In November, the air turns crisp and cold and the earth and all of its creatures prepare for winter. Animals search for food and huddle together for warmth. And people gather around the table to give thanks and celebrate the season with family and friends.
Curl up with your loved ones and enjoy the sights, the sounds, the scents ---and the traditions-- of this very special time of year.
You can find these 3 writing prompt pages to use with this wonderful book HERE
Complete set of In November writing prompts Find them HERE
Enjoy the autumn season and see the natural beauty around you.
Simple lines and beautiful art. Wonderfallis a beautiful book about the various events that happen in the fall, including the beginning of the school year, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more.
Each page is related to the autumn season. Hall uses -ful words and substitutes it to read fall to make words like beautifall, thankfall, delightfall and more. The story follows woodland animals, children and grown-ups as they experience the autumn season through parades, trick-or-treating and jumping in the leaves, among other fun seasonal experiences.
Hall’s bold digital illustrations combine acrylic paint with soft pastels, which may remind readers of the works of Eric Carle. His artwork splashes the pages with autumn colors...bright green, yellow, burnt orange and striking blue. Text format helps beginning readers who are learning to sound out words. Preschoolers would love to hunt and find the autumn elements ...beautiful leaves, squirrels, acorns, little birds. Turn the pages and discoverthe 'wonderfall' book talkthat will happen. This book includes a learning guide at the end and gives facts about the various animals in the story. You may wish to talk about the word ending -ful and how the author changed it to fall to add to his story about fall.
This book can be a springboard to all those wonderfall activities you do with your homeschoolers, preschoolers and young readers.
Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone!
This story is appropriate for pre-school aged
groups. Certainly, Kindergarteners and First Graders could discuss the theme with more sophistication. There are many different themes that Hall introduces in his story, Red, a crayon's story.
Here are a few:
* Believe in Yourself
*Overcoming doubt
*Treat Others the Way You Want to be Treated
*Acceptance
* Perseverance
* Kindness
* Differences
*Never Giving Up
Preschoolers and Kindergarteners especially will delight with Hall's books. Read them aloud and start a book talk with your early readers.
Michael Hall is my newest favorite author. His books are intelligent, warm and surely capture imagination. creative and fun to read... more fun to discuss...
here are some reader response pages for beginning readers to use with this book
click HERE to find reader response pages for this book
Thank you for visiting and check back later for another wonderful book by Michael Hall. I think it may be my favorite.
Teaching Literacy and Math with Children's Literature
All About Pumpkins Literacy & Math Pack Get Yours HERE
October is a coolmonth for reading aloud books to small people who are learning how to read. Turn the pages! Watch the fun! October is filled with pumpkin spice, autumn leaves, cool nights ...simply delightful!
Here are some of my favorite books to share with children in October !
"How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Read to find out why? after reading this book to your child; you may want to do some pumpkin investigation...here are some pages that might help record the data...
Lots of engaging math and science activities. So many lessons to teach... float or sink?, height, weight, how many?, counting by 10's, estimation, size, science techniques, writing skills, reading to find out, information texts and comprehension checks...oh! my! and my favorite read aloud, ever!!! is... The Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
This one is a great book to teach sequence and if you are so lucky to have the recording, which is very, very hard to find...your kids will engage immediately... great sing, song of words and kids can't help but join in when you read this one. Below is the youtube recording of this book...however, video stays on the cover of the book, so get the book, show the pages and listen along!! If you have any children ages 3-93....they will LOVE this book
We talked about the importance of play... and of course, work is equally important. Lessons early in childhood about work at home and work at school would be beneficial to that child when he/she is a grown up. All people and animals work each day; it's what makes us sleep well at night. What kind of work do you like to do?
The Little Red Hen is a perfect read aloud for PreK -Grade 1 and older. It's a classic ... and one of those books we go back to ...to read again. It's fun and children love the story. There are many versions but the story remains in tact.
The author's message?
work hard...help out...share...plan ahead...
rewards and fairness
I made literacy-math centers to use with The Little Red Hen...
