November is here, friend, and it is a busy one. Between conferences wrapping up, short weeks, and students who are already counting down to Thanksgiving, it can be hard to plan read alouds that are both fun and meaningful.
That’s where Balloons Over Broadway activities come in! This true story about Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the giant balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, grabs students’ attention from the very first page. It is also full of moments that make students wonder.
In this post, I’m sharing five classroom-ready Balloons Over Broadway activities for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. You’ll also see how I use this book to teach questioning, so you can walk away with a plan you can use tomorrow.
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet follows Tony Sarg from a curious boy who loved to tinker to the puppeteer who invented the parade’s famous balloons. It is narrative nonfiction, so it reads like a story while teaching real history.
Why does that matter? Scarborough’s Reading Rope reminds us that skilled readers need strong language comprehension, including background knowledge and vocabulary. A book like this builds both at the same time.
Plus, the parade airs on Thanksgiving morning, so students get to see the story come to life at home. I share more about planning purposeful read alouds in THIS post.
This book is packed with rich words students won’t hear in everyday conversation. Choose 3-4 words to introduce before reading, and give each one a kid-friendly definition with a picture or gesture. This is one of the most powerful things you can add to your list of Balloons Over Broadway activities because kids NEED explicit vocabulary instruction to help them understand what they are reading.
Kindergarten: Focus on 2-3 concrete words like puppet and parade. Act them out together.
First Grade: Add marionette and inventor. Have students turn to a partner and use each word in a sentence.
Second Grade: Include puppeteer and helium. Have students explain how the words connect to each other.
Teacher Tip: Keep your vocabulary cards on display all week. Give the class a tally mark every time someone uses one of the words correctly.
This is the heart of my lesson! Asking questions keeps students engaged and helps them monitor their understanding. Good readers wonder before, during, and after they read. Question generation is one of the comprehension strategy that leads readers to be able to think deeply about the text. Eventually, we are reading to learn and when we learn, we ask questions!
Balloons Over Broadway is perfect for questioning because Tony keeps running into problems and because it’s such a foreign concept to many of our readers. How will he make the balloons float? Why didn’t his first idea work? Students can’t help but wonder!
Start by modeling with a think aloud: “I’m wondering why…” Then pause at 2-3 planned stopping points and let students share their own questions.
Kindergarten: Use the sentence stem “I wonder…” and record their questions on a chart.
First Grade: Have students write questions on sticky notes. After reading, sort them into “answered in the book” and “still wondering.”
Second Grade: Review question words (who, what, where, when, why, how). Have students write two questions, then go back into the text to find the answers.
Tony solved one problem after another. After reading, revisit the book and chart one problem and how he solved it. Many of your students’ “how” questions get answered right here when you add this to your Balloons Over Broadway activities.
Kindergarten: Draw the problem and the solution as a class.
First Grade: Use a two-box organizer labeled Problem and Solution.
Second Grade: Write the problem and solution in complete sentences, using details from the text.
This is one of the Balloons Over Broadway activities students talk about all week. Invite them to invent their own giant parade balloon, just like Tony did. You can easily differentiate this activity for students.
Kindergarten: Draw the balloon and label its parts.
First Grade: Draw it and write 2-3 sentences about it.
Second Grade: Explain how the balloon would float and move down the street.
Celebrate those balloon designs with a quick parade down the hallway! Students can hold up their drawings and share one sentence about their balloon. It would also be fun to invite a buddy class to watch. Your students will love having an audience when you end your week of Balloons Over Broadway activities.
To tie it back to questioning, ask: “If you could meet Tony Sarg, what would you ask him?”
Looking for more ideas after the book? Try these read aloud extensions for your favorite fall books.
I know planning even one great read aloud takes time you don’t have. That’s why my Balloons Over Broadway questioning lesson is ready to go inside November Read Alouds, along with six lessons for the month.
Inside you’ll find lessons for:
You’ll know exactly where to stop, what to ask, and how students can respond. That means less planning and more time enjoying great books with your class. Need more November books and ideas like these Balloons Over Broadway activities? Check out THIS POST.
Does your class watch the parade on Thanksgiving morning? What questions did your students ask about Tony Sarg? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your studentsย loveย and that areย easy to implementย for teachers.ย ย Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, youโll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
One Response
I cannot find where I can access the Balloons over Broadway materials.