Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Warm Reading Lessons in the Chill of Winter

There's been a chill in the air for a few weeks here in snowy Wisconsin!  I finally, after pondering about it for a couple years, bought two sets of snowshoes.  I thought it would be a great way to get some winter exercise and have some fun with my teenage daughter.  The good news . . . we have plenty of snow.  The bad news . . . its too cold!  Soon . . . I hope.

Before Christmas, my class read Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan.  It is my favorite class novel to read for historical fiction study.  I choose to read it before Christmas since I have the Hallmark Sarah Plain and Tall buildings that I display in the classroom.  The kids love it. Every day after they read from the book I would see a couple students over by the display with "thoughts wheeling in their heads."  What a great visualization!  Thanks Hallmark!

During our reading of Sarah, Plain and Tall the students constructed a quilt book.  They had a great time making the cover as we discussed some of the traditional quilt patterns.  Each day they added a piece on the stapled second page to connect to their daily reading. 



 The Quiltbooks look fabulous hanging in the school hallway! 
 

 
 
 
Sarah Plain and Tall Unit with Quilt Craftivity
 
My complete unit is available at Teachers Pay Teachers.
 
How are you warming up the reading lessons this cold winter?
 
Stay Warm!
 
Amy