FOLLOW THE SNOWPRINTS

by Jacqueline Jules

Stop thinking about the inconvenience, the cold, and the dirty slush.  Focus on the beauty of snow for a lesson in your classroom. Show your students this picture or one like it with footprints in the snow. Start  a group story.

Who made the footprints? A man? Woman? Child? Boy or girl?

How old is the person? Tall? Short? Dark-Haired or Blonde? Eye Color?

What is the person wearing? Coat? Strong boots? Hat? Mittens? What color are they?

Or is he/she not dressed warmly enough? Is snow falling on his/her hair and shoulders? Is he shivering?

Where is that person going? Going home?  To visit a friend? On an important errand? A long journey?

How long has the person been walking? A few minutes or over an hour?

What is on the person's mind? Happy? Sad? Excited? Nervous? Worried?

What will happen when that person arrives? What will he/she see, smell, touch, taste, and hear?

Who will the person talk to? A person? A pet? A ghost?

Will the person go back out in the cold or go to sleep?

Will it continue to snow outside? Will the footprints be covered? Or will they be there the next morning?

Encourage your students to brainstorm as a group and then ask them to write their own stories.

Pictures of snow prints naturally inspire imaginative thoughts. Photograph the next winter storm and share the pictures with your class. Better yet, ask your students to take pictures of their own for inspiration.

www.jacquelinejules.com

SNOWFLAKE TO SNOWMAN: WRITING ACTIVITY

by Alison Ashley Formento

It’s the time of year for snowmen and you might be singing about Frosty, laughing at Olaf in FROZEN, the fun new Disney movie, or building a snowman on your front lawn. Frosty and Olaf are memorable characters, who happen to be made out of snow. They also both face the possibility and challenge of melting.

One popular snowman writing craft encourages kids to make a melted snowman out of a paper bowl and construction paper and write about their own snowman to explain why it melted.

 Here’s another great way to use a snowman (or snowwoman) to develop explanatory writing skills, useful for science research and report skills.

Snowflake to Snowman: Step-by-step writing

       

1.      Photograph images of snow at home and at school. If there is no snow in your town, use winter pictures from magazines and newspapers.

2.      Find books on weather and arctic geography and read about the different kinds of snow. 

3.      Write down at least ten facts about snow.

4.      Write step-by-step instructions on how to build a snowman, including the snow facts. Number each step. Imagine these instructions are for someone from a desert region who is seeing snow for the very first time. Include every detail to build a snowman; from how to roll a snowball to placing a carrot for a nose, and how to make a snowman smile out of rocks. The more details shared for each step, the easier it will be for others to follow your instructions.

5.     Read the instructions aloud to see if you included all information needed to build a snowman.

6.      If there is snow on the ground at your school, bundle up, go outside, and have fun following one another’s step-by-step snowman building instructions.

7.   Finish this step-by-step writing task by building your own snowman with a big smile.

http://alisonashleyformento.com/

A SNOWY DAY

by Joan Waites

The weather here in the Mid-Atlantic is still relatively warm, and right now it’s raining, not snowing. But this time of year and the winter months to come are filled with the anticipation of waking up to a fresh blanket of snow and the news that school is closed for a snow day!

My favorite childhood book is The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Erza Jack Keats. First published in 1962, it remains a classic. This simple, quiet story of a boy playing out in the snow recalls for me those long ago mornings in New York, when magic happened overnight, school was cancelled, and we had a whole day to build snowmen, snow forts, or skate on a frozen lake.

Using the book The Snowy Day as an example, have your students write about their perfect snow day.  How do they feel when they wake up to the streets being covered in snow? What are their plans? Do they rush outside or stay in reading a favorite book under the covers? What does the air smell like? What sounds do their boots make as they track through the snow? How can they describe what a snow covered tree looks like? Do they play alone like the character Peter in the book or do they make plans with friends? What sorts of adventures do they have in the snow? Even if your students live in warmer climates where they never see a snowflake, have them stretch their imaginations to describe what a snow day might be like.

Younger children can tell their story in pictures, and older ones can illustrate the story they have composed. Using construction paper and/or patterned scrapbook papers, have children make a cut-paper collage like the illustrations in The Snowy Day. Smaller details can be added with a black marker.

Mixing it up a little, have children write about an unusual character that finds him/herself in a snowy environment, or something/someone from a colder climate in warmer temps. What would happen if snowmen traveled to the beach? If an alligator crawled up a snow covered mountain? Lots can happen on a snowy…or un-snowy day.

Here’s wishing all our readers a wonderful Holiday Season, and a snow day or two in the coming winter months!

 www.joanwaites.com