The first weeks of school are all about building community, setting expectations, and helping students feel seen and valued. One of my favorite books to kick off the year is Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy. This heartwarming story encourages students to embrace their differences and treat others with kindness—perfect themes for making connections with a new classroom family!
But beyond its message, this book also provides rich opportunities to strengthen reading comprehension skills right from the start.
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At its core, this book is about courage, kindness, and celebrating what makes us unique. It resonates deeply with students who are navigating new friendships and learning to stand up for themselves. Reading it together as a class gives you the chance to:
One powerful comprehension skill to focus on during this read-aloud is making connections. As students listen to Lucy’s story, they can think about moments in their own lives when they felt different, stood up for themselves, or showed kindness to others.
As we are reading, we talk about two types of connections:
Deep Connections
Help us understand the story on a personal level. An example from the story might be: “I felt the way Lucy did when Ralph teased her because I’ve been left out before.”
Shallow Connections
Fun little connections that don’t really change how we understand the story. An example from the story might be: “I like spaghetti too!”
With a mix of anchor charts to express deeper meaning, hands-on comprehension activities, and a creative chant, students will develop a concrete understanding of making connections with the text, making connections inside the classroom, and beyond.
Here are a few activities that bring Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun to life while building comprehension:
Students write about Lucy’s story and create their own spaghetti-in-a-bun craft. This is a great way for them to synthesize the lesson and decorate your back-to-school bulletin board.
Use prompts like “When have you felt different from others?” or “What would you do if you saw someone being teased?” to spark small group conversations. Keep the momentum going by incorporating questions throughout the experience: before, during, and after reading to gauge student understanding as the story develops and connects with their background knowledge.
Encourage students to summarize Lucy’s journey and reflect on the story’s message. Additionally, tie in other related elements that further build on the focus skill, such as fiction and nonfiction passages with comprehension questions.
Adding these complementary activities will expand upon lessons discussed through the main text.
Using anchor charts and sorting activities, students can practice distinguishing between deep and shallow connections. Have students sort example connections into “deep” and “shallow” categories to strengthen their comprehension.
This is an engaging way to access student understanding and drive home the lesson.
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun isn’t just a great story—it’s a springboard for building comprehension skills that will serve your students all year long. As you read and discuss, you’re helping them learn to think deeply about texts and make meaningful connections.
While making connections, students will also learn about the importance of kindness. In addition to Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun, these 5 kindness books help set the tone for a more inclusive and positive classroom experience.
Complement your kindness lesson by having students share two ways that they can show kindness. Grab the free Kindness Counts writing page!
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
Sample a day of Rooted in Reading with these lesson plans and activities for Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Grammar!
