- chopstick
- fruit
- groceries
- leaf
- root
- seed
- stem
- vegetable
MA Standards:
Literature/RL.PK.MA.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or a poem read aloud.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.4: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in a story or poem read aloud.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.6: With prompting and support, “read” the illustrations in a picture book by describing a character or place depicted, or by telling how a sequence of events unfolds.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.9: With prompting and support, make connections between a story or poem and one’s own experiences.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.10: Listen actively as an individual and as a member of a group to a variety of age-appropriate literature read aloud.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation and Knowledge: Asks and answers questions and makes comments about print materials.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 6: Listen to a wide variety of age appropriate literature read aloud.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 10: Engage actively in read-aloud activities by asking questions, offering ideas, predicting or retelling important parts of a story or informational book.
Read Together: Bee-bim Bop!
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Many foods that animals, including humans, eat come from plants; We eat certain leaves, roots, fruits, and seeds; Fruits have seeds
ELA Focus Skills: Parts of a Book, Interpreting Illustrations, Listening and Speaking, Making Connections, Story Comprehension, Vocabulary
Before You Read
Hold up the book and tell children the name of the book is Bee-bim Bop! Point to the words as you read the title; then point and read the author and illustrator names. Tell children that the author, Linda Sue Park, loves to cook. She was born in another country called Korea and now lives in the United States. The illustrator, Ho Baek Lee, lives in Korea. Ask if any children have any experiences with Korea (visited, relative, etc.). Allow time for children to share their experiences before continuing.
Start a conversation that will help prepare children to enjoy the story with you. You may want to provide a simple introduction. For example, say, In this story, a girl helps her mother make her favorite dish, called bee-bim bop. Bee-bim bop means “mixed-up rice” in Korean. Explain that there are lots of vegetables and seeds in the soup.
Discuss that American food is one type of food, and every country has its own special types of foods and recipes. Ask children if they have any favorite foods that have been a tradition in their family. Then have children look closely at the cover illustration and describe what they see. Ask questions such as,
- What do you think the mother is doing?
- What do you think the girl is doing? The dog?
Set a listening focus for children by having them look for all the different things the girl and her mom put in the bee-bim bop and by having them see if they can identify any of the fruits and vegetables.
As You Read
Turn to the title page and point to each food item on the plate. Ask children to name and identify by plant part (root, leaf, stem) the vegetables they recognize.
Read with expression. Emphasize the story’s rhyme and the “bounce” of the language. Read for the fun and beauty of the language. Pause on the dedication page and ask children to identify any fruits, vegetable, or seeds they know. Ask them to describe the fruits and vegetables to you.
After You Read
Discuss the story with children. Ask questions such as,
- What did you notice about the language in this book? (It rhymes!)
- What is different about the way the family eats their food from the way you eat your food?
- What did you notice about the foods that went into making bee-bim bop?
- When you look at the foods, or the ingredients, that go into making bee-bim bop, do you think you would like the soup? Why do you think so?
Educator Tip: You may want to have a world map on display as you talk about countries children may not be aware of or countries that children or families are from. Mark the United States and any other areas children have been learning about.