The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf - Book Extension

This is the classic tale we all know and love but with a twist. When the farmer moves to Florida, the pigs have to figure out how to make it on their own. They each build houses, but 

YOU KNOW WHO shows up to show his stuff, or should I say his huff. Check out this book by Mark Teague for a new twist on an old lovable story. We have included many comprehension and writing activities and much more to go with this book that kids will enjoy. 

Click here to see the book extension.

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow Book Extension

This book extension is based on the classic story by Shirley Neitzel 'The Jacket I Wear In The Snow'.  It's an all time favorite of ours that we started using nearly 30 years ago as new teachers.  It is still being read today.  And we still love it!!  You'll find so many activities in the extension, including a fun "I Have Who Has" that will have your students practicing story detail, sequencing and recall!

           

     You can get this extension here!                           I Have Who Has

Polar Opposites( Revisited)

This is a repost from 2016, but I just had to put it back out there.  This book is seriously the cutest and so so so perfect for this time of the year.

Have you seen Polar Opposites by Eric Brooks?  LOVE IT!  It's simple, but so cute!  The story is about a polar bear named Alex and a tiny penguin named Zina.  The story tells all the different ways that they are opposites, but still the best of friends. The illustrations are adorable and perfect for January! 

You've got to have this book extension.  I'm telling you, it is the cutest book and these activities are perfect to go along with it!  There are anchor charts for the genre fiction-fantasy and purpose. There are also many engaging activities for reading such as comprehension involving rereading to match opposite words, labeling, letter writing activities, coloring page to practice our artistic ability and work on fine motor skills. 

You also get a bonus! 

We INCLUDED the Game of I Have Who Has - Opposites.  It also sell separately.  Check out the links below!

Click here for the extension!

The game of I Have Who Has is such a GREAT way to assess your students on High Frequency Words and in this case, they will also be practicing OPPOSITES! In this game the students must read the cards to find out who has the opposite of their word.  It requires listening AND reading. Our students love to play!  If you would like your own, you can click here to purchase it from our store!  Did I mention it's only $1.50!  (or FREE if you get the book extension above!) What a deal!

And...while we're talking about OPPOSITES and WINTER and FRIENDS, check this out too.  This is an old book and I truly hope you can find it.  

This book is about two animals from polar opposite parts of the world who meet up and compare how OPPOSITE they really are. There are anchor charts for the genre fiction and purpose. There are also many engaging activities for reading such as comprehension involving rereading to match opposite words, labeling, letter writing activities, coloring pages to practice our artistic ability and work on fine motor skills. There is also a fun animal sort. 

Click here for this book extension.

The BIGGEST Snowman Ever Book Extension

Books about snow are always a big hit with children everywhere. This book in particular is a great book to teach your children about team work. We all love Steven Kroll's characters, Desmond and Clayton!  In this book, these two little mice work together to build the BIGGEST SNOWMAN EVER!!

Get it here!

We also want to tell you about a favorite activity that one of our favorite Kindergarten teacher does with this book.  She has all her students tear up pieces of white construction paper into 1 inch pieces. (white copy paper works fine too.)  She doesn't tell the student "why".   Once they have finished, they try to hold all the pieces in their hand, they stand in a circle, and she counts...one, two, three...then, they "MAKE IT SNOW"!!!!  They throw all the pieces in the air.  Yes, it's crazy.  Yes, it's a mess.  But, now you read the book.  And now it's their turn to build THE BIGGEST SNOWMAN EVER!  They work hard to pick up all the "snow" and glue it down to make a class snowman!!  You can also make them in groups to see who makes the biggest.
HAVE FUN!!! 

Sneezy the Snowman Book Extension

Sneezy the Snowman is the perfect book for winter. This "cool" snowman is trying his best to find a way to warm up, but nothing seems to work. The children LOVE it, and it lends itself well to teaching rhyming words, writing activities, and sequencing activities.

Click here to get this extension!!

Wemberly Worried - Book Extension

Wemberly is a real worrier. She especially worries about the first day of school and what will happen there. This story is perfect for the first days of school. It lets the children see that their worries are shared by others around them. We all have worries, don't we?!?!
We put together some of our favorite fun and engaging activities to get your students thinking. We included writing activities, comprehension activities, and some just for fun activities too.

