Inside: Free Printable The One and Only Ivan word search activity to go along with the book or movie.
This year for our homeschool we are including one read aloud each month that we are doing as part of our morning time along with some fun themed activities.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission off sales made through these links at no extra cost to you. Click here for details.
We just finished reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate as our homeschool read-aloud for August and wow, what a story!
We were completely drawn in by Ivan’s world and his friendship with Ruby and Bob.
The One and Only Ivan Read Aloud
Before we started our read aloud of The One and Only Ivan we read the picture book Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla so my kids were familiar with the story.
Then we read the chapter book. It was such a good story and though I read most of it both my 3rd and 5th grader also read a few times (when I had to help my youngest with something).
As we read the story my kids had fun coloring these Ivan coloring pages from Creative Classroom Core. She also has coloring pages for Stella, Ruby, Bob, Mack, George and Julia if you want more coloring options.
If you haven’t read it yet, The One and Only Ivan is based on a true story of a gorilla who lived in captivity.
The story is fiction based on a real situation, it’s told from Ivan the gorilla’s point of view. The story shares how Ivan learns the power of friendship, art, and hope. It’s such a great story for sparking meaningful discussions about kindness, empathy, and animal care.
We used this book as our read-aloud, but it would also be a great book for upper elementary independent reading or book club.
After finishing the book, we also watched the movie adaptation and the kids loved seeing Ivan and Ruby come to life on screen!
We had some great conversations comparing the book and the movie. Even my 5 year old noticed differences between the book and movie!
The One and Only Ivan Word Search Printable
Once we finished the book I created a free printable One and Only Ivan word search for my kids to enjoy one last Ivan activity!
It was the perfect activity to do after finishing the book, but could also be a great activitiy for kids to do while you are reading.
This free printable word search is a fun way to review key names and themes from the story.
It includes 15 words inspired by the book including:
- Ivan
- Ruby
- Bob
- Stella
- Crayon
- Friendship
- Freedom
…and more!
The word search is perfect for a simple book extension activity or as an activity for book club.
Free Printable Word Search
Download the free printable pdf below. Page one is the word search, page two is the answer key.
Please keep this printable for personal and class use only.
More One and Only Ivan Activities
If your kids loved this story as much as mine did, here are a few other fun ideas to extend your learning:
- Watch The One and Only Ivan Movie
- Learn more about the real Ivan with this clip from Zoo Atlanta.
- See Ivan’s life in the shopping mall in this clip.