Room on the Broom Activities & Read-Aloud Questions
Explore the magical journey of a kind witch and a group of cooperative animals in Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. This book provides extensive learning opportunities, from exploring character development to understanding cause and effect relationships. The “Room on the Broom” activities enhance reading comprehension skills and nurture a love for literature.
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Room on the Broom Book Summary
A witch flying on her broomstick loses her hat, bow, and wand. As she searches for them, she encounters a dog, a bird, and a frog, who ask for a ride on her broomstick.
The witch kindly agrees; however, their journey is interrupted by a fierce dragon who wants to eat the witch.
The animals work together to scare off the dragon, and the witch rewards them with a magical surprise.
Room on the Broom is a tale of kindness and teamwork and encourages your students to think about helping others.
Explore homemade Halloween costumes for spooky book characters including the witch from Room on the Broom.
Room on the Broom Reading Comprehension Questions
The Room on the Broom book is useful for enhancing reading comprehension. Its illustrations allow students to visualise story elements, encouraging discussions and critical thinking. Asking questions about Room on the Broom develops different reading skills for a deeper understanding.
I have over 90 questions to use before, during and after reading the Room on the Broom book in this activity pack. Here are some questions you can ask before reading the book.
- How would you describe the witch from the front cover?
- Have you ever seen a broomstick before? What is it used for?
- Have you ever lost something important to you? How did it make you feel?
- What do you think the title “Room on the Broom” means?
- Have you ever met someone new and made friends with them? What was it like?
- Have you ever seen a dragon before? What do you know about them?
- Have you ever had to face a scary situation? What did you do?
- What do you think the witch and her animal friends will do if they encounter danger or obstacles on their journey?
Room on the Broom Cause & Effect Activities
Room on the Broom's familiar context, vivid illustrations, and narrative style all work together to enhance students' understanding of cause and effect. It allows them to visualise the impact of a character's decisions and understand the impact of their choices.
The book is an excellent resource for teaching cause and effect because it contains numerous clear, easily identifiable instances of this concept. Here's why:
Sequential Events: The story is structured so that one event directly leads to another, creating a clear cause-and-effect relationship. For example, when the witch loses her hat (cause), she lands to find it (effect).
Problem-Solution Framework: The story presents problems (the witch losing her items) and their solutions (new characters finding the items and asking for a ride). This framework helps students understand that actions (causes) have consequences (effects).
Character Actions and Outcomes: Each character's actions lead to distinct outcomes. For instance, the animals' decision to help the witch results in them getting a ride on her broom.
Climactic Cause and Effect: The climax of the story, where the dragon threatens the witch and the animals work together to scare him away, presents a clear and dramatic demonstration of cause and effect.
Repetitive Structure: The repetitive nature of the story allows students to anticipate the effect after each cause, reinforcing their understanding of this concept.
You can find the Room on the Broom activities in these images here.
Room on the Broom Prediction Activities
Room on the Broom‘s visual cues and subtle story clues prompt students to predict outcomes and infer hidden meanings. It fosters analytical thinking as students analyse information to draw logical conclusions and apply these skills in real-life situations. Here are the main reasons to use the book to support prediction skills.
Repetitive Structure: The story follows a predictable pattern where the witch loses an item, lands to search for it and encounters a new character who helps her find it. After a few cycles, students can anticipate what will happen next, encouraging predictive skills.
Illustrative Clues: The book's detailed illustrations provide visual cues to help students make educated guesses about upcoming events.
Problem-Solution Framework: Each problem presented (losing an item) is followed by a solution (a new character finds it and asks for a ride). This pattern allows students to predict the outcome of each new problem.
Foreshadowing: The story includes elements of foreshadowing. For example, the broom breaking under the weight of all the passengers hints at potential future problems, prompting students to predict what might happen.
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Room on the Broom Retelling and Sequencing Activities
The Room on the Broom book is an excellent tool for teaching retelling and sequencing skills. Its narrative and visual cues aid in recounting and understanding event sequences. Sequencing and retelling activities encourage logical thinking and comprehension of story structure and help students to organize and articulate their thoughts.
Clear Plot Structure: The story has a clear beginning, middle, and end, with distinct events at each stage. This allows students to easily identify and follow the sequence of events.
Repetitive Storyline: The book follows a repetitive pattern where the witch loses something, lands to find it, and meets new characters who help her. This predictability aids in remembering the order of events, making it easier for students to retell the story.
Engaging Illustrations: The detailed illustrations captivate student interest and provide visual cues to help them recall and sequence the events.
Distinct Characters: Each character in the story has a unique role and characteristics that make them memorable. This helps students recall who did what in the story, aiding in accurate retelling.
Problem-Solution Framework: The story presents a problem (the witch's items getting lost and a dragon threatening them) and a solution (the characters working together to scare the dragon away), reinforcing the concept of cause and effect, which is integral to understanding sequencing.
You can find the Room on the Broom activities in these images here.
