Tops & Bottoms Activities

Getting ready to start a gardening unit for spring? Add Tops & Bottoms to your list of books to read. Pair these printable and digital activities with this humorous story to keep your readers engaged with the text.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tops & Bottoms
Written & Illustrated by: Janet Stevens

Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens is a great book to read in the spring or to kickoff a gardening unit.

Once a upon a time, there was a lazy Bear and a clever Hare. Bear had lots of money and lots of land but all he wanted to do was sleep. Hare had nothing but hungry children, so he came up with a plan to convince Bear to split his land down the middle—tops and bottoms. Hare can work all day and Bear can sleep.

It’s the perfect solution! Or is it?

Take a peek inside the book Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens. This would be a great story to share in the spring during a gardening unit.

If you don’t already have a copy of this Tops & Bottoms in your school or classroom library, you can find it on Amazon.

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TOPS & BOTTOMS ACTIVITIES

This book companion is a great resource to help students build their comprehension and vocabulary skills. There are 8 questions included to help guide the discussion as you read. Students can also respond to these questions in writing.

There are 8 questions included to help guide the discussion as you read Tops & Bottoms. Students can also respond to these questions in writing.

Sequencing activities are great for helping students understand and remember the story. Because this is a cut and paste activity, students can physically move the cards around until the story events are in the correct order.

After students have practiced sequencing the story, they are ready to retell or summarize. There are several different graphic organizers to choose from. Students can also focus on story elements with this spinner activity.

Furthermore, I selected 8 vocabulary words for this story. Each vocabulary card has a matching definition. Students can play a memory matching game with the cards or create original sentences with the words. For additional practice, students can complete the fill-in-the-blanks page or vocabulary match-up activity.

I selected 8 vocabulary words for Tops & Bottoms. Each vocabulary card has a matching definition. Students can play a memory matching game with the cards or create original sentences with the words. For additional practice, students can complete the fill-in-the-blanks page or vocabulary match-up activity.

Additionally, this resource also includes two character charts, a word search, a maze, and a harvest activity to pair with the book. These can be used during or after reading the book.

Use these extra activities during or after reading Tops & Bottoms.

HARE WRITING CRAFT

After reading the book, students can put together a hare (or rabbit) writing craft.

This craft includes printable templates so students can create a hare (or rabbit) like the one in the book. After putting the craft together, students can place it on top of a piece of writing. I have included several suggestions for writing prompts, but you can always choose your own. However, if you don’t have time to do the writing piece, the hare craft can stand alone.

After reading Tops & Bottoms, students can put together a hare writing craft. I have included several suggestions for writing prompts, but you can always choose your own. However, if you don’t have time to do the writing piece, the bunny craft can stand alone.

TOPS & BOTTOMS DIGITAL ACTIVITIES

Because many classrooms are going paperless, I decided to add some digital options to this book companion. In addition to the printable PDF, you will find a Google Slides link that can be used with Google Classroom. I have also included a fillable student PDF. Please note: these digital options do not include the hare writing craft. Instead, there is a slide with clipart images and a text box for a student response.