Winter Reading in LLD
Primary LLD Grades K-2
Students in Mrs. Cobo’s class enjoyed being read a mentor text, The Mitten, by Jan Brett, along with The Mitten, by Jim Aylesworth. These are two of our favorite authors! Both of these stories are retold Ukrainian folktales about a boy who loses his mitten. Lots of woodland animals seek shelter and warmth in the mitten. Students compared and contrasted the two stories as well as wrote or illustrated the beginning/middle/end of the story.
Intermediate LLD Grades 3-4
After reading a fiction and nonfiction book on snowflakes, Ms. Axt’s students compared and contrasted the similarities and differences. Alicia’s Discoveries, by Catarina Cunha (fiction) and The Story of Snow, Jon Nelson (Ph.D.) and Mark Cassino (non-fiction) both describe how snowflakes are formed. The class completed a Venn Diagram comparing both books, then cut out their own snowflakes to decorate and hang on the classroom door. Each student was proud of their work and loved making the connection that not only is each snowflake unique but each member of our class is unique and special as well!
Intermediate LLD Grades 4-5
The students of Mrs Nelson’s class finished reading the mentor text, The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. It is a beautiful story about a boy and his family, who make a trek into a forest each year to decorate a fir tree with treats for the animals.
The story was explored for its wonderful figurative language, inclusion of dialogue and its many descriptive adjectives. We also loved reading it because it was so seasonal, and it gave the class a chance to incorporate the same special project to feed some local field animals around Northvail. Before the break, the students spent days stringing popcorn and cranberries. They also tied strings to the stems of apples before covering them with peanut butter and birdseed. With everyone present, (and in Whoville fashion!!!) the students decorated a tree near the back field. It was great fun and gave us all a chance over vacation to think about the animals who had a little holiday treat!
The class benefited from this project because it was a great jumping off point for the study of expository writing. Together, we wrote a “how to” piece explaining all our steps in creating our own Night Tree. Following that, the students will become more comfortable in writing their own “how tos’ and other expository writing pieces.
