Put On Your Hat and Mittens: Literacy Activities with Jan Brett's Classic Winter Stories

Hi Friends.
All this snowy weather really puts me in the mood to enjoy some Jan Brett books with my class.  She is one of my favorite authors and illustrators.
On our short week returning from Christmas break and the next short week (due to snow days), we read The Mitten and The Hat.  We used these two books as jumping off points for some Mitten and Hat inspired literacy activities.
We, of course, had to compare and contrast these two stories.  We worked as a class to brainstorm a list of ways these stories are alike and how they are different.  Students completed their own Venn diagrams using our class list.

After finishing the Venn diagram, students picked their favorite of the two stories.  They wrote about it and explained their choice.  Then, they illustrated their favorite part of their story.

If you would like a FREE copy of these printables, just click on one of the pictures or click here.

Our class just happen to be finishing up our study of long vowel sounds, spelled vowel-consonant-silent e.  I made a Real Word/Silly Word sort with a hedgehog theme to reinforce our work with this pattern.  I printed enough sets of this literacy center for the whole class to work on at the same time in partner sets.
It was a quick little assessment that let me know how well my young learners are reading with this pattern.
If you would like a FREE copy of Hedgie's Word Sort, you can click on the picture or click here.

The Hat influenced our practice with adjectives.  My firsties still have a ways to go when it comes to identifying and working with adjectives.  Any practice that we can get with adjectives is needed.

With this simple activity, students had to match the correct adjective with the correct hat.  Just like in the Real Word/Silly Word sort (pictured above), I printed enough sets of this literacy center for the whole class to work on at the same time in partner sets.  However, this activity would be great in small group or in whole group with a pocket chart or by adding magnets to the backs of the cards.

If you would like a FREE copy of Happy Hats Adjectives, you can click on the picture or click here. 

As an extension of our work with adjectives, we made our Winter Kids for display in the classroom.  Students designed their own hats and then wrote about them.  Writing about their original hat deigns gave students the perfect opportunity to use adjectives.

If you would like more details about this writing craftivity, you can click one of the pictures or click here.

There are so many ideas for using The Hat and The Mitten with students.  You may already have your own stockpile of activities and resources that you love.  If not, I hope some of these activities will be a help to you.  Also, if you visit  Pinterest, there are loads and loads of Hat and Mitten activities to choose from.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

You Oughta Know: The Rule of Three

The Three Stooges, three strikes, three blind mice, three sheets to the wind, Three's Company, three ring circus . . . look around patterns of three are everywhere.
One pattern of three You Oughta Know about is The Rule of Three.

The rule of three I'm referring to is often found in children's literature.  In many stories the main character struggles to solve her problem three times before succeeding, failing, or changing her mind about the desired outcome.  This technique encourages readers to become invested in the character's journey.
In my first grade class I break it down by telling my students that often the main character will try three time to get what she wants.  After three tries, she either gets what she wants, doesn't get it, or she changes her mind about what she wants.
Knowing this rule of three is very helpful to students' comprehension levels and writing abilities.  After I teach this rule, my students always look for the pattern in our read alouds.  Whenever they identify the rule of three in a story, their hands will shoot up.  They cannot wait to share their discovery.
Later in the year, I start focusing on the rule of three in our writing.  When I model write, I will write a story with three events and then a resolution.  With my students, I start out fairly simple and just try to get them to tell about three things that happen.  They will progress from there.

A few of my favorite books that are nice examples of the rule of three are:

Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin,

A Mud Pie for Mother by Scott Beck,

Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim, and

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Of course many folk tales and fairy tales have the rule of three.  Think about The Three Bears, The Three Pigs, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  There are many, many more examples if you just keep your eye out.

I made a graphic organizer to go along the rule of three.  If you would like to use it with your students, click on the picture for a free copy.

The rule of three is something teachers should know about and use in class.  When students start using it in their own writing or identifying it in stories, without being prompted, you know your kids are thinking and making connections.

Thank you for stopping by and a special thanks to Ms. McClain at Buzzing With Mrs. McClain for including me in her blog hop.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Love, Splat: A Must Read Mentor Text for Valentine's Day

Just stopping for a quick moment before the week starts to join with the Collaboration Cuties for their weekly Must Read Mentor Text linky.  It's the first weekend of the month, so I get to share about a fav language arts text.  Since it is February, I want to highlight a terrific Valentines themed book, Love, Splat by Rob Scotton.

I think Love, Splat was the first Splat the Cat book I ever came across.  It is really a darling story.  Splat has made a special Valentine for the object of his affection, Kitten.  He is embarrassed to give it to her and worse yet, he discovers another (more confident) cat also has eyes for Kitten.  Splat must overcome his shyness, so that he can let Kitten know how much he likes her.

