December is my favorite month of the year, and it just happens to be the BEST month for picture books. Whether you are doing reindeer, Santa, Christmas trees, gingerbread men, elves, or snowmen, there’s at least 20 books that you can find to pair with the topic. The problem I have more than anything else is figuring out how to narrow it down to the very BEST of the books and activities. Today I’m going to share some Christmas picture books that can be paired with a directed drawing.
First up, Pick a Pine Tree is one of my all time favorite read-alouds. It is just so beautifully done. You may be familiar with Pick a Pumpkin. Patricia Toht makes the most gorgeous stories. It has a delightful rhythm and shares the tradition of picking out and decorating a Christmas tree.
To go along with this story, students can draw a Christmas tree and write a procedural writing piece on How to Decorate a Christmas Tree.
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett is about a girl named Teeka who is trying to get the reindeer ready for Christmas Eve. She tries to be firm with them, but the reindeer get all tangled up. She learns the most effective way to train the reindeer to ensure they are ready for the big night!
You’ll often find reindeer being a bit rowdy in Christmas stories, so for this activity students draw a reindeer and write about the rowdy reindeer.
If you would like a full week’s worth of reading plans to go along with The Wild Christmas Reindeer, click HERE!
How to Trick a Christmas Elf shares the legend of Santa sending his elves to determine whether children are naughty or nice. The children are trying to trick the elves into letting them sneak a peek at the list, but those little elves are pretty clever.
To go along with this story, or any other book about elves, students draw themselves as a Christmas elf! Then students write what they would do if they were a Christmas elf.
The Most Wonderful Gift in the World by Mark Sperring is a heartwarming story about one of the most wonderful gifts of all… the gift of friendship! On Christmas morning Bear and Esme wake up to find a present that doesn’t belong to either of them. Along the way they find out what is truly important.
To go along with this story, students draw a stocking. Then, students write their wish for this Christmas.
The four directed drawings mentioned above (reindeer, elf, tree, and stocking) PLUS drawings of Santa Claus, a gingerbread house, and a gingerbread boy or girl are all a part of my December Directed Drawings. Click HERE to learn more!
Maybe you are new to directed drawings, and you’d like to try one out this winter. I have a FREE Snowman Directed Drawing for you! Pair it with Sneezy the Snowman or Snowmen at Night and you’ll have one less thing to think about during this hectic time of year!
{aff links were used in this blog post}
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
Sample a day of Rooted in Reading with these lesson plans and activities for Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Grammar!
