The Hat and Animals in the Winter


This was our first week back after Winter Break.

Fitting "everything in" has been somewhat of a challenge this school year as we are required to teach our reading series with fidelity.  Well, we had this week "off." As a result, I was able to spend more time on teaching other literature and incorporating a winter theme throughout the day.

Not wanting to have my students loose valuable learning time, I used Hello Two Peas in a Pod's  Phonological Awareness Curriculum for January.  We read The Hat and followed the lesson plan format.  My students were engaged and I loved how easy it was to teach! I could see instantly what my students need in Phonemic Awareness.

At the end of the week, we made Hedgie to go along with the story.
The one on the left is what I intended it to look like.  The one of the right was what we made.  The students painted snow onto a transparency.  While that dried, we created our Hedgie.  The original idea can be found here.  

Students enjoyed fun winter themed literacy centers.  They made sight words using this snowballs created by Little Minds at Work.  Ice fishing was a huge hit!  All you need is a box to go along with this Lakeshore game .  I simply wrote the words onto the fish with a Sharpie.  Lastly, we reviewed rhymes with this mitten hanging center.


Our favorite activity was learning which animals hibernate or migrate.

We learned about dens and made paper bag dens using a lunch bag, cotton and paper plate.  Simple but effective. We turned our buddy reading area into a den.  If you look closely, you can see a few book boxes that students could use during their reading time. 

Finally, we sorted our stuffed animal collection and discussed if it would hibernate or migrate.  This song went along perfectly.  


Overall, it was a productive first week back to school.

Happy Teaching and Learning!
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10 comments

  1. LOVE the hibernation song! THANKS for sharing it!

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  2. I love this! It is so adorable. I am feeling your pain a little. We are also being required to fit it all in, no matter what. It just seems like all the things I really want to teach, that I find important, don't quite fit in so much anymore. But I guess there is a master plan to it all right? I get one day a week to things a little more creatively. So that is nice.

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  3. PS: Can I get a copy of the Hibernation song? I would love to find time for it??

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  4. Those Hedgie Hedgehogs are the CUTEST!!! Pinning right now!:)

    Cindy
    Granny Goes to School

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  5. Oh so cute! I love the idea of painting on transparencies! It reminds me of Eric Carle's Dream Snow.
    Maribel
    Learning In Wonderland

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    Replies
    1. That was exactly the effect I wanted. Wished we had had time in December to make these.

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  6. Love, love, love the Hedgie art! :)

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  7. We also have a stuffed animal collection! We use them quite a lot, especially during reading and social studies.

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