Teaching Activities for Peters Chair Kindergarten – Lesson Plan Ideas
- By Deedee Wills
- Updated on December 18
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Fun Activities for Peter’s Chair
If you’re looking for Peter’s Chair activities for kindergarten that go beyond a quick read-aloud, you’re in the right place. Peter’s Chair is one of those books kids instantly connect with, but the real magic happens when we slow down and use it to teach strong reading comprehension.
Instead of racing through this wonderful story, this is a chance to help students think deeply, talk about their good ideas, and make meaning together.
In kindergarten, the teacher does the reading work while the students do the thinking work. That’s exactly how these Peter’s Chair activities are designed. Over five days, students revisit the story with a new comprehension focus each day, giving them repeated exposure to the text and plenty of time to discuss, reflect, and respond.
It’s simple, intentional, and built to help young learners truly understand what they’re hearing, not just enjoy the story and move on.
Peter’s Chair Book Summary
Peter’s Chair by author Ezra Jack Keats is a realistic fiction story about a young boy named Peter who is adjusting to life with a new baby sister. As Peter watches his old baby chair being painted pink for the new baby, he begins to feel frustrated and left out. His favorite blue chair feels like the last thing that still belongs to him, and when that is threatened too, Peter decides he has had enough.
Peter tries to run away, but only makes it as far as the front of his house. When he sits in his little chair, he realizes it no longer fits. This moment helps Peter see that he is growing up. By the end of the story, he makes a thoughtful choice to paint the chair for his sister, showing that change can be hard but also meaningful.
Peter’s Chair Read Aloud Video
Here is a cute video that is great to use! You will always want to use a book when teaching comprehension lessons because you will want to linger on pages and be able to flip back and forth between pages.
BUT having a video is also a great opportunity for students to hear another example of fluent reading.
Reading Peter’s Chair in Kindergarten: Where the Teacher Reads and the Kids Do the Thinking
One of the biggest shifts we can make in kindergarten literacy is this:
the teacher does the reading work, and the students do the thinking work.
When I read Peter’s Chair aloud, my job isn’t to quiz kids or rush them to an answer. My job is to model how readers think and then give students the space to talk, wonder, disagree, and explain. That’s exactly what this Peter’s Chair book companion is designed to do.
Over the course of five days, students revisit the same familiar children’s book but each day they focus on a different comprehension strategy. The text stays the same. The thinking gets deeper.
And that’s where the real comprehension work happens.
Why Reading Comprehension Starts with Listening
Kindergartners don’t need to decode every word to be strong readers. They need rich language, meaningful discussions, and chances to make sense of stories together.
In this unit, the teacher reads Peter’s Chair aloud each day. Students listen, turn and talk with a partner, and then respond through discussion, drawing, and writing. They’re not just answering questions -they’re learning how readers think.
Here are the comprehension questions and writing prompts that guide our lessons for the week.
Day 1: Predicting – Teaching Kids to Think Ahead
Strategy Focus: Prediction
Before students ever write a word, they learn that good readers make smart guesses using clues from the story.
Student Discussion or Writing Prompt:
Peter tried to sit in his chair, and he was too big for it. What do you think will happen next?
Students use the illustrations, Peter’s feelings, and what they already know about stories to make a prediction. After finishing the book, they reflect:
Was my prediction correct?
Did the author surprise me?
This is powerful work. Kids learn that predictions don’t have to be “right” – they just have to make sense.
Day 2: Retelling – Making Sure the Story Sticks
Strategy Focus: Retell
Retelling helps students hold onto the story and understand how events fit together. They work to sequence the story cards in order!
Student Prompt (spoken and written):
Retell the story using the most important events.
With teacher support, the class creates a shared retelling using picture cards. Then students retell the story with a partner and record their thinking in a simple retell format.
This is where comprehension becomes visible. You can quickly see who understands the story and who needs more suppor
We also have digital teaching slides that you can use on your interactive white board.
Day 3: Characters – Looking Beyond the Surface
Strategy Focus: Characters
Understanding characters helps kids understand why things happen in a story.
Student Discussion or Writing Prompt:
How was Peter feeling at the beginning of the story?
How was he feeling at the end?
Why did his feelings change?
Why do you think Peter decided to paint the chair?
Students talk about Peter’s actions, feelings, and choices. They start to see that characters can change—and that stories often teach us something.
Day 4: Making Connections – Bringing the Story to Life
Strategy Focus: Text-to-Self Connections
This is where comprehension gets personal.
Student Discussion or Writing Prompt:
In the story, Peter outgrew his chair. Have you ever outgrown something? What was it? How did you feel?
Students connect Peter’s experience to their own lives. Some students will connect with the themes of sibling rivalry or how they felt about a new member of their family. This helps the story feel real and meaningful and it builds empathy, too.
Day 5: Opinion Writing – Thinking and Explaining
Strategy Focus: Opinion
By the end of the week, students are ready to share what they think.
Student Discussion or Writing Prompt:
Write about your favorite part of the book. Tell why you liked it.
This is more than just “What did you like?” Students learn that opinions need reasons. Sentence frames and writing supports help even your earliest writers feel successful.
Why This Approach Works
This book companion isn’t about worksheets—it’s about intentional thinking.
The teacher models and guides.
Students do the talking, thinking, and explaining.
The same story is revisited so kids can focus on comprehension, not confusion.
When we slow down and spend time with one strong mentor text like Peter’s Chair, we give kindergartners the chance to truly understand what they read—and that’s the foundation for everything that comes next.
Peter’s Chair Craft
To wrap up the week, the unit also includes a simple craft that students love and that actually connects back to comprehension. Students create Peter’s Bag, which ties directly to the retelling work from earlier in the week.
As they assemble the bag, students revisit the story events and place retelling pieces inside, giving them a hands-on way to show they understand what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. It’s purposeful, easy to prep, and reinforces the idea that comprehension isn’t just something we talk about, it’s something kids can do.
Peter’s Chair Lesson Plans
If you’re looking for a way to make read-aloud time more purposeful (without making it complicated), this five-day story book companions are great place to start. You can find the story book companion lesson plans that includes these lessons and more:
Download This Free Lesson Plan Template
You can download this free template and edit it to make it your own! On the PDF version, each resource is linked so you can find it quickly.
Click on the image above to start the download.
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