Use the "Madeline" series as a catalyst to discuss geography, specifically France. Provide the students with maps and ask them to locate Paris, France. Gather pictures and books about Paris for the children to look through. Show the students pictures of the French flag and the Eiffel Tower. Have kids sit in a group and invite each student to tell something she knows about France. Some might say that it's a great place to visit, some might say that it's a fashion capital and others may say something about French food. Teach the students some conversational French statements and finish the lesson by having each student draw a map of the country of France.
Help children create crafts to enhance their appreciation of the "Madeline" book series. Have the students draw pictures of characters from the book and cut them out. Put the drawings on craft sticks to create stick puppets. Allow the children to act out the story as you read. Another craft idea is to have the children create their own illustrations for the book. Allow each child to choose one part of the story to illustrate. Put the pictures together to create a "Madeline" book for the class to enjoy. Other crafts might include the creation of a French flag or constructing a paper-bag "Madeline" puppet.
Create a writing assignment for students to extend their experience of the "Madeline" stories. Small children may need help with writing their stories down on paper. Tell each student to choose a character from the book series and write a story as if it was written by that character. There are several possible characters to choose from. The star of the story is, of course, Madeline, who is the smallest of the girls at the school. She is known to be brave and outgoing. Other characters include Miss Clavel, Madeline's teacher, Pepito and Genevieve, the dog. Another writing activity is to ask students to write a story similar to a "Madeline" story, but to insert themselves into the storyline. Ask them to play the part of Madeline's best friend and tell about the adventures they may have.
Engage students in Madeline-themed games. Draw and cut out a Genevieve image, minus the tail, from felt. Glue the dog to another piece of felt and hang it on the wall. Create small felt tails and ask children to play a "Pin the Tail on Genevieve" game. Let the class get theatrical and act out a "Madeline" skit in front of family and friends.