CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A PEACOCK by Rekha Rajan

Wherein we chat dancing, animals, music, picture books, and more. . . 

You know it's gonna be a good time when Rekha is "in the house". This book is so fun, and Rekha and I LOVE chatting books and music and teaching, so pull up a chair and find out more about the process for this book and how you can use it with all the littles in your life! We talk story time, and musical memory, inspiration, and so much more! Pull up a chair or pop in your earbuds and join us for a fun chat about music, dance, animals, books, etc.

CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A PEACOCK

If you are looking for a fun, readable, danceable, laughable, musical, interactive picture book, this is it!  It integrates so many of the things kids love -- fun animal facts, colorful illustrations, interactive elements, funny dance moves, and a chance to be silly! The lyrical text sings, while teaching super-interesting facts about animals who "dance" and invites readers, whatever their age, to dance along.  It's perfect for a read-aloud, great for a science integration, or really wonderful for any time!  Be sure to ask for it at your local library or bookstore or check out the guest section below for how you can order your own copy!

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

Kids love animals, and they love to pretend. This song is a fun connection to the book in terms of moving like animals.  They also love to freeze and strike their favorite pose.. There are quite a few more animal movement videos on the YouTube playlist in the links section below, so if you'd prefer a different one, there are lots of choices. You'll also find video links of animal dances in the wild, and more.

Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

This book is such fun for Story time.  It would work well with toddlers, preschoolers all the way through elementary school ages.  There are lots of ways you could use this book with your children at home, in a story time setting, or in a classroom.

• VERBS!! Since this book is all about action, there are so many fun activities you could do with verbs in this story
  • Charades
  • Sound Story (every time children hear a word, they perform a certain action or make a certain sound)
  • Verb search  (either in the book or hide the verbs around the room on cards or see if kids could find examples of the verbs during the day [you could even create this as a Bingo game or scavenger hunt])Here is a list of the easily-acted verbs in the story.
    • Dance
    • flutter
    • stretch
    • strut
    • wave
    • stand
    • fluff
    • shake 
    • arch
    • leap
    • stot
    • bend
    • swirl
    • shake
    • waggle
    • buzz
    • flip
    • point
    • jump
    • dive
    • twist
    • spin
    • exercise
    • splash
    • roll
    • stand
    • turn
    • sleep
    • cha cha cha
    • scurry
    • glide
    • crawl
    • step
    • march
  • Verb tenses/agreement/endings (great for older kids. How can I change dance, sleep, buzz, etc.?)
• Check out the back matter! There are some great ideas for movement, graphing, and more in the back of the book.
• (Science) Also in the back matter, you'll find some scientific facts about the animals highlighted. You could further extend by having students do a project about one of the animals in the book.
  
• You could create your own freeze dance by putting on some fun music and draw out an animal from the book (cards or a list) Students have to move like that animal until you pause the music and they freeze like that animal, then you choose another, etc.
• Art -- showing movement. Since this book is all about movement, it would be a fun art project to look at how various illustrators show movement and see how you could show the verbs listed above as part of the art.  Draw a dolphin diving, twisting, spinning. . .how can you show that movement?
• Lots of art projects for the various animals in the book (check out the Pinterest board for some examples.)
• Dance/Movement -- have students make up their own dance. (SOOO many ways you could do this.  Here are a few suggestions:
  • Totally freestyle -- each child dances with wild abandon ;-)
  • Choose 3 (or more) verbs from the book (list above) and create a pattern that will become a dance. Ex. March 4X, then cha cha cha, glide, glide, glide, glide, then cha cha cha, etc.
  • Follow the leader dance using the verbs from the story.  Leader chooses a verb card and leads the others around the room with that movement. Then second person becomes the leader and they choose a card and lead, etc.

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

The book is also great for the music classroom in many ways, especially integrating dance and movement.

• Use the dance ideas from above
• Read the book aloud and give students/children a chance to dance along with the animals
• Sound story -- Assign an instrument to various words (especially fun for words that are repeated with different animals like leap (a vibraslap or a drum) and turn (cabasa)
• Have the students find an instrument or create a sound that represents each animal's dance
• Might be a fun correlation with Carnival of the Animals
• Marching = steady beat (great way to practice or help kids hear/feel the steady beat)
• Cha cha cha and march are mentioned specifically and also have dances/movements associated with them, so it would be great to study a bit more about one or both.
• Use scarves to represent the different dances/movements
• Discuss the importance of music and dance together. Can you dance without music?

Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1. My favorite animal from the book was _________ because _________ . . . .
2. If I could dance like any of the animals in the book, I would dance like a ___________ because . . . .
3. I like/don't like to dance. Why?
4. Write a persuasive argument for or against the necessity of having music to dance.
5. Write an acrostic poem using the word DANCE.
6. Write a shape poem about one of the animals in the book, including their "dance" in the poem or the shape.
7. Write a story about a peacock with some unusual dance moves.
8. Write a report about one of the animals in the book using facts from the book and other ones that you research.
9. Write about a dung beetle who couldn't balance on his dung ball.
10. Write about flamingos whose legs get tangled because they are dancing to close together.
11. Write a fictional story about an animal who likes to dance.
12. Look at the end papers of the book. Why do you think the artist (Hannah Abbo) created that pattern on the end papers.
13. Write a letter to Ms. Rajan telling her whether you liked the book, and why/why not.
14. Choose one of the dances in the book and write a how-to guide for an animal learning that dance.

Writing Tips from Rekha

• Try to find time to write everyday
• Share your ideas with others to get feedback - we all see things in different ways
• Step away from your drafts - it's good to take a break and come back with a fresh perspective
• If you get frustrated - play an instrument :)

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

YouTube playlist that contains lots of fun kids' music to move and dance like animals, as well as videos of actual animal dances.

​Pinterest board with lots of activities and resources to accompany the book

canyoudancelikeapeacock-activitykit.pdf
File Size:	3541 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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PBJamz Snack

These thumbprint cookies rolled in potato chips remind me a bit of the spots on a peacock's tail feathers -- and I can guarantee they'll be more tasty ;-) Whether you've been dancing like bees, peacocks, flamingos and spiders or off writing your own amazing picture book 0r teaching littles. . . .whatever you've been doing, these seem like the perfect snack or sweet end to a lovely day of dancing through life.  Check out the recipe here and enjoy whenever you decide to make these yummy treats!

Guest Links and Giveaways

Rekha's website
​To buy CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A PEACOCK on Amazon
Rekha's Twitter
​Rehka's Amazon page (with all her books)
Rehka's Goodreads page

Rekha has graciously offered up a copy of CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A PEACOCK! All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment below!  Good luck!