The following are ideas for using
The Mixed-Up Chameleon in the classroom.

• Submitted by Memory Anderson

  While I was doing my student teaching in a kindergarten class, I did an activity with the children after reading The Mixed Up Chameleon. We went around a circle and each child made their statement, “I'm as _____ as a ______.” I wrote each sentence on a 12 x 18 inch piece of manilla paper. The students then drew pictures to go with their statements. In the end, we had a great class book.

• Submitted by Dawn

  While reading an assortment of Eric Carle books, I used The Mixed Up Chameleon to create a class book of my kindergarten students. I took full length pictures of my class. After developing them, I mounted them onto paper and cut them into 3 sections, head, body, and legs. I punched holes in each section and bound the sections together. The kids had a great time mixing up their friends!!!

• Submitted by Laura Rimbey

  I am a second grade teacher at Bonner Elementary in Las Vegas, Nevada. We read The Mixed Up Chameleon and did a reader’s theatre. Each student chose the page they wanted to act out and created a prop to use for that page. On each page that showed the cameleon with a different animal part, the students made that animal part and velcroed it to a large chameleon. We performed the reader’s theatre to another class of second graders. They had a ball!

• Submitted by Terri

  I also have my first grade students create mixed-up animals. More importantly however, the students then write a description of their animal, describing their procedures and all of the collected animal parts. In fact, I close almost every art project in this way.

• Submitted by Rosemary C. Simmons-Brown

  After our class read The Mixed Up Chameleon, we drew pictures of anything we liked to change into and then I mounted the student’s school photo on the body of the animal or thing that they wanted to change into. The students also wrote a sentence under their drawing. Ex. I would change into...because... Finally, we made a big book called the “The Mixed-Up Class.”

• Submitted by Michelle De Luca-Serpenti

  I am a first grade bilingual teacher in NY. The following is an idea to use with The Mixed Up Chameleon. The students first finger paint several sheets with various colors in an effort to duplicate Carle’s style. All sheets are cut up and randomly distributed for use with the following activity. First, I take pictures of the students (head shots). Each student must then choose an animal they would like to be and use the frame: I wish I had the (blank) of a (blank). I would live (blank), I would eat (blank), etc. They then draw a picture for their story and use the photo for the head. We mounted the work into a big accordion book, and everyone had a ball!

• Submitted by Sue Swanson

  After reading The Mixed Up Chameleon, I had my Pre-K’s draw pictures in a book of things that they would like their chameleon to change into. I made a chameleon out of two sheets of clear contact paper for each child, and attached it to the book with a string. The children then dictated to me what their chameleon changed in to on each page of their book. They would hold their own chameleons up to each page to see the change.

• Submitted by Cathy Ann Maher

  For an art lesson for Grades K-2, we read The Mixed Up Chameleon. The children were to create their own mixed-up chameleon by using various types of papers having different colors, textures, weights, patterns etc. The children could also add additional patterns to the papers by stamping designs with rubber stamps. We used papers ranging from tissue paper, to textured foil paper, and various papers with different textures and thicknesses - including many colors. Then the papers were torn to create the effect similar to the artwork of Eric Carle. It was fun to see the mixed-up chameleon each child invented. The textures and combinations of papers really allowed for creativity.

  For a computer lesson: Many drawing programs have a variety of textures and patterns that can be printed out. The paper then can be torn to create a mixed-up chameleon. Or - the students can use various textures and patterns in a paint program and create the chameleon on the computer. To get the torn effect, students can lasso the textures in irregular shapes and combine them together to get the torn collage effect. Get their imaginations to flow.

• Submitted by Becky Kissinger

  I am currently a senior early childhood education student at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. For a language arts course, I had to create a book published by the kindergarten students. I read The Mixed Up Chameleon to the class. Each child had to draw a picture of himself/herself with characteristics of a favorite animal. The children also had to write what they wished they were. After the class completed the pictures, I gathered them and created a classroom book. The book was laminated and bound together. It was titled “Mixed-Up Me.” This was a hit for the children. They enjoy all of Eric Carle’s great books.

• Submitted by D. Davidson

  After reading the The Mixed Up Chameleon, my kindergarten students made their own book that we called “The Mixed-Up Kindergarten.” Each student made their own page in the book. On the bottom of their page I typed, “I wish I had (blank) like a (blank).” I asked them to think of an animal and a feature the animal has that they would like to have. I filled in the blanks with their responses and they had to draw a picture of themselves with the animal feature that they chose. We had a lot of laughs reading the book and looking at their silly pictures.

• Submitted by Ginny Snyder

  When I was subbing, the following activity was left for me to do with the class. I have used this with other classes as well. It is a big hit.

  We made a transparency of the chameleon. The students had to cut out their chameleon and we stapled it onto a popsicle stick. We talked about how chameleons camouflage themselves etc... The class then had their chameleons blend in with many different backgrounds. They used their chameleons on their clothes, the wall, books, desks, shoes, hair, puzzles etc... They loved it!!!

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