Check it out here!

The Easter Egg Farm - Book Extension

Every year we do a big thematic unit on Chicks and Eggs.  Sometimes it's prior to Easter and sometimes it's after Easter.  Either way, we always include The Easter Egg Farm by Mary Jane Auch.  It's about a personable hen named Pauline.  She wasn't laying her share of eggs and the other hens were calling her lazy.  She wasn't lazy.  She just couldn't concentrate due to all the noise in the hen house.  Soon, she finds that she can concentrate and she begins laying some really peculiar eggs.  A lady sees the eggs and offers to buy them all for the annual Easter Egg Hunt.  But, then the unexpected happened!!  
You have to read this book to your kids.  They will love the story as well as the characters and beautiful illustrations.

Click here to get the book extension.

A Love of Reading

As teachers, we are obsessed with instilling a love of reading in our students. We have both been around though all the newest, latest gimmicks for the best way to teach children to read.  We started with phonics, moved into the whole language phase, back to phonics and who knows what is next?!?! What we want to do is PUT A BOOK IN OUR CHILDRENS' HANDS AND LET THEM READ! We are going to share some of our favorite ways that we promote reading in our classrooms.

BOOK SHARES

Each morning, as soon as the children unpack, each child gets to "check out" books from the class library after returning the books from the previous day. We have themes like SPACE, CATS, WEATHER, LOVE, FAIRY TALES, TEETH, WHALES, etc.  They are allowed 5-7 books of their choice in their bag, and of course they can keep a favorite in their bag for a few days, but no hoarding books allowed. Too long and it becomes like an old friend you can't let go, or a competition to see how long they can get away with keeping it from the others. It's a FIRST GRADE THING.  HA! Some of the books are on their level and some have to be read to them, however we always encourage them to choose JUST RIGHT BOOKS. We want them to FEEL LIKE  and BE successful readers.Let's face it, if they think they can't read, they won't.  Sooooo, we have to build in success to get the old ball rolling.  By Friday morning, students must choose a book they enjoyed reading and prepare a sheet for Book Share Fridays. The students pick a sheet up from the class library after getting their new books for the day, and begin their book report.  To introduce this, I play an old antique READING RAINBOW VHS (Yes, we still have VCR's in our room too). At the end of every episode, children always did a book share that I really loved.   They simply tell us about the book, which makes you want to check it out right away. They may also bring in a prop to go along with the book share, and it's always exciting when a parent makes a food item to go with the book!!

READ

Through the years, our school has adopted  D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read) and we used it for years.  Our school set  times and we all 

DROPPED EVERYTHING AND READ A BOOK. 

The whole school participated. Even the principal! After a couple of years, schedule problems and TESTING all the darn time, we had to set times individually.  At times, it was a bit of a problem getting first graders to sit still and actually read during the time the school wanted us to read.  BUT...after reading Daily Five, we learned that we have to teach the kids to sit and read, as well as all the different ways to read a book, even if you don't know all the words, build stamina, and give them a choice of what to read. We also have to SHOW them what reading looks like. Teachers have to sit down, be quite, and read too.   

READ-IN

Every November, during National Children's Book Week, we have a READ-IN. The kids bring sleeping bags, pillows, wear pajamas, and we READ all day long!  We schedule different things through out the day to get them up and moving.  They enjoy it, but can't wait to get back to reading!  We have guest readers every 45 minutes. We ask police officers, high school football players, the principle, the district superintendent, firemen, etc to come in and read one book, but also to tell us why reading is important to them. We also set 30 minutes for parents to come in, get on the floor, and read with the kids.  We serve milk and muffins in the morning.  Then we have bookworms (gummy worms) in the afternoon!!   FUN, FUN day!

CURL UP WITH A GOOD 

BOOK AND READ

On the first Friday in January, we have another day that we do nothing but READ!  The kids wear their pajamas again, bring sleeping bags, and we read. We do not invite guest readers from outside the school this time. Instead, we ask our special teachers (PE, Office Aide, custodian, lunch room staff, etc.) to come in.  We serve hot chocolate and mini donuts for snack!  We do more cuddling and reading with our own students on this day. Right after lunch, we get settled in our sleeping bags and watch THE SNOWMAN.  They love this!