I made it
"all by myself"
bright, bold and colorful clip art made by me also
this pack includes 58 pages to use with this book- the pages and activities help with reading comprehension and retelling the story
pages for math center...pages for literacy center
Little Red Hen
here are some example pages included in this
literacy-math center pack:
phonics page - rhyming words for cat
Complete the sentence
What comes next? Math Center Activity
The Little Red Hen works hard and she is rewarded.
vocabulary words for your pocket chart without pictures
Vocabulary words for your pocket chart and writing center with pictures
thanks for visiting... come back as I will be adding more ideas and strategies to teach reading and writing with children's literature...delights the child and motivates reading
Playing is child's work. Read this article below adapted fromGreatSchoolson 5 ways that children play naturally and the many reasons why play is so important to their development.
Being creative may just get you to the place you would like to be. Going Places, by Peter and Paul Reynolds is a fabulous read aloud and your students will listen attentively. New York Times bestselling illustrator Peter H. Reynolds sketches out the story in his captivating style. Introduce the book by previewing the cover and asking, "What do you think this book is about?" Read the title. "What do you think these kids are doing?" "Where are they?" After discussion about these questions, ask "How will we find out?" You will hear, "Read the book!"
The story unfolds and inspires imagination to take flight when this year's contest is to build a go-cart, race it - and win! All are motivated and scramble to build a go-cart. All have identical kits...why is that? but Maya, oh Maya...she sure doesn't seem to be in a hurry to assemble a cart that looks like, feels like and is designed like everyone else's go-cart. She quickly gains the interest of her friend and together they create, build, plan, "think out of the box" and enjoy the process.
The author's message is
celebrate the 'maker' child, teamwork is always a good idea creativity makes life a bit more interesting.
Find pages like this one and more to use after reading this book... get them HERE
Flying Across America
My students love watching this video. They often ask 'Can we see it again'? Fly across America and see our beautiful land. This might be a nice follow up after reading Going Places.
Visit MrsQuimbyReads.comfor more ideas and strategies to teach reading and writing with Children's Literature.
This book is a great story book to add to your classroom library. There are six stories with animal friends as the main characters. The book teaches those life lessons that are so valuable to teach respect and citizenship. The stories are about friendship and friends and sometimes you need to make up after a misunderstanding with a friend. Other stories show the importance of family and friendship and how one's self is the foundation of treating others kindly and with respect.
Great book to keep on your bookshelf...read aloud before your preschoolers nap time and engage them in the evaluation and thinking process of what makes us show respect. How do you recognize respect? How do you feel respect? Find a pair of glasses, best without the lenses, and tape 'respectacles' on the frame; have your preschoolers, kindergarteners and first graders take turns in looking for 'respect' in your classroom, in the hallway, at lunch and at recess. Next, have that child report to their classmates what they saw happening. Keep a chart of phrases posted in your room and refer back to it often...
Example phrases:
"Amanda helped Jennifer open her milk at lunch"
"Jason said thank you to his friend when he said yes, he could borrow his crayons"
You may wish to make shorter phrases:
Amanda helped Jen
Jason said thank you
William cleaned the table
Sara turned pages in her book nicely
Derek walked in the hall
Payson fed birds at home
Your list will grow and grow as will the respect your students show at school
Write the word respect (with respect) bold, bright and beautiful and place it in your classroom for everyone to see. If necessary, you can silently point to the word, no words necessary, they will get what you mean. Sometimes, teachers talk too much and students will not hear what you are saying; but they are experts on reading body language and will be able to feel what you are saying to them...just a silent gesture is all that you need. If you wish to have a quieter classroom, start with yourself. It's guaranteed to work, try it. You may wish to download my pages below for a word art sign for 'RESPECT". Also there are pages included for older students, Grades 2-3 in the packet along with some other book recommendations.
You can find these FREE writing prompt pages and 'spectacles' directions and more HERE
or you can buy the entire set at my TPT store HERE Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow me and check back ... I have many more teacherly ideas and products to share
