Teaching Problem Solving Skills with Goggles

Problem solving is an important life skill, and Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful book to help with it. Stop by for a freebie to go with the book!

It's everywhere. We all have them...problems! And we have to find a way to solve them, even if there is more than one way. I have joined in with my friends at The Reading Crew to bring you another fun mentor text blog series to get you ready for school! {Affiliate links are scattered throughout the post to fund future book purchases.}

Goggles Book Summary

This year our school is trying something different, and I am trying to find ways to incorporate it into my lessons. We started a part of the Success for All program called "Getting Along Together" this year. The lessons work through different problems to help students with problem solving skills and finding ways to work with others in the school. We have seen the need for this over the years as we watch students not be able to get along or solve their own problems. The lessons have been interesting so far, but I need something different that the teachers don't offer.

I chose the book Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats to help with some of those problem solving skills. In the book, Peter finds a pair of goggles and shares them with his friend Archie. But when the big boys find out, they want to find a way to get them as their own. They chase Peter and Archie, who hide but lose the glasses. They think of ways to get away from they boys and work through plan to get away. When Willie, Peter's dog, gets the goggles, everything moves right along.

Classroom Application

I love using the book to help my students understand problem and solution a little better. I have created a small freebie to help you use the book Goggles with your students. In it is a poster for problem and solution, a problem/solution chart with "goggles" in the picture, and a small writing page for students' own thoughts. Here is a sampling of what you get in the freebie.
Problem solving is an important life skill, and Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful book to help with it. Stop by for a freebie to go with the book!

Click here or on the picture below to grab it.
Problem solving is an important life skill, and Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful book to help with it. Stop by for a freebie to go with the book!

Helping Out

Speaking of problems... Texas has really been hit hard. I have family in Texas and Louisiana. Last year about this time, my aunt, uncle, and cousins were dealing with flooded homes ~ something they never dreamed would happen to them. A year later, I saw pictures of my cousin, who lives outside of Houston, waiting for it all to pass while sitting in her bathroom praying a tornado wouldn't hit. Being in Virginia, all I could do is pray and pray hard! Everyone is OK, but I know that fear will live on for many years. I pray for those in Texas every moment I can.

One way you can help out is through the Teachers Helping Teachers Go Fund Me. By giving to this cause, the money goes directly to schools who need it.

Helping your students with problem solving skills will help them as they become adults. Using Goggles as a mentor text shows them that there are many ways to solve problems and still find one that works. If you would like the entire book unit, you can grab it by clicking here or on the picture below. It includes many more activities to make a full week of work with the book. 
Problem solving is an important life skill, and Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful book to help with it. Stop by for a freebie to go with the book!

And don't forget to click below to continue through the other bloggers' posts after my signature.
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Problem solving is an important life skill, and Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful book to help with it. Stop by for a freebie to go with the book!


3 comments

  1. Thank you for this post. I love Ezra Jack Keats.

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  2. We can never have enough lessons for problem solving! This looks like such a cute book. Thanks for sharing :)
    Julie
    The Techie Teacher

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  3. Love Ezra Jack Keats, and Goggles is perfect for B2S! I love the antibullying theme too. :-)

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