Snow and Winter Read Alouds for Kindergarten and 1st Grade

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Teacher friend, winter is the best season for read alouds. Everyone is a little cozier, the snow outside gives you an easy hook, and there are so many wonderful snowy books to choose from.

The first snow of the year meant nobody was paying attention to anything but the window, so I grabbed a snowy book and went with it.

Here are 8 winter books my students would ask for again and again.

1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Peter explores his neighborhood after a big snowfall. A classic for a reason.
2. Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. What do snowmen do while we sleep? A fun one for making predictions and writing.
3. The Mitten by Jan Brett. One animal after another squeezes into a lost mitten. Perfect for retelling and sequencing.
4. Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright. A cold snowman keeps warming up and melting. Kids love shouting the repeated lines.
5. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel. A cumulative story about all the layers kids wear outside. Great right before recess.
6. Snowballs by Lois Ehlert. Snow people built from everyday objects. A great lead in to a craft.
7. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. A quiet, beautiful story about owling on a winter night. Wonderful for describing words.
8. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner. What animals do under the snow all winter. A great bridge to science.

Turn the books into writing

After Snowmen at Night and Sneezy the Snowman, my students are ready to explain how to build their own. The How to Build a Snowman Writing Activity includes:

• 12 sequencing cards with matching vocabulary on the back
• A sequencing mat (steps 1 to 6) to put the cards in order before writing
• A snowman writing flipbook with hat and arm pieces, plus first, next and last pages
• 10 pages total

What teachers are saying

"This was a great resource to use for teaching how to sequence writing. My students enjoyed this and I found the visual were very helpful!" (TPT review)

"Fun winter writing activity!" (TPT review)

See it in action in my How to Build a Snowman Writing post, and find more ideas in Winter Writing Centers for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade.

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Made by a teacher who's been right where you are.

Jessica Ann Stanford, Teachers Follow Teachers