No matter
how old students get, they still love to gather in the reading corner and get
lost in a good book, especially during the cold winter months. Navigating the
holidays in the classroom can be tricky, and if your school is like mine, they
encourage seasonal activities over any holiday-specific activities. When
December approaches, I dive deep into winter, snow, and ice activities to keep
the students engaged and learning all through the winter months. Connecting learning to what is going on
outside of the classroom is not only critical, but the best way to keep
students engaged and completely hooked during each lesson. These winter
read-aloud books are perfect to share during reading and writing mini-lessons,
after recess, before dismissal, during morning meeting, or anytime you want to
stop and read a good book. These winter picture books and activities are the
perfect way to welcome winter into your upper elementary classroom in a meaningful way, while
providing content based lessons and addressing the standards, too!
Below are my
favorite tried and true, seasonal winter read-aloud picture books* to share with
students during the winter season. Read on to find out more about each book and
grab the coordinating FREE student activities for each book at the bottom of
this post.
Owl Moon is
the perfect read-aloud for so many different language arts activities. This
book tells the story about a young child spending time with their father on a
mid-night stroll owling, lending itself as the perfect mentor text for personal
narratives and memoir writing activities and units. It is also chock full of
figurative language: personification, similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia,
making it a great read-aloud to share for revising student writing. Since this
book talks a lot about shadows, have students go outside, create their own
shadows. Then have students work with a partner to measure and write a
descriptive paragraph to describe their shadows. My favorite activity to do with this book is focused on point of view. Grab it for FREE at the bottom of this post.
If you have
never read Brave Irene, now is the time to read it with your students! This
book is about a young girl who goes out in a blizzard to make a delivery to
help her mother the dress maker. I use this read-aloud book to discuss
character traits. The main character changes throughout the story, showing
different traits and feelings as the story progresses. The descriptions of the
character make it easy to make connections with Irene, as well as, compare and contrast her with other characters students have encountered in their readings.
This book is also filled with figurative language and varied word choice,
making it perfect for synonym and revisions lessons. Your students will be on
the edge of their seat, cheering for Brave Irene to meet her goal. The suspense
in the book, lends itself to lessons on building suspense within student writing, too! The
possibilities are truly endless. Grab a
FREE character analysis activity at the bottom of this post.
If you are
looking for a
book that your students have not heard before, this is it! The Five Dog Night is the book that I look forward to reading each winter season. It tells the tale of two neighbors who help each other throughout the long and cold winter months. I love the themes of kindness and friendship that are weaved throughout this story. Each time I read this book, the students always worry for the well being of the characters, kicking off great empathy discussions in our classroom. I use this book to discuss character traits, making connections, themes, and most importantly, kindness. Grab a FREE kindness writing activity to use with this book at the bottom of this post.
book that your students have not heard before, this is it! The Five Dog Night is the book that I look forward to reading each winter season. It tells the tale of two neighbors who help each other throughout the long and cold winter months. I love the themes of kindness and friendship that are weaved throughout this story. Each time I read this book, the students always worry for the well being of the characters, kicking off great empathy discussions in our classroom. I use this book to discuss character traits, making connections, themes, and most importantly, kindness. Grab a FREE kindness writing activity to use with this book at the bottom of this post.
Wintertime
is not complete without a read aloud of Snowflake Bentley. This sweet
biography-story highbred is perfect to tie together seasonal activities with
reading strategies. Whether you are studying informational texts, biographies,
or fiction and character development, this book can help you meet your
objectives. After a read aloud of this book, I always have my students complete a Venn diagram comparing
themselves to the main character Mr. Bentley. This simple activity helps the
students identify something that is of great interest to them, just like
studying snowflakes and ice crystals was of interest to Snowflake Bentley. Grab a FREE writing activity to use with
this book at the bottom of this post.

When it
comes to engaging students don't overlook the power of a great read aloud book,
especially a great seasonal read aloud.
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Looking for more engaging winter activities click the picture below to see
ALL of my WINTER products!
Spread kindness this winter!