New to the Thanksgiving read aloud scene this year is How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace and Andy E llerton. What a FUN book- your students are going to love it! There are several books in the How to Catch a... series and this is one of the newest ones. (Look for the How to Catch a Snowman blog post after the first of the year!). There are several skills you could touch on with this How to Catch a Turkey Thanksgiving read aloud... I created an anchor chart that you could use for any of the word choice lessons- let your students lead the discussion with what jumps out at them with the authors' word choice. 1. Word Choice (Vocabulary): The book is written in rhyme. The authors choice of writing in rhyme really sets the upbeat, fun mood for this story. The vocabulary and the phrases are also spot on and a great teaching point for this read aloud. After reading the story through once, you...
Oh my goodness- I can't believe we are almost to November. Time to trade in the jack-o-lanterns for turkeys... or maybe even Christmas trees? I love November and December in the elementary classroom- so much to do and so much fun. It's a great time for strengthening your classroom community with all of the opportunities for giving that occur during this time of year. I also love the crafts and celebrations that come with the holidays. Too often teachers feel the stress of the curriculum pacing guide and feel as if they can't or shouldn't do any crafts "just for fun", but I say shut that door and craft away! They are only little once... And I really LOVE the wealth of picture books that are holiday-themed. Students are so engaged and you can teach so many skills using picture books during your reading workshop time. Over the next several weeks my plan is to share some of my favorites with you! To start off November- I pa...
Another book that I love to use to teach character is Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli. Not only does it have a strongly defined main character, but it is such a sweet book with a wonderful message. I read it to my class every year and they always love it. This year I designed a quick activity to use to help students see the changes that Mr. Hatch goes through during the course of the story. As I read the book to my students I stop at three different points in the story for us to chart (and also at the conclusion of the book) and for them to work. Here are my stopping points in the book... And here is our anchor chart... I love the detail my students used when completing their work- they loved drawing Mr. Hatch with the different emotions on his face! You can get this activity for free here- Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch printable! This book is also available on Storyline Online read by Hector Elizondo. If you haven't used this book in your class ...
Comments
Post a Comment