Merry Christmas with Your Favorite Picture Books!

 Merry Christmas everyone!  I wanted to share with you some of my favorite books to read during the month of December.

Gingerbread Mouse

 

Gingerbread Mouse is one of my favorite stories to read in December!

 

  After reading the story we had a blast making this cute Gingerbread Mouse gingerbread house story summary!  They then colored candy decorations to decorate their gingerbread house cover.  Each one was so unique and creative!

Olive, the Other Reindeer

 

This week I will be reading Olive, the Other Reindeer to my class.  I will then have them retell the main events on the cute Christmas themed paper and draw a picture of their favorite part at the top.  They will then create a cute Olive to attach to the top of their summary.

The Gingerbread Pirates

Aaaarrrr you ready for a fun Christmas story?  The Gingerbread Pirates is such a fun book to read!  After we read and discuss the story, students will retell the beginning, middle, and end of the story using the treasure chest pattern.  They will then color and attach the treasure chest cover.  Next, boys will create a gingerbread boy pirate and girls will create a gingerbread girl pirate.  Then, they will attach their gingerbread pirate to the top of their treasure chest retelling. 

Merry Christmas, Splat

My class loves all of the Splat books!  After reading Merry Christmas Splat, they wrote a summary of the story on the present pattern.  I noticed a big difference in my students' retelling since they have been making all of these cute Christmas retelling craftivities.  I love making reading fun for them while boosting their comprehension at the same time!  Click here to get these fun book activity pack! 

 

All of the cute Christmas craftivities you see in the background can be found in the pack below.  Click on the picture below to get a closer look!

Comprehension Cookies and Let's Shed Some Light on the Author's Purpose

 Comprehension Question Cookies

In my guided reading groups, we usually read and discuss their leveled readers on Monday and Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I like to have my students complete a reading comprehension activity using their leveled reader.  Since the reading comprehension skill for Wonders Unit 3 Week 4  was to ask and answer questions, I thought this activity would be perfect!  After we each read our leveled reader, I had them create their own Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? questions about the story and write them on each cookie on the cookie tray.  They then wrote their answers on the back of each chocolate chip cookie.  They then put a small amount of glue at the top of each cookie to cover their questions on the tray.  Last, they worked with a partner to ask them questions about the story.  They then would lift the cookie up to reveal the correct answer.  My class had so much FUN making these!  

Let's Shed Some Light on the Author's Purpose

We also had some fun with Author's Purpose.  Last week, we reviewed the author's purpose for writing the story.  In guided reading groups, we read our story.  Each student received a Christmas light pattern.  Students used their leveled reader to determine the author's purpose.  They then had to use text evidence from the story to support their answer.  We then hung up our lights on our tree for our hallway.

 Click on the picture below to check out all of the cute reading craftivities!