Literature Unit Study Ideas for Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

When I was a kid, I loved reading all about Pippi Longstocking and her adventures. She's the kind of kid through which a pretty straight-laced and rule-following kid like me could live vicariously. My own children have loved Pippi as well, and in this post I'm sharing ideas for using Pippi Longstocking as a unit study.


You can get this literature unit study as well as 44 others and lots of great literature unit study resources here in my free ebook The Ultimate Book of Unit Studies for Literature Lovers.

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About the book...

Pippi Longstocking is a fiery, spunky heroine. She lives in her house - Villa Villekulla- with only her monkey and horse because her father was a sea captain who's been missing, and her mother died when she was young. When Tommy and Annika- who live next door- meet Pippi, they love her at once. The three become great friends and have adventures. In fact adventure and sometimes trouble seem to follow Pippi.

There are some really funny parts to the story that will have parents and kids alike laughing along. There are also some touching and thought-provoking parts that are worth talking about. Pippi is a little girl, living alone. And despite her animal friends that live with her and Tommy and Annika next door, she has to fend for herself and misses her parents.

History/social studies connections...

• Pippi Longstocking is set in Sweden. Learn more about Sweden and its culture here.
• Find and label Sweden on this printable outline map of Europe.
• Read some fun facts and trivia about Sweden on Science Kids.
• In chapter five, Pippi tells a story about a Chinese man named Hai Shang. Watch this short video to learn some interesting facts about China.

Science connections...

• One of Pippi's notable characteristics is her amazing strength. Try this science experiment to see the strength of a piece of paper.
• Try this experiment to see how strong eggs can be.
• Pippi's monkey, Mr. Nilsson, is very mischievous. Learn some fun facts about monkeys from this site.
• Watch this National Geographic video about monkeys getting into trouble. (There are also other monkey videos you can watch at the bottom.)

Language arts connections...

• In chapter two, Pippi is a thing-finder. What would you like to find if you went on a thing-finding expedition? Write and draw about it.
• Pippi is a very interesting character. Use this character map from this site to describe her giving examples from the book.
• Pippi is very different from other children, and it's obvious when she's around Tommy and Annika.Use this free Venn diagram to contrast Pippi and Annika. (This is a Teachers Pay Teachers freebie, but you do have to set up a (free) account.)
• Although each chapter in Pippi Longstocking is a separate adventure, the book also has definite rising action, a climax, and falling action. Use this printable plot diagram to think about the structure of the story. (If you need help, Shmoop has a good description of the plot diagram of the book.)

Hands-on; crafts...

• In chapter two, Pippi makes pepparkakor cookies. You can make your own with this recipe.
• In chapter eight, Pippi makes music with some burglars by playing a comb. You can make your own comb kazoo- as well as other musical instruments with items around the house- with the instructions here.
• Make your own "longstockings" to be like Pippi.
• Pippi has a very unusual house. Using the description of Villa Villekulla from the book, draw what you think Pippi's house looked like. (You can see the house used in the older Pippi movie here. It's now a children's museum.)

Other resources...

• Learn about Astrid Lindgren, the author of Pippi Longstocking, here.
• The free homeschool curriculum site Lesson Pathways uses Pippi Longstocking as part of its 3rd-grade language arts lessons. There are some great ideas and activities for Pippi Longstocking here.
• Find a free printable with discussion/comprehension questions for Pippi Longstocking here.
• Listen to Pippi Longstocking with an audible book.
• There are many movie/tv versions of Pippi Longstocking. You can find a set of four of the original movies here.

Booklist...

• This Is Sweden: A Kids' Guide to Stockholm Sweden by Penelope Dyan
• I love this new version of Pippi Longstocking, illustrated by Lauren Child.
• Pancakes for Findus by Sven Nordqvist

You can get this literature unit study as well as 44 others and lots of great literature unit study resources here in my free ebook The Ultimate Book of Unit Studies for Literature Lovers.