, or with me.

Final Draft Country Wheel Templates:

Above: Final Draft Templates

• On the final draft templates, students write their description on the lines provided.
• Students draw and color a picture in the the top section of the cone that respresents the country's holiday.
• I often will send this part of the activity home as a homework assignment because I have found that my students take more time and care in their illustrations when they complete them at home, and I do not use valuable class time in completing a drawing activity.
• Since it is a bit tricky to glue the 8 templates together so that the lines meet up evenly to form a circle, I suggest that teachers assemble the country holiday wheels together, instead of students.

I know that it takes teachers a lot of valuable time to assemble their classroom bulletin board displays. Many teachers spend hours of time cutting out large display letters or making a banner on their own at home on their computers.

This time is valuable and better spent on developing your classroom curriculum and grading papers, so I have designed a matching 5 page banner for your bulletin board display (shown below).

If you have access to a laminating machine, you can laminate this banner so that it is more durable and you can use it year after year for bulletin board displays of these The Way to Start a Day country wheel group projects.

This country wheel group project includes 40 different international children carrying their country flags. These children can be used as accent pieces on your bulletin board display. I hope that these flag accent pieces help save you time in preparing and decorating your bulletin board display.

Besides using these international children accent pieces for your Way To Start A Day bulletin board display, I am sure that there are other areas in your curriculum that you may need displays of country flags.

2. Creative Writing Assignment

For the second group of lesson plans, I have designed a set of creative writing worksheets for the topic: The Right Way to Start a Day of School.

This is a two paragraph essay in which students write about how to be prepared for school, use their best effort, and how to treat others with kindness and generosity.

• Paragraph 1 - School Work: homework, being prepared, using your best effort
• Paragraph 2 - How to Treat Others: friends, classmates, teachers, school staff

This set of creative writing teaching resources contains the following:

• directions worksheet for teachers (not shown)
• idea web worksheet
• first draft worksheet
• final draft black and white worksheet
• color final draft worksheet
• grading rubric
• 5 page bulletin board display banner (shown above)

This creative writing assignment is a two paragraph essay about school work and how to treat others.

Before my students begin writing their essays, they use an idea web to brainstorm and preplan their ideas for this assignment.

Below is an example of the idea web worksheet that is included in this set of creative writing teaching resources.

For creative writing assignments, I believe that it is important for students to go through the writing process.

For this reason, my students never begin their creative writing assignments by writing on their final draft worksheets, instead they write on first draft worksheets. Then, they edit and revise their work on their own, with a partner, or in writing conferences with me.

Below is an example of the first draft writing worksheet that is included in this set of teaching resources. The writing lines and spaces on the first draft worksheet match the lines and spaces on the final draft worksheets.

The Way to Start a Day Lesson Plans Resource Set
Author: Byrd Baylor

Click on the book covers below to view
the fun, unique, and extra large projects that I have
designed for these popular novels and picture books.