Winter Tales Mini-Unit Study (ages K5- 3nd grade)

The Winter Tales Unit Study

This unit study offers the children an exciting opportunity to discover the details about the winter season.  Whether you live in areas of the world where the winter season is warm, mild with some cooler temperatures, or outright frigid with blasts of cold air, this unit is for everyone.

Students will discover what animals do during the winter months, where they live and how they survive.  Winter sports will be explored along with various forms of winter transportation and recreational activities.  Arts and craft ideas, and recipes will also be a part of this class along with STEM subjects.

Students should borrow or own a copy of the books. Have a journal to draw and or write about topics discussed in class. Have art supplies available: school scissors, crayons, glue, markers, construction paper and pencils.

Suggested assignments, activity sheets and updates will be sent via email.

Activities that can be done as a family will also be provided.

Class dates:  Wednesdays 2:30 am-3:30 pm

February 7, 14, 21, 28

March 6, 13, 20,

Total: 7

The Books

A group of clever animals find an unusual but warm and furry home during Alaska’s long winter in Jan Brett’s newest snowy adventure.

Cozy is the softest musk ox in Alaska, with the warmest fur you ever did feel. When a storm hits while he’s separated from his family, he starts to feel lonely–but not for long. As the snow piles up, animals start to notice just how warm and cozy Cozy really is!

Bear Snores On tells the story of a great brown bear sleeping in his cave. "One by one, a flock of forest friends find their way out of the flurries and into Bear's cave to warm up. See what happens when he finally wakes up and finds his cave full of unexpected guests—all of them having a party without him!”

"The Sports Illustrated Kids Goodnight books always have exciting action on the field, in the arena, or on the diamond. Goodnight Hockey is no exception. The rhyming is crisp, fun to read, and infused with hockey-speak. The illustrations add more to the action with images that sometimes, as in the case of a puck, look as if it will fly out of the pages and smack you on your nose. . . .Goodnight Hockey gives parents an ending that is the perfect segue into saying good night to their child."

"The Snowy Day, a 1963 Caldecott Medal winner, is the simple tale of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. Keats's illustrations, using cut-outs, watercolors, and collage, are strikingly beautiful in their understated color and composition. The tranquil story mirrors the calm presence of the paintings, and both exude the silence of a freshly snow-covered landscape. The little boy celebrates the snow-draped city with a day of humble adventures--experimenting with footprints, knocking snow from a tree, creating snow angels, and trying to save a snowball for the next day."

Over and Under the Snow Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy, under the snow. Discover the wonder and activity that lies beneath winter’s snowy landscape in this magical book.