Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School — Teaching Resource for English Language Learning

Book Summary

In this picture book, Pete the Cat wants to look “cool” for school. He asks everyone around him what he should wear. Each person gives him a different answer (yellow shirt, red shirt, long pants, shorts with a fish, polka-dot socks, cowboy boots, striped tie, baseball cap…), and Pete listens to them all! He ends up wearing all the clothes at once… which makes him look silly and feel very hot. In the end, Pete realizes it’s better to choose his own outfit. He dresses in his favorite clothes and confidently declares: “Now I am COOL.” The final message is simple and strong: “If you want to be cool, just be you.”

Culture and Vocabulary

The story is set in a familiar North American school and family context (school bus, coach, teacher, school), through Pete’s preparations to choose a “cool” outfit for school. It introduces typical aspects of English-speaking children’s culture: the importance of self-expression, the value of self-confidence, and a supportive school environment where students are encouraged to be themselves.

Clothing vocabulary: yellow shirt, red shirt, blue shirt, long pants, shorts (with the fish), polka-dot socks, cowboy boots, tie (with stripes), baseball hat, sunglasses, shoes
Colors: yellow, red, blue
Idiomatic expressions: “Now I am cool”, “If you want to be cool, just be you”
Common verbs: wear, say, ask, put on, feel, go (home), change, look
Adjectives: cool, silly, hot, favorite
Useful phrases: “What should I wear?”, “It is my favorite.”

Grammar and Structures

• Present Simple: “Pete wants to look cool.” – Main tense of the story, ideal for describing habits or simple truths.
• Reported Speech: “Wear your yellow shirt,” his mom says. – Common dialogue pattern in children’s books.
• Speech Verbs: say, ask – Frequent in introducing dialogue.
• Modal Questions (should): “What should I wear?” – For learning to ask for advice and give short replies (You should / Try the…).
• Possessive Form: “Pete’s friend Marty”, “Pete’s teacher” – Introduces [noun + ’s + noun] structure.
• Elliptical Causative: “So Pete does.” – Helps students understand implied logical actions.
• Reflexive/Identity Affirmation: “just be you” – Excellent for self-expression and confidence-building.
• Descriptive Adjectives: silly, cool, hot – Simple yet expressive vocabulary.
• Possessive Adjectives: his, my – Essential for personal belongings.
• Phrasal Verb: “Pete puts on all the clothes.” – Allows teaching put on vs. take off.

Teaching Ideas

Before Reading:

• Show the cover and make predictions about the character and theme.
• Review clothing vocabulary with flashcards or real clothes.

During Reading:

• Pause to describe clothes in the illustrations.
• Act out Pete’s clothing changes to aid comprehension.

After Reading:

• Match each clothing item to a type of weather.
• Recreate Pete’s final outfit with sequencing cards.

Mini Grammar Lesson:

• Practice “It is my favorite” with familiar objects.
• Work on colors with “my” (my red scarf, my blue hat).

Differentiation

For beginners, limit the vocabulary to just three or four clothing items and support understanding with pictures. Give instructions in French first, then rephrase them in English. Provide highly guided activities such as laminated picture dictionaries, image–word matching games, gesture practice for “put on / take off,” and short responses using single words or simple phrases (e.g., I wear…).

For intermediate learners, encourage them to speak in full sentences. Role-play activities work well (e.g., asking for or giving advice: What should I wear? — You should…). Include sorting tasks by colour or matching clothes to different types of weather.

For more advanced learners (Cycle 3), use the written text to highlight recurring sentence structures. Challenge them with extended writing tasks (such as a short paragraph about My favourite outfit) or even short debates exploring identity and how clothing can influence how others see us.

Cross-Curricular Connections

Moral and Civic Education: Work on self-expression, respecting others and their tastes.
Media and Information Literacy: Observe how the weather is presented on the news and choose clothing accordingly.
Science / Exploring the World: Study how clothing adapts to different climates (e.g., “Why wear a coat in Iceland?”).
Art: Draw Pete in different outfits, create paper clothing.
Physical Education / Movement Activities: Organize role-play activities such as a fashion show or short skits about clothing preferences.
Music: Sing simple clothing-related songs such as “Put on your shoes” (Super Simple Songs) or “This Is The Way We Get Dressed” (Super Simple Songs).

Project Ideas

Project Workshop: My Cool Outfit
Objective: Each student invents a “cool” outfit for themselves, either drawing it or assembling it from cut-outs. Oral presentation can be individual or in pairs, with justification: “I like my hat because it’s red.” This workshop encourages personal expression and can be spread over several sessions.

Discovering Other Picture Books: Read Maisy’s Weather Book by Lucy Cousins and Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London to deepen clothing vocabulary, or All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold to expand on themes of self-acceptance and diversity.

Conclusion

The album Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School is an excellent resource for teaching clothing and color vocabulary, as well as key grammatical structures (present simple, questions with should, imperative, possessives). Thanks to its humor and repetitive structure, it easily captures students’ attention. It offers a wide range of teaching opportunities—linguistic, physical, and artistic. Its message about self-expression also makes it a valuable tool for addressing self-confidence and living together, while remaining accessible to students from kindergarten to upper elementary through progressive adaptations.