What a fun book for summertime. This story lends nicely to creating a story box. Typically, all of these items can be found at Dollar Tree. If you’d like to purchase them from Amazon, the links are below. Items you will need are:

Book-Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea

• Small bin for water
• Sea Animals:
• Goggles– It is recommended to buy inexpensive snorkel goggles at a Dollar Tree
• Gold Coins
• Treasure Box

Use plastic bins with lids to stay organized. Put a copy of the book with the materials with the bin. When you are ready to read the story, empty the bin, fill with water, and begin your storytime. At the end of your session, you can easily put your items away and store till next time.

There are many fun supporting activities you can do with this book.

Vocabulary and Motor Development

• Seahorse-Racing-Giddy Up
• Crab-Hiding-Peek-a Boo
• Starfish-Dancing-Do-Si Do
• Sea Turtle-Following- Tag A Long
• Octopus- Waving-Gimme 8
• Dolphin-Diving-Hitch a Ride
• Swordfish-Fencing-Touche
• Whale-Spouting- Sing A Long
• Treasure-Gleaming-Pirate-Take A Long

Write the words on strips and have your student select a word from a the treasure box. Then act out the words with the student and the animals. This activity works well during circle time or during small group.

Repeating Phrases: As you are reading the story, emphasize the words hello, goodbye and swim away. Prompt and encourage your students to participate in the story with you by saying the repeating phrases with verbally, in ASL, or with a recorded switch.

Vision

Skills: Scanning, Fixation, Location, Depth Perception

Place gold coins around a defined area, or scatter gold coins on a work surface. Have students look for the coins and put them in the treasure box. Students can work on their visual skills as they search for the coins. They can use their vison (a great opportunity to encourage wearing their glasses) use their monocular, dome magnifier, and or their hands.

Assessment :

Scanning

1. How did the student scan the area?
2. What is their working distance?
3. Are they using in optical aids?
4. Did they use their hands to help them find the coins or confirm they found them?
5. Are they scanning in all four quadrants?

Depth Perception and Visual Motor

1. Did the student over or under reach for the item?
2. How many times did they accurately reach their target? How many trials?
3. Did the student integrate looking while reaching?
4. Was the student successful in putting the coins in the box? How many times/trials?
5. What is their working distance as they pick up items?

Sensory

This is a quick and easy sensory box. Fill a container with water and add the treasure and the animals to the container. Students can choose to wear the goggles if they’d like. Add in a slated scooper, such as this one, for them to scoop out the animals. Encourage students to play and explore independently. For guided play: have students locate and scoop out the named animal, use prompts such as color as size as needed. Ask students to only scoop out the gold coins and put them in a treasure box. Work on dumping and pouring, and have students transfer water and items to another container.

Literacy:

Students can work on their reading and writing skills depending on their developmental level.

Write out the word in large print/braille. Place word strips on the table either one at a time, in pairs, or all at once. Have students match the animals to the word strips.

Students can write or type the beginning letter or whole word to each animal.

Ask your students to write a story about an animal of their choice. Use the phrase ‘Swim Away” as a story prompt. For students who are in the scribbling phase (either print or braille) write down their story after they have scribbled it.

Play a memory game with each vocabulary word. When the student matches the word, they can have the plastic animal.

Have a great time reading this story and doing the activities.