Winter Themed Activities
In the winter months, students can have a lot of energy because they’re not able to play outside as much. Between indoor recess and it getting dark so early, there leaves little time to be outside. As teachers, it helps to try and make the entire day a little more engaging for everyone’s sake.
By including some winter themed activities into your literacy lessons, you’ll be more likely to capture the attention of students who may rather be playing in the snow. I have both winter themed Guided Reading passages and Close Reading passages which will help the winter months move by more smoothly.
Guided Reading: Winter Passages
No one seems to be happier in the snow than kids. They have the best attitudes about just going out in the cold and having fun. I decided to tap into a kid’s love for winter with my winter themed passages. These passages include different activities that can be done in the winter weather. Each passage also includes comprehension questions, a lesson plan and running record. (Check them out here!)
Not only are these passages enjoyable for your students, but you’ll also feel less stressed. It helps knowing that your Guided Reading groups are planned for and ready to go each day. When everything is prepped ahead of time, you can simply focus on the readers in each group. Guiding them along to become better readers is the best way to spend your short time together!
Small Group Engagement Ideas for Winter
- Print out the folder covers included in each pack. Each student can then have their own folder. Having a personal folder full of readable passages is a confidence booster.
- Complete word work activities in the “snow”. Use letters tiles or a tool for writing in the snow. This can get messy, but messy = learning!
- Clips for phonemic awareness: Students can practice saying the sounds in each word by unclipping each winter clip.
Winter Close Reading
Close Reading lessons can be done in small or whole group. Depending on the ability level of your students, choose what works best for your readers. My Close Reading passages also include enjoyable winter themes.
Reading the passages aloud to your kindergartners or first graders will lead to deep conversations full of meaningful thoughts. In the lesson plan that comes with each passage, I provide specific questions related to different standards for you to use to guide the discussions. Students follow up the discussion with the completion of their graphic organizers.
These are not only interesting topics to read about, but also will provide you with insight about your readers. You’ll be able to pinpoint who needs further guidance with different standards. These standards can then be targeted in small groups, at another time!
