Recess is often the highlight of the day for little learners, but it can also be a time when expectations need a little extra support. That’s where The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill comes in! After enjoying this engaging back-to-school read aloud and completing meaningful activities, we like to extend the learning with a simple, hands-on The Recess Queen craft. It’s the perfect way for students to reflect on positive recess choices. Plus, it creates an adorable back-to-school bulletin board display!

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The Recess Queen Craft Prep

This craft is perfect for back to school because it’s easy to prep and simple enough for even your newest kindergarteners to assemble.

To prepare the The Recess Queen craft, start by copying the crown template onto yellow or gold construction paper or card stock. Next, copy the face, ears, and hand pieces onto skin-toned construction paper or card stock.

Then, copy the hair template onto black, brown, yellow, or red construction paper or card stock. Finally, copy the body template onto brightly colored construction paper or card stock.

If you prefer a simpler option, you can choose the print-and-color version and print everything on regular copy paper, so students can color the pieces themselves.

You will also want to decide which belly response template you would like students to complete. Students can either draw a picture showing a good choice they can make at recess, draw and write about how they can be a recess friend, or write about how they can be a kind friend at recess.

Simply print the response sheet that best fits your students’ needs on regular copy paper.

The Recess Queen Read Aloud

Before diving into our The Recess Queen craft, we begin by reading The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill.

The story centers around Mean Jean, the playground’s bossy leader who always gets her way—that is, until a new student named Katie Sue arrives. Unlike the other kids, Katie Sue isn’t intimidated by Mean Jean. Instead of giving in to her rules, Katie Sue responds with kindness and invites her to play. That small but powerful moment shifts everything, proving that a simple act of friendship can transform even the toughest playground leader.

The Recess Queen Activities

After reading the story, we spend the next few days diving into a variety of engaging The Recess Queen activities. Students practice important social-emotional and comprehension skills through behavior sorts, character trait analysis, and meaningful discussions about how our choices affect others.

We also work through several comprehension activities, including retelling, sequencing, identifying story elements, building vocabulary, and making text-to-self connections.

Want to see all of the The Recess Queen activities in action? Head over to this post for the full breakdown.

The Recess Queen Craft Directions

Once we have completed all of the comprehension activities, we bring the story to life with this adorable The Recess Queen craft.

First, we complete our response page. I like to model this step for my students, especially since this is a beginning of the year writing craft.

We discuss how to write and draw the good choices we plan to make at recess.

I like to have students draw their illustrations using a pencil and add color using colored pencils or crayons.

Next, we carefully cut along the thick black, line around the response sheet.

Then, it’s time to cut out all of the craft pieces. If you chose the print-and-color option, have students color their pieces first before cutting them out.

Once all of the pieces have been cut, it is time to assemble The Recess Queen craft.

First, glue the ears and hair onto the head. Then, attach the head to the body.

No king or queen is complete without a crown! Next, I model how to glue the crown onto the head so it sits perfectly without covering the eyes.

Last, glue the response sheet onto the belly. Then, overlap the hands on top of the response sheet so it looks like the Recess Queen (or King) is holding their work.

Once our The Recess Queen craft is complete, we spend some time as a whole class sharing the good choices we wrote/drew.

This The Recess Queen craft makes an adorable back-to-school bulletin board or classroom display!

The Recess Queen Craft

Grab this The Recess Queen craft, plus centers and comprehension activities HERE!

More Back to School Crafts

If you loved this The Recess Queen craft, you’ll want to check out this adorable David Goes to School craft for making good choices in the classroom.

Explore first day feelings with this Kissing Hand graphing craft!

Another great craft for the first week of school is this self-portrait pencil craft!

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