Read “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” and add fun activities that foster a community of kindness, blossoming friendships, and empathy among young children.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates Book Activities for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade
The first weeks of school are filled with opportunities to build friendships, establish classroom routines, and help students feel like they belong. That’s one reason We Don’t Eat Our Classmates has become such a popular back-to-school read-aloud for kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade classrooms. With its humorous storyline and lovable dinosaur character, the book immediately captures students’ attention while delivering an important message about kindness and empathy.
As students follow Penelope’s journey, they begin to see the importance of considering other people’s feelings and making thoughtful choices. The story naturally sparks conversations about friendship, classroom expectations, and what it means to be a good classmate.
If you’re looking for engaging We Don’t Eat Our Classmates activities, you’re in the right place. Below you’ll find some favorite extension ideas that help students practice social-emotional skills, strengthen their understanding of literacy, and build a positive classroom community during the first weeks of school.
Table of Contents
- We Don't Eat Our Classmates Book Activities for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade
- Why Read We Don't Eat Our Classmates During the First Week of School?
- Questions to Ask Before, During, and After Reading
- We Don't Eat Our Classmates Activities Your Students Will Love
- Skills Students Practice
- Extend the Learning with Ready-to-Use We Don't Eat Our Classmates Activities
- More Back-to-School Read-Aloud Activities
- More Fun Back to School Activities
Why Read We Don’t Eat Our Classmates During the First Week of School?
The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to introduce stories that help students learn to interact positively with others. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates does exactly that while keeping students laughing and engaged from beginning to end.
This story helps build classroom community by encouraging students to think about how their actions affect others. As they watch Penelope learn from her mistakes, students have opportunities to discuss kindness, empathy, and respect in ways that feel natural and relatable.
The book also creates meaningful conversations about friendship. Students can explore what makes someone a good friend, how to include others, and why treating classmates with kindness matters.
Teachers love this read-aloud because it introduces classroom expectations without feeling like a lecture. Instead of simply telling students how to behave, the story provides an engaging example that helps children understand why positive choices are important.
At the same time, the book supports both SEL and literacy instruction. It encourages students to analyze character feelings, discuss story events, make connections, and practice comprehension skills.
Whether you’re planning first-week-of-school activities or searching for meaningful SEL read-aloud activities, this book is an excellent choice for kindergarten through second grade.
Questions to Ask Before, During, and After Reading
Meaningful discussions can help students connect more deeply with the story and its message. Asking questions before, during, and after reading encourages students to think about characters, feelings, and friendships.
The companion resource includes printable Book Chat Cards that make it easy to guide classroom discussions and keep students engaged throughout the read aloud.
Before Reading
Before opening the book, invite students to look closely at the cover and make predictions.
Try asking:
- What do you think might happen in this story?
- What do you notice about the cover?
- What do you think a classmate is?
- Why do you think the author chose this funny title?
During Reading
Pause occasionally to help students think about the characters and events.
Ask questions such as:
- How is Penelope feeling right now?
- How do her classmates feel?
- Why do you think they feel that way?
- What begins to change as the story continues?
After Reading
Once you’ve finished reading, encourage students to reflect on the lesson Penelope learned.
Questions might include:
- What lesson did Penelope learn?
- How can we be good classmates?
- What makes someone a good friend?
- Why is it important to think about other people’s feelings?
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates Activities Your Students Will Love
Build a “Good Classmates” Anchor Chart
Before reading, invite students to brainstorm qualities that make someone a good classmate. They may suggest sharing, helping others, listening, including everyone, or using kind words.
Record their ideas on a class anchor chart and revisit it after reading the story. Students can compare their ideas to Penelope’s actions and discuss how she changed throughout the book.
This simple activity helps students begin defining classroom expectations together while creating a shared understanding of what kindness looks like in your classroom.
Beginning, Middle, and End Sequencing Activity
Retelling stories is an important comprehension skill, and We Don’t Eat Our Classmates provides plenty of memorable events for students to discuss.
A beginning-middle-end sequencing activity encourages students to think about the major events in the story and how Penelope changes from the beginning to the end of the book. As students revisit key moments, they can discuss how her experiences helped her become a better classmate.
This activity strengthens reading comprehension while helping students focus on character growth and story structure.
Friendship Choice Scenarios
One of the biggest themes in the story is learning how our choices affect others. Friendship choice discussions provide students with opportunities to think about positive ways to interact with classmates.