BUDDY READ (with another grade)

One day, every other week we get together with our 5th grade buddies and read! This is a win-win for all of us.  The 5th graders are like movie stars in our eyes! When we see them in the hallway, or at an assembly, you would think they'd seen someone straight off of Nick Jr. They are our reading role models. We can hardly wait to see them each week. We take turns staying in our room or going UPSTAIRS to their room. You should see the wonderment in their eyes when we go upstairs to the room with the giant chairs and giant desks! 

MODEL

Each day we read to our students.  It doesn't matter when you read, they just need to hear you read.  We choose right after lunch (when the schedule permits).  It's a good time to calm down, lay on the floor if you want, and listen.  We choose different chapter books depending on the season and interests at the time. Honesty, sometimes I think this is where all our comprehension is learned.  They will listen and get so involved in the story, characters, and predicting what's to come, that it is the PERFECT opportunity for teaching all of your comprehension skills.  They like to draw and write summaries about what you read as well.  Another win, win activity.

BUDDY READ

We give our students time to socialize with books!  Right after we read to them, we send them off to BUDDY READ.  We alternate days between BUDDY READING and READ TO SELF.  They learn the rules of both.  They know what I expect. Talking is okay during Buddy Reading if it is about the book. During Buddy Reading, the teacher can move around group to group and listen.

READ TO THE TREES

Okay...this is the coolest ever!  We read "The Garden" from Frog and Toad Together.  Remember when Toad thought the seeds were afraid to grow, so he read them a story?  Well, out behind our classroom we have a wooded area. The trees have no leaves...yet!  In the spring we go out and each child adopts a tree.  A few times a week, we go out and read to the trees. Miraculously leaves begin to appear!

READ-OUT

Every Friday in May, we have a READ-OUT!  We take books and beach towels outside, find a shaded area, and read for about an hour!  Teachers enjoy the sunshine and the kids have a blast!  And they are READING!  

LISTEN TO BOOKS

We think listening to books is just as important as reading them. The children may not be decoding or working on fluency, but they are gaining vocabulary, hearing what good reading sounds like, gaining new information, picking up on intonation and so much more.  

TEACH

Of course we teach a little too!  HA!  We have to give the students the skills and strategies to make learning to read easier for them.  If they can't do it, they won't like it.  It's our job to assure every child that they can do it and give them every way possible to get there. Below are some of our tools we use to help our students love reading and understand what they have read.  

BOOK EXTENSIONS

We have a boxed reading program in our district.  Until this year, we were asked to use it.  And most of the time, well, some of the time, okay a few days a week, we used it.  We knew what the kids needed to learn to read. This year we've been given more freedom to teach the way we know our kids learn best. We have recently added our Book Extensions to our TPT store that focus on the books our kids love!  Remember, we want them to LOVE TO READ, while learning!  The easiest way to see each individual extension is to click on the Book Extension link to the right, under CHECK IT OUT.  

COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES

We compiled a set of Comprehension Strategies that can be used with ANY book in your classroom tomorrow!  These activities are so helpful when trying to teach comprehension to your students, and can be used after read-alouds, in groups, with a partner, in a center, for homework, or for pre-writing about the text. If they aren't comprehending what they are reading, they aren't reading. 

We ♥ Reading, Do You?

Comprehension Strategies

This is a complete set of comprehension strategies, anchor charts, and tons of graphic organizers that will make teaching many different reading strategies a piece of cake for any grade and any text. You can use these forms  with the whole class after read alouds, in groups, with a partner, in a center, or for prewriting about the text. You will have several options to choose from for each strategy. We included colorful copies for the teacher to use to model, and black and white versions for easy copying for your students. You can shink these pages to 85% and they will be perfect for your interactive notebooks! Your class will be having fun as you cover the common core standards requirements for your grade level and improving comprehension skills as well.   Colorful and engaging activities will get your students thinking about what they are reading with ease. You can find it in our TPT store by clicking the link below.  

You can get this here.