Tanya Will there be 6 more weeks of winter? I use this holiday as an opportunity to teach my students about groundhogs! My non-fiction teaching book is about groundhogs and can be found in this bundle (or any book will do). Here’s a sneak peak of the book I use:
We review the groundhog vocabulary on our word wall, available in 2 different sizes. We discuss the famous folklore or legendary groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This is a great opportunity for a quick geography lesson as well as to identify cities/countries that experience winter.
The children then answer some questions about groundhog facts to solidify what they have learned from the book and discussion.
They then use the vocabulary to write their own story! They love sharing them with the class.
Shortly before February 2nd, I read The Night Before Groundhog Day to the students. We then fill out a tally chart (freebie) on their predictions of what the groundhog will forecast. They LOVE this part.
The BIG day! On February second, I play a recap video of the live footage of the ceremony and the students validate their predictions!
To review the vocabulary, we play I have Who Has game.
All of these activities come from my Groundhog Literacy and Math Non-Fiction Unit. Here is a freebie of the unit: Groundhog Day Tallying Activity.