 The twists in the story are very engaging and the illustrations are very original and full of detail.  Love, Splat is a sweet and fun read aloud for Valentine's Day.   

There are many ELA skills that you can work in with this book.  I will use it to discuss character and how he changes through the story.  My first grade friends will use the graphic organizer pictured below to below to put their thoughts down on paper.  

If you would like a FREE copy of this handout, click on the picture.

(sorry so blurry-but you get the picture)

Also, construction paper Splats are pretty easy to create.  We made some to put up in class for the next few weeks.  The kids really liked making them.  

If you would like a free copy of the pattern for this craftivity, click on one of the pictures below.

Love, Splat is a wonderful book with lots of teaching opportunities.  If you do not already have a copy, highly recommend picking one up.

For more teacher approved, book recommendations be sure to stop by Collaboration Cuties.

Have a great week.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas: Literacy and Math Freebies

Hi friends.  Hope you are doing well.  We started our first round of family parties today with a brunch.  We had a great time.  My daughter is the perfect age for so much holiday fun, just old enough and still young enough.
Speaking of fun, what character is more fun than Pete the Cat?  Yesterday, our class read Pete the Cat Saves Christmas and did some work with this book.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas follows Pete as he overcomes his fears about being too small to take over for Santa, since he is sick.  Of course the illustrations are fabulous.  The text is rhythmic and rhyming and like White Shoes, Four Groovy Buttons, and School Shoes, has a theme song that student love to sing.

After reading, we made these really cute Santa Pete the Cats to put up in class for the last few days before break.

We also did a little comprehension lesson on problem and solution.  As a class we discussed the problems and the solutions in this story and then the students completed a graphic organizer.  If you would like a copy of this handout, you can click on the picture.  The clip art is from Melonheadz.

In math we are working on comparing numbers with the greater than and less than signs.  I made a Santa Pete themed math center for the kids to complete during part of our math time.  I printed nine copies of this center and partnered the kids to work on this activity.
If you would like a free copy of this center and recording sheet.  Click on one of the pictures below.  The clip art is (again) from Melonheadz and the fonts are by Cara Carroll.

My firsties enjoyed this book and really liked having activities to extend it a bit.  Pete is very popular and anything having to do with him seems to spark my students' interests.

I'll leave you with a pic from earlier this week.  Pete even got in on our elf fun.  Groovy.

If you would like to check out some additional classroom activities to go along with Pete the Cat Saves Christmas (including a link to a free pattern for the craftivity),  click here.

Have a great week.  

Just a Little Nutty: The Nutcracker for Young Learners

The couple of weeks leading up to Christmas break, is there anything better???  We are down to about a week and a half in counting.  The are so many fun learning opportunities during this time of the year. With Thanksgiving falling so late, it will be a real challenge to fit them all in.

Some of the work we did this week focused on the story The Nutcracker.  We read Mary Engelbreit's version of this classic story.  There are certainly other versions of this story, but I've always enjoyed her illustrations.

After reading the story we discussed the basic story elements and then a couple of days later we went to see a performance of The Nutcracker.  

After seeing the ballet, we compared and contrasted the book with the performance.  I was really impressed with the ideas and observations my kiddos came up with.  Reading and discussing the story before seeing the performance really helped them understand what they saw.

If you would like a free copy of the Venn diagram that we used in class, click on the picture below.  The clip art is from My Clip Art Store (etsy).

Students also made a little art project to spruce up the room.  Their nutcrackers turned out pretty cute.

Our family is going to the public performance next week.  Last year was the first year we took  A.   She loved it.  After it was over she asked if she could touch one of the ballerinas.  I told her no, they were just for watching.  But as we exited, there they were.  It was so sweet.

Thanks so much for reading.  I hope you have a great week.

Strega Nona's Harvest: A Language Arts Mentor Text and a Freebie

A Sunday morning with an extra hour before church.  Perfect time to join up with the Collaboration Cuties for their weekly Must Read Mentor Text Linky.  It's the first Sunday of the month, so I'll be sharing a favorite language arts text.  My pick for this week is Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona's Harvest.

This book is wonderful selection for this time of year.  It is the story of two gardens, Strega Nona's and Big Anthony's.  One is well planned and well executed.  One is not.  When it's harvest time, things become a bit complicated for Strega Nona and her young helpers.

The Strega Nona books are great jumping off points for many language arts lessons.  There are opportunities to discuss vocabulary, predictions, story elements, sequencing, and more.  Below you will find a Venn diagram to use with this story.
Students will compare and contrast Strega Nona and Big Anthony.  If you would like a free copy of this activity, you can click on the picture below.

The clip art is from Melonheadz.  The fonts are from Cara Carroll and A Cupcake for the Teacher.

