Can You Make a Snowman?

In many parts of the country it is a cold and snowy winter.  I have to admit that I do not miss the snow, and am dreading the amount of rain we’ve been told is coming this winter.

But kids rarely dislike the snow.  It is fun to play in, great for sledding, and you get hot chocolate when you come inside. What could be bad?

Making a snowman is a favorite activity for kids in the winter.  Almost everyone knows how to make a snowman.   But can they tell someone else how to make one? Can they articulate the steps?

A fun book for young children is Max and Mo: Let’s Build a Snowman, by Patricia Lakin.

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It is an early reader book about two hamsters making a snowman in the classroom (where they are the class pets) while the students are outside playing in the “real” snow.

There are a number of language elements you can address with this story; including a number of sequencing opportunities.

I have a series of 5 shared/guided reading/speech-language therapy lessons based on the story, including fact/fiction (can hamsters really cut and paste?), comparative adjectives (snowmen are made from big, bigger and biggest balls of snow), sequencing steps, and story retelling.

On the first day or session, I do a picture walk.  I talk about the weather, what the illustrations tell us about the book and the events in the story.  I talk about what activities are appropriate for different seasons, and what the students like to do when it snows (if, in fact, the students here in the warm climate have experienced snow).  Then after reading the story, we sort activities by “winter” and “not winter” (or each of the other seasons).

Each successive day or session has its own purpose for reading; including identifying what is real and what is fantasy/fiction, adjectives of size and use of comparatives and superlatives, story elements identification and retelling the story.  

On day/session 5 I address sequencing.  With this story, you can sequence the events in the story and/or the steps to building a snowman.

Here is a “Make a Snowman” activity page for you to use with your students to complete the sequencing activity.

If you’d like to see more of the activities I have for this book, go to my TPT store here.

Have fun, stay warm, and Keep on Talking!

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