In November… Third Grade Mentor Text

Oh my goodness- I can’t believe we are almost to November. Time to trade in the jack-o-lanterns for turkeys… or maybe even Christmas trees?

I love November and December in the elementary classroom, so much to do and so much fun. It’s a great time for strengthening your classroom community with all of the opportunities for giving that occur during this time of year.

I also love the crafts and celebrations that come with the holidays. Too often teachers feel the stress of the curriculum pacing guide and feel as if they can’t or shouldn’t do any crafts “just for fun”, but I say shut that door and craft away! They are only little once…

And I really LOVE the wealth of picture books that are holiday-themed. Students are so engaged and you can teach so many skills using picture books during your reading block. Over the next several weeks my plan is to share some of my favorites with you!

I particularly love the book In November written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Jill Kastner. 

The words in this book are almost musical. Your students will have so many opportunities to use mental imagery when they listen to this book. I would recommend reading the book to students and having them form their mental images before showing them the pictures. I am including an organizer for your students to use while listening to sketch their mental images. It doesn’t need to be a fancy drawing, but I think that this helps students connect to the story and aids in comprehension. Grab the organizer HERE!

The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful! Be sure to discuss the mood that the illustrations set for this story-as this is one of the CCSS.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)

A great extension activity for this book would be to have students write about something that they do in November. You could create an anchor chart with student generated ideas and then have students write. Students could then illustrate and attach a few fall leaves to their project for a simple, but really pretty activity that looks so seasonal on a bulletin board.

I have included a writing page with the free organizer that you can grab HERE!

If you haven’t read this book- I hope that you will love it as much as I do… and if you have read it then maybe these activities will enrich your read aloud!