The Story of Snow Upper Elementary Literature Study

THE STORY OF SNOW is a perfect text to engage elementary students with nonfiction content. Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson present layers and layers of information through eye-catching graphics and text. Aside from the in-depth look at the formation of snow crystals and snowflakes, teachers can use this book to also teach vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills.

INTRO ACTIVITY

To start this literature study, I use discussion questions and pre-reading probes. These two simple activities help students to get thinking about the text and the content we will be learning. They also give them an opportunity to practice their listening and speaking skills.

Questions I pose to the class might be:

• What do you know about snow?
• What connections can you make to the number 6?
• What do you think of when you hear the word "crystal"? Explain.
• Have you ever caught a snowflake? Explain.

These questions can be asked in a whole group setting, small group, or with pairs/triads. It is important to have established guidelines for sharing ideas and small group discussion. 

Help improve your students' speaking and listening skills with these free Listening and Speaking Task Cards in my TpT store.

VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

Teachers can build their students' vocabulary knowledge with terms that are specific to this text. When they encounter these words again, students will be able to build upon their word base even more. For instance: star, plate, column, and crystal are homographs. Within the context of this book they will have one meaning. When used other ways, they will have another. 

Free Vocabulary Resources!

CLICK HERE to Download 2 FREE Resources (Knowledge Rating and Flap Books) to Support Vocabulary from the text The Story of Snow

KNOWLEDGE RATING

These are a favorite in my classroom. I don't know if it's because they are student-specific, ask students to self-assess, or offer the opportunity to see short-term growth... but my students love to fill these out and talk about their ratings.

Student will fill out their rating once at the beginning of the unit and once again at the end. The goal is to see an increase in their rating.

You can read more about knowledge ratings and other Vocabulary Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom. 

FLAP BOOKS

Flap books are a great way for students to have an easy-to-make and readily-accessible reference tool while working through a unit of study.

Teachers can quickly and easily diffferentiate flap books. 

• For an easy activity: simply hand out the pieces and parts as they are printed. The flap book terms line up to the pre-filled definitions. Students can cut, fold, and paste a vocabulary reference page in a few minutes.

• For a little bit of a challenge: hand out the flap book parts and hand out the definitions- but pre-cut them so they are mixed up, or have students cut and mix them up. Then, ask students to match up the terms to the definitions.

• For more of a challenge: hand out the flap book parts. Have students look up the definitions in a dictionary (or online) and determine which is the correct definition as the term is used in the text.

During the unit, encourage students to use their vocabulary flap books. Find ways to reference it and use it throughout later lessons.

COMPREHENSION

Students are oftentimes used to answering questions that have only one correct answer; usually using the text to support their answer. I like to use Evidence Charts to push my students' thinking and increase the rigor. A statement such as "Stars and plates are alike" forces the student to break down the text and consider which evidence from the text supports the statement and which evidence refutes the statement. Evidence charts are always wonderful conversation starters. Students love to present their thinking and the text evidence that supports their ideas. The discussion is richer and more rigorous.

WRITTEN RESPONSE

Nonfiction text can be a wonderful opportunity to work on compare/contrast or sequence of events writing. With this text, I ask students to compare and contrast snow crystals and snowflakes. It's a great way to reinforce the skill and give them a chance to use the writing terms that are most often used with compare/contrast writing.

For a longer, more in-depth writing piece, I ask them to explain the formation of one type of snow crystal. Students can choose between a star, plate, or column. Then, they have an opportunity to research the specifics of each crystal. Once they have compiled their research they will write a sequence of events. It's the perfect time to practice using transition words in writing!

To see all the details of my literature study for THE STORY OF SNOW click HERE.

EXTENSION/LINKS

• Here is a great read aloud on YouTube by Read Aloud Kids Book Time: The Story of Snow

• Excellent YouTube from Be Smart that breaks down exactly how snow crystals are formed and reinforces the terms and sequence in the text The Story of Snow --> https://youtu.be/fUot7XSX8uA

• I love this website --> http://snowcrystals.com/ Prepare to spend a nice chunk of time exploring all the nooks and crannies of information that has been compiled and organized! A teacher could build a whole unit of instruction using just the information contained within this website. Thank you, Kenneth G. Libbrecht! 

• Keep the conversations going! Download these FREE DIGITAL TEMPLATES that you can use for student response. 5 different templates that will work with any text or lesson you teach! 

Looking for more awesome resources to deliver content? 

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