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 meetings, or anytime you want to
stop and read a good book. These stories 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. Some new favorite titles have been just added, too! Read to find out more about each book and
grab the FREE winter book activities at the bottom of
this post.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Grab the Owl Moon companion activity set HERE.
Brave
Irene by William Steig
The Five
Dog Night by Eileen Christelow
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 woven 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 activity to use with
this book
Grab the Five DogNight companion activity set HERE.
Snowflake
Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Grab the Snowflake Bentley companion activity set HERE.
Winter is
Here by Kevin Henkes
This short
but sweet book is a great way to welcome winter into the classroom! It is
filled with vivid word choice, strong verbs, and figurative language, making it a great read-aloud for any classroom. Because the text is short, it naturally lends itself
for visualizing activities. Have students fold a blank piece of white paper
into fourths and number each box. Read aloud the book without showing students
the illustrations. Pause throughout the book frequently to allow students
enough time to create their own illustrations to go along with the words that
they hear. Reread the book again, this time sharing the book's pictures
with students so that they can again compare and contrast what they drew with
the illustrator's drawings. Grab a FREE follow-up figurative language visualizing activity to use with this book
BONUS Recommendations...
The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen
The Mitten Tree is a must-read in my classroom! It focuses on one kind deed that is done just for the joy of helping others. The main character looks for nothing in return but smiles on the children's faces that she helps. This book is a great kick-off to completing a kindness challenge in your classroom and discussing random acts of kindness. Kindness is always a year-long focus in my classroom and this book helps to support that!
Grab the Mitten Tree companion activity set HERE.
Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor
We love reading this one right before we dive into our winter descriptive writing snowglobe project. It really sets the scene for winter setting and descriptive writing activities. The surprise concept of the story helps students to put themselves into the story, and the snow globe, and get excited for the season of winter. This one is just perfect to help celebrate the first day of winter!
Snowflakes Fall by Patricia MacLachlan
This sweet and touching story tells about a small town that I once lived in for many years: Newtown, Connecticut. Written to honor and remember the 26 students and educators killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, this story celebrates children and how beautiful and unique they are. This book is illustrated by a former Newtown resident, Steven Kellogg. This one brilliantly describes winter and sets the scene for the winter wonders that await us as the new season begins. I love this book, its meaning, and having students celebrate each other after reading this book.
Yetis are the Worst! by Alex Willan
This brand-new picture book won my heart over quickly and is adored by the kids, too! I love all the books by Alex Willan in this series, but this one about yetis is definitely my fave! If this series is new to you, it follows a small goblin who learns about different mythical creatures. It is extremely fun to read with engaging illustrations, diagrams, and funny language. It has two underlying themes: not judging people before you get to know them and friendship. This is one that is fun all winter long! Your students will ask you to reread it again and again!
The Stranger written by Chris Van Allsburg
On a drive one night, a family accidentally hits a man with their car. The family loads him up and brings him home to be checked by the family doctor. The students have to think about who the man is given all the things in the story that make the man “strange”. He cannot talk, animals flock to him, and he seems confused by very common and simple items. Through class discussion and context clues, see if you can infer who thisnameless man is! Grab some no-prep materials to go along with the story here!
When it
comes to engaging students don't overlook the power of a great read-aloud book,
especially a great seasonal read-aloud.
You will love reading these related articles:
Grab highly engaging winter activities HERE.
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