December What Are You Reading? Linky!

My 5th graders love when I read to them. I think they love picture books even more. I started incorporating more picture books into the curriculum a few years ago when I started using mentor sentences by Ideas by Jivey. Once I started using them, I was hooked. Not to mention my kids love it. I love that she includes holiday/seasonal picture books into her units. This week we will be reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. It is such a magical book. Even if the students have read it before, they do not mind hearing it again.

Head on over to Focused on Fifth to see what the other teachers are reading.

Unwrapping the Holidays: Seasonal Stories

There are so many wonderful holiday stories and so little time.  One of my favorite holiday novels is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. 

This is such a great story and my students always find it hysterical. I also love using this freebie from Nicole Shelby.

She has a great form for the students to keep track of the characters. I use it for the students to document character traits of the characters and site evidence to back it up. There is also a great Sticky Note Summary sheet. The students summarize each chapter on a Post-It note. It's a great way to help them keep the summary short.

Just before we head out on vacation, I pass out candy canes and we watch the movie version of the novel.

This version is a super cute made-for-tv movie starring Loretta Swift as the mom. It follows the book pretty closely and is just under an hour long. It's a great way to end the last day before the holiday break. You can get a copy of the movie here. I use the movie every December. It was definitely worth purchasing.

Now hop on over and check out what the other bloggers have to share.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick 3: December Pinterest Linky!

Who doesn't need some inspiration to get through those last days before the holiday break? I am once again joining PAWSitively Teaching  and and Inspired Owl's Corner for their Pick 3 Linky.

Check out this adorable way to bring the holidays into your classroom and teach poetry at the same time.

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It's a Poet-Tree! 

How cute are these water bottles? My students would love to find these on their desk just before the holidays.

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I am always looking for holiday crafts that my students can make. These craft stick ornaments are perfect.

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Be sure to check out all the great ideas on all the blogs below.

An InLinkz Link-up