Madeline

Madeline

Madeline is a classic story written by Ludwig Bemelmans. It is currently published by the Penguin Group. Books like Madeline are an integral part of language arts curriculum. This story is all about a little girl named Madeline who lives in a boarding house located in Paris, France.

The story begins introducing Madeline as the smallest of the 12 girls at the boarding school. Madeline is very curious and unafraid, which often lands her in trouble. Miss Clavel is the girls teacher, and she does her best to keep little red-headed Madeline in line.

Madeline’s summary continues when Miss Clavel discovers that Madeline is laying awake at night crying in pain. The ambulance takes Madeline to the hospital, where she learns she must have her appendix removed. Although Madeline is brave, all of the girls miss her terribly. Miss Clavel takes the children to see Madeline at the hospital.

This book is important for children to read because it shows them how to be courageous, even when something scary happens. It also demonstrates the importance of being a good friend.

This Madeline passage is repeated in each of the books within the Madeline series. “In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.”

Another Madeline passage that can be heard at the end of each Madeline episode is “and that’s all there is–there isn’t any more.”

Since Madeline is a story for students currently in Kindergarten through second grade, teachers can orchestrate a few games to remind the students about the book. First, teachers can create their own rhyming game. Place rhyming words on note cards and flip them over so that no one can see the words. Each student can take a turn flipping over two cards. The student who finds two words that rhyme, gets to keep the pair. The student with the most pairs at the end of the game wins. Literature printable worksheets can help students retain information they have read. Additionally, teachers can put together a spelling list, or import this ready made second grade Madeline spelling list, and students can use this list to practice not only their spelling, but also their knowledge of the book. Finally, have the students each draw a scene from the book. Paste the scene on to a piece of cardstock. Cut sections of the scene out to create a puzzle. The students can exchange puzzles and see how quickly they can put each other’s puzzles together.