‘Junebug: No Life Too Small’ Story Sequencing and Retelling Activities

Junebug: No Life Too Small by Nicole Daniels is the cheerful tale of a young girl on a mission to speak up for insects. June teaches her friends why it’s important to look out for and protect other sentient beings, no matter how small they may be. Whenever they come across a bug, she advises them to exercise caution and compassion, reminding them how much we all have in common.

Having students sequence events in a text is an important comprehension strategy. Teachers can use this sequencing activity to help students identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story while encouraging them to reflect on June’s message about caring for insects. Children can cut out the pictures of the events that take place in the book and then place them in the order that matches the story. They could wrap up by gluing the images in that order onto a piece of paper and discussing what stood out to them in the book.

You can keep the learning fun and engaging with our story-retelling puppets designed to develop reading comprehension and help students use expressive language. They can be used to retell June’s story again and again—a perfect center activity!

Kids can cut out the pictures and tape a Popsicle stick to the back of each one. Then they can use the puppets to retell June’s story. They could also act out the story using the puppets, providing a framework for kinesthetic learners.

These activities are great for students to complete in pairs or small groups and can be used in reading centers as well.