Read and Discuss: A Color of His Own

Materials

• A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Key Science Concepts

• Something of one color against a background of a similar color may be hard to see.
• Something of one color against a background of a contrasting color is easy to see.

Directions

Before reading: Ask children to look at the cover and describe what they see. Then read the title and the author's name. Ask, what do you think this book might be about? Tell children that the animal on the cover is a chameleon. Remind children of the chameleon they saw in the video, Hide and Go Peep, or in the book Animal Disguises. Ask them what they observed about the chameleon in either the video or book. Ask them to notice if there are any similarities between those chameleons and the chameleon in this story.

After reading: Ask children,

• How did the chameleon change in the story?
• What happened when he climbed on a lemon, a tiger, a leaf?
• What ended up making the chameleon happy?
• Which color chameleon did you like best? If you look closely at the colors, what do you notice? (The chameleon is actually different shades of a color.)