As students consider different friendship situations, they can talk about how kindness, respect, and empathy help create a welcoming classroom. Role-playing can make these conversations even more meaningful by allowing students to practice making thoughtful choices in a safe environment.
These discussions help students connect the lessons from the story to real-life classroom situations they may encounter throughout the school year.
Write About Being a Good Classmate
Writing activities allow students to reflect on what they learned from the story while sharing their own ideas about friendship.
Students can respond to prompts about what makes someone a good classmate, ways they can show kindness, or how they can help others feel welcome at school. These reflections encourage students to think about their role in creating a positive classroom environment.
Writing responses also provide valuable opportunities for students to connect the story’s message to their own experiences and goals for the school year.
Penelope Directed Drawing Activity
Students love drawing Penelope-inspired dinosaurs, making this a fun extension activity after reading the story.
A directed drawing activity helps students practice listening and following directions while creating a character connected to the book. As students add their own details and personalities to their dinosaurs, you can continue discussing the qualities that make someone a kind and caring classmate.
This activity combines creativity with social-emotional learning and often becomes a favorite during the first week of school.
Dinosaur Friendship Craft
A friendship-themed dinosaur craft provides another engaging way to reinforce the story’s message about kindness and empathy.
As students decorate their dinosaurs, encourage them to think about qualities of friendship, such as kindness, respect, patience, helpfulness, and inclusion. Discussing these traits helps students understand how small actions can make a big difference in the classroom community.
The completed crafts also make a colorful back-to-school display that reminds students of the friendship skills they are working to develop throughout the year.
Make a Classroom Friendship Pledge
Creating a classroom friendship pledge is a meaningful way to bring the story’s lessons into everyday classroom life.
As a class, brainstorm ways students can show kindness, respect, and empathy toward one another. Together, create a friendship promise that reflects the values you want to encourage throughout the year.
Because students help generate the ideas, they often feel more invested in following the pledge and supporting their classmates. This activity also helps establish a positive classroom culture from the very beginning.
Skills Students Practice
The activities inspired by We Don’t Eat Our Classmates help students develop a variety of academic and social-emotional skills, including:
- Reading comprehension
- Story sequencing
- Speaking and listening
- Friendship skills
- Empathy
- Writing
- Fine motor skills
- Classroom community building
Extend the Learning with Ready-to-Use We Don’t Eat Our Classmates Activities
The first weeks of school can feel busy, which is why having ready-to-use activities can make planning so much easier. A complete We Don’t Eat Our Classmates companion resource allows you to focus on meaningful discussions and student learning instead of creating lessons from scratch.
With printable and digital options included, it’s easy to use the activities in a variety of classroom settings. Students can continue exploring friendship, empathy, kindness, and classroom expectations through engaging literacy and SEL activities that connect directly to the story.
What’s Included:
- Printable lesson plans
- Digital teaching slides
- Book Chat discussion cards
- Literacy activities
- SEL friendship lessons
- Writing prompts
- Directed drawing
- Dinosaur craft
- Bulletin board display
- Teacher instructions
If you’re looking for a low-prep way to teach kindness, friendship, and classroom expectations, this complete companion has everything you need.
The resource includes support for discussion-based learning, reading response activities, writing opportunities, creative projects, and classroom community building. You’ll also find guided lessons, directed drawing activities, craft extensions, and bulletin board pieces that help reinforce the book’s message throughout the first weeks of school.
By having everything prepared and organized, you can spend less time planning and more time building relationships with your students.
Ready to bring Penelope’s story to life in your classroom? Save hours of planning while giving your students meaningful lessons they’ll remember. Grab the complete We Don’t Eat Our Classmates companion resource and make your back-to-school planning easier.
More Back-to-School Read-Aloud Activities
Looking for more engaging read-aloud activities for the beginning of the school year? Check out these favorites that are perfect for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms.
- First Day Jitters Activities
- Chrysanthemum Activities
- The Kissing Hand Activities
- The Pigeon HAS to Go to School Activities
- Back-to-School Guide
Back to School Book Companion
Back-to-school book companions make it easy to turn a favorite read-aloud into meaningful learning experiences. With ready-to-use lessons, literacy activities, SEL discussions, writing prompts, and crafts, you’ll save time on planning while building classroom community and keeping students engaged during those important first weeks of school. Explore our collection of book companions and find everything you need for a successful start to the year.
More Fun Back to School Activities
PIN for Later
Leave a Comment