As the winter chill settles in, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with some winter-themed literacy activities! Whether you’re a speech pathologist looking for engaging classroom resources or a parent eager to enhance your child’s reading skills at home, this winter literacy post (featured in ASHA 1/10/13) has you covered.
Exploring winter literacy with my elementary clients has been a delightful journey, inspired by fellow bloggers and their creative lesson plans. During a winter break, I crafted my own engaging lessons, pairing seasonal books with practical activities. Organizing these books can enhance thematic learning experiences and streamline access to resources for speech and language therapy sessions. For more details about my unique storing system, read my organization post.
Tracks in the Snow
Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee suits 1st and 2nd graders. It aids in teaching irregular past tense verbs. I decided to create a list using sentences with present tense verbs from the story. Kids take turns changing verbs to past tense, earning animal track cards or tokens for correct answers. The person with the most tracks or tokens wins! You can grab your list here for Tracks in the Snow:
The Missing Mitten Mystery
My next book, The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg is a funny story about a little girl who retraces her steps outside in search of a missing mitten. I found this book by Scholastic for a quarter at my local library sale! Moreover, I needed a lesson for some 3rd graders that focused on simple comprehension questions following a short reading, and this book fit the bill! If you can find this book at your local library or bookstore, then you can use these comprehension questions!
In the Snow: Who’s Been Here?
Another score at the library sale was, In the Snow: Who’s Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George. I highly recommend borrowing or purchasing this book because each page gives clues about a winter animal that has crossed the trail in the woods just prior to the children’s walk. Great for vocabulary building and also for answering who/what questions!!
The Hat
The Hat by Jan Brett follows Hedgie the hedgehog as he gets a sock stuck on his prickles and faces the curiosity of other animals. As the story unfolds, readers discover how Hedgie’s predicament turns into a whimsical adventure. If you have not seen the FREE templates at www.makelearningfun.com that go along with the stories, The Mitten and The Hat both by Jan Brett, then you should follow this link to take a look!
Owl Moon
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen depicts a young girl and her father as they embark on a magical journey into the woods on a moonlit night. Together, they search for owls, experiencing the wonder and quiet beauty of nature. I found some great worksheets for this award winning story at this blogger’s TpT site.
Addendum 1/3/2013
After borrowing Katy and the Big Snow, I crafted a vocabulary lesson plan, prompted by a comment on this post. Follow this link for complete details.
