Ms. MacDonald Has a Class

by Jan Ormerod

“Lucky are the kids in Ms. MacDonald’s kindergarten, for she makes learning the joyous experience it can and should be. The rhythm and rhyme of the nursery song relate a class visit to a farm and the follow-up classroom activities that culminate in a performance for family members. The children dance and sing, plan and measure, create and clean up—whole language in a nutshell. As always Ormerod’s drawings capture the personalities and animated exuberance of her characters; 24 multicultural munchkins do their kindergarten thing. . . . A winner!”—School Library Journal

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 1996

About the author

Jan Ormerod grew up in the small towns of Western Australia, with three older sisters, and as a child she drew constantly and compulsively. She went to art school and studied drawing, painting and sculpture. After completing her degree, Jan become an Associate of the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Design in Education, taught in secondary schools on enrichment programmes, and lectured in teacher’s college and art schools. Jan's first picture book, "Sunshine", won the Mother Goose Award in 1982 and was highly commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Her recent titles include "Ben Goes Swimming", "Emily Dances", "Who’s Who on Our Street?", " A Twist in the Tail" and "Ponko and the South Pole".
http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/authors...

Reviews

[Hannah Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book is a sing along that is based off the song Old MacDonald Had a Farm. However, the author changed the lyrics to describe activities that are taking place within the classroom for the class to prepare for and put on a play for other students.

Evaluation: This book puts a fun twist on a classic that uses song and illustrations to paint the picture of what the classroom looks like when these students are working on their costumes and preparing for their performance. This book has many repetitive lines that would allow for students to read/sing along with the teacher.

Teaching Ideas: This book could be used to teacher students about rhyming and they get to do so through song which would be more entertaining for them. It could also be a good book to teacher classroom management as it talks about the student’s daily routine and how they get out and put away the materials they are working with.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the teacher had the students make their own costumes, paint the sets, and learn the show, instead of relying on others to do this for them.