Tuesday, November 10, 2015

{Books Teachers Love}-Olive the Other Reindeer


Welcome back to the December Books Teachers Love, a monthly post about our favorite read alouds for upcoming month. Each month, you will have a chance to win 4 of the 12 books we blogged about!


I picked a fun read for December, Olive the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh. This is such a cute twist on a classic tale. 

 I made a few graphic organizers to help my students compare and contrast Rudolph & Olive after we do it in whole group. 0

The story is about a cute pup who thinks she is a reindeer when she mishears a Christmas song. Right way, she heads out from home to the North Pole to help Santa. 


I always read aloud Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer to my class, its a familiar story to most students but always a fun one for first graders. 


A few years ago, when I first saw "Olive, the Other Reindeer" I just knew it would be the perfect read aloud to use for comparing and contrasting with the classic story of Rudolph.

 I made a few graphic organizers to help my students compare and contrast Rudolph & Olive after we do it in whole group.

I like to read aloud Rudolph first and discuss with my students the main events & details of the story We discuss the familiar themes such as Rudolph being left out of the games, feeling sad about his unique nose, and how he ends up saving the day at the end.


On the second day, I LOVE to read "Olive the Other Reindeer" to my students, they love the silly twist on the classic tale and are full of connections to the other text and their own experiences too! 


In some ways, Olive is similar to Rudolph because he uses his unique talents to help
 Santa save the day when trouble strikes on Christmas Eve and feels a bit different compared to the other reindeer.


However, Olive has a more pleasant experience in joining Santa's reindeer for the big night. Your students will love this silly story! 



I made a few graphic organizers to help my students compare and contrast Rudolph & Olive after we do it in whole group. The companion pack below includes pieces to make an anchor chart version of the student pages above.


You can check these out in my shop here or by clicking the image above. 


I also made a creative writing activity as an extension to help my students put their opinions down on paper! You can grab this sample of the Olive & Rudolph Reading Companion here as a freebie


You can win your own copy of "Olive the Other Reindeer" along with three other fantastic December read alouds for your classroom! 


Be sure to stop enter the giveaway below & stop by the other blogs to see what their favorite read alouds are for December. 
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3 comments:

  1. I saw this book at Target the other night and I should have bought it! Next time I'm there, that book is mine! LOVE the companion that goes along with it too :)

    Stephanie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have this story and I really love the resources that you created to go along with it! Thank you so much!
    Melissa from Mrs. Dailey's Classroom

    ReplyDelete
  3. This book sounds wonderful. Now I HAVE to teach with this book since you've made such fantastic resources to accompany it!

    Amber
    PeppyZestyTeacherista

    ReplyDelete

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