January Reads for the Classroom

Now that winter break is over and we are all back in our classrooms, I thought I would suggest some books that I like to use with my students in the winter months. Sorry for the delay, as I have been battling Covid which is why this came out a bit late!

​One Mitten

While there is a more famous version of this story, this one is also a wonderful tale which allows students to get creative with their uses of the mitten. I often start out reading this book by asking the students about ways that the mitten can be used. Then we read this book and then we read this poem that I composed for the book. I like to ask students about the words in the poem whether they rhyme or not. Then I have follow up activities in the form of decoding worksheets and rhyming words worksheets. For more on that lesson please click here.

Bear Feels Sick 

Since it is cold and flu season, this is a good book to do with students. I like to discuss some ways to make someone feel better when they are sick. This is a great title to start a conversation about this. 

In addition to the rhyming text, I have composed a small chant that can also be sung for this book. To check out that lesson click here. Here is a small sample of that chant:

Bear Snores On 

Another classic from the Bear Series which fits the season since many animals hibernate and sleep. This is a lovely tale of a bear who snores on despite all of the happenings around him, only to wake up from a small pepper fleck. A great seasonal book to keep a steady beat as well as talk about hibernation and why that is important for certain animals. I created a small chant for this as well-here is a small sample:

For more of this lesson plan, please click here.
 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow

This is one of the books from the Old Lady Series which I like to use during these months. The rhyming text is perfect for keeping a steady beat and I usually use this towards the beginning of the lesson. I also created a chant to go with this book that students can use so that they can be more engaged in what they are reading. Here is the chant:

Froggy Gets Dressed ​

This is a great book for the snowy winter days. The frog gets up and gets ready to go outside only to discover that he is partially dressed each time that he is outside. By the time he begins to dress himself the third time, he realizes he is too tired to go outside and falls back asleep. 

What I love about this book is the possibilities for vocal exploration and instrument play that it offers. While the frog is getting dressed, there are different sounds that are made while he is putting his clothes on. These can be done as vocal exploration or you can have students play instruments to the different sounds. This is a great book with which you can start your first day back with your little ones.

Hope these suggestions help you start your January off right! 

Snowingly yours,

Polina