Let it Snow! Books to share on a Snowy Day.

Let it Snow!

One of the reasons I live in the Arizona desert is the snow-free winters. I don’t hate snow, I just don’t want to live with it. But these snow-free winters mean a lot of our students have never seen snow and that’s a shame because the snow can be a lot of fun. 

So…. I use books to bring the fun of snow into the classroom without living in the cold and mess!  

Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munsch, Very funny book about the difficulties of putting on a snowsuit.  (You can listen to the author the book aloud on his website!)

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson, Ph.D. This link will take you to a free teacher's guide!

Snow by Cynthia Rylant,  a young girl enjoys a day in the snow. this link will take you to a brief activity guide for the book.

Snow Day by Lester Laminack, This delightful story puts a twist on "Snow Day." 

A Perfect Day by Carin Berger, This book paints a picture of a perfect day in the snow.

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert In this beautiful books students will enjoy the collages used to make the pictures.  The link goes lesson ideas for this book.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, A wonderful informational text about life over and under the snow. The link will take you to lesson ideas.

Blizzard by John Rocco This book is based on true experiences by the author.  The link will take you to a book trailer.  

The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg, After a day of playing in the snow a little girl discovers one of her mittens is missing!  Where could it be?  The link goes to a site with free lesson ideas.

Polar Bears by Gail Gibbons Another wonderful book filled with interesting facts about these giants of the north.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen  In this nighttime adventure a girl and her father go searching for owls on a moonlit winter night. The link takes you to lesson plan suggestions.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Brigg,  (the link takes you to Snowflake Bentley's official website)  I saved my favorite book for last.  This beautiful book was introduced to me by a good friend who lives in Vermont.  One year she sent me the book along with a snowflake print from Bentley's collection as a Christmas gift.  I instantly fell in love with the book and used it in my classroom every year.  

You can download these free activities to go along with this very special book.

I hope you're having a wonderful winter with your students. Maybe a few of these books will find their way into your snowy lessons.

SMART Goal Setting for the New Year

The new year is here!  It's the perfect time to help your kids set goals. I know we've all set New Year's Resolutions and they've probably lasted just a few days. That's probably because the resolution wasn't S.M.A.R.T. In order for goal setting to be effective you need to show your kids how to write S.M.A.R.T. goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Realistic and Timely.

As you have a discussion about S.M.A.R.T. goals, go over these questions.
Specific:  What exactly do you want to accomplish?

Measurable:  How will you know when you’ve reached this goal?

Action:  What will you need to do in order to reach your goal?

Realistic: Is this goal reachable? Can I really do this?

Timely:  When will you reach this goal?  What is your deadline? 

You can download these pages to help your students set up their S.M.A.R.T. goals for the new year.

Do you set New Year's goals or resolutions with your students? We'd love to see your ideas.  If you have a freebie or a blog post about setting goals with students please link up your ideas below.

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