Strega Nona's Harvest is a great addition to your class library.  If you have it already, don't forget to bring it out to share with your students.  I'm sure they will love it. 

For more mentor text recommendations, pop over to Collaboration Cuties.  There you will find loads of great ideas from classroom teachers.

Something to Crow About: A Fun Fall Craftivity & A Free Comprehension Printable

This week my first graders have been doing all sorts for fun fall themed learning, which is very appropriate since this week it actually felt like autumn.  For the first time this season had to wear a jacket to school.  Scarecrows fit into this fall themed learning perfectly.
One scarecrow activity we did was a fall themed scarecrow glyph.  They turned out really cute and look great displayed in my room.  Students also did a little writing to go along with their scarecrows.  They wrote an opinion piece whether or not they thought they would make a good scarecrow.  Most agreed, being a scarecrow is not their ideal job.

If you are interested in doing this glyph with your kiddos, you can click here to find it at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

There are some fab books that feature scarecrows as characters.  My favorite is The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown.  This story follows Hen as she works with the other animals of the countryside to eventually trade a walking stick with Scarecrow for his hat.

This book has really lovely illustrations and a story that is the perfect springboard for teaching all sorts of comprehension lessons.  Sequencing, characters, setting, plot, conflict/solution, you name it.  Below you will find sample of a comprehension graphic organizer we used with the story, focusing on characters.

The students picked their favorite character from The Scarecrow's Hat and then completed the graphic organizer.  

You can have a FREE copy this graphic organizer by clicking on the picture.

I hope some of these suggestions and activities can be useful to you.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Best.

The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree: An October Mentor Text and A Free Inference Activity

Apple days are ticking away.  Tomorrow marks the beginning of October.  Bringing with it pumpkins, bats, spiders, and other fun, spooky signs of the season.  I'm linking up with the Collaboration Cuties to share a favorite mentor text for October.  My pick is an oldie, but a goodie, The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree.

This book follows three cubs as they explore the spooky old tree.  They keep coming to terrifying obstacles.  Leaving the reader to wonder if will they go on with their adventure.  If you haven't read this book, I don't want to be a spoiler.  You will have to read to find out the fate of this trio.
I loved this book when I was a little girl.  The illustrations of the corridors in the tree really captured my imagination.  This story is a very readable text beginning readers.  While this story is simple to read, it offers loads of opportunities for various comprehension activities and discussion.
One activity I like to use with my firsties is this quick and easy inference chart.

For this handout, you will read the story up until the point where the bears have to make a choice.  Let the students mark on their inference charts yes or no to the inference question.  After all your kiddos have made their inferences, then continue on with the story.  Once the students find out what really happens in the story they can draw a smiley or a frowny face depending if their inference was correct or not.

I usually have my kiddos use markers for this type of activity, so they do not erase their answers.
If you would like a free copy of this handout to go along with The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Tree, you can click on one of the pictures above.
The clip art is from Scrappin Doodles and the fonts are from Cara Carroll.
This book engages the students and this inference activity is an uncomplicated way to introduce inferencing to your young learners.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you can get some use out of this activity. For more fun October reads and ideas, be sure to visit Collaboration Cuties.

Language Arts Mentor Text Link Up (Featuring Jon Klassen and Two FREEBIES)

It's the first Sunday of the month and time for Collaboration Cuties' Mentor Text Linkup.  This week's topic is language arts.  My mentor text picks for this week are two books by Jon Klassen:  I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat.

I Want My Hat Back follows Bear as he tries to find his beloved hat.  He asks a series of animals, including  Rabbit (who is actually wearing the missing hat) if they know where his hat is.  All of the animals tell Bear they have not seen his hat.  Eventually Deer asks Bear a question and sparks Bear's memory.  Bear retrieves his hat with a vengeance.
This book is great for sequencing, predictions, and identifying the problem/solution.  Its repetitive phrases are great for early readers.  Bear's hat is also very simple to make.  The kids will love it.

This is Not My Hat is Klassens' follow up to I Want My Hat Back.  It has a similar premise.  The Big Fish's hat goes missing.  But instead of following the Big Fish around, the story focuses on the hat stealing Little Fish.  The Little Fish has a plan to get away with the theft, however the end result is the same as in I Want My Hat Back.  Basically, both books show that crime doesn't pay.

This Is Not My Hat is also perfect for predictions, identifying the problem/solution, as well as retelling. When read together these books offer a fabulous opportunity for comparing and contrasting the characters or the texts.  Below you will find two Venn diagrams to go with these books.  The first compares and contrasts the characters.  The second works with the two books.  The clip art is from KPM Doodles and Melonheadz.

If you would like a free copy of these printables, click on one of the pictures below.

Here's the low down . . .

More mentor text recommendations and activities are at Collaboration.  Be sure to check them out.