The Snowy Day

Activities to use with The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats.

Before Reading the Story:
Ask your students if they have walked and played in the snow. Invite students to share their experiences.

Then have students make a "Snowy Day" graph with you. Write on a sheet of construction paper, "Have you ever played in the snow?" Write yes on one side of the paper and no on the other side. Let each child glue a cotton ball on the side of his choice.

When Peter walked through the snow, he left footprints. Provide a snow scene with a variety of footprints in it. Use patterns of different animal prints. Then make patterns of the animals that would of made the prints. Have your students match the print to the animal.

For a sequencing activity, provide picture cards of snowmen being built. Have the students sequence!

SCIENCE ACTIVITY : Before Peter had to go into the house to warm up, he packed a handful of snow into a snowball. By the time he had bathed and dressed, the snowball had melted. Click here to find patterns of things that do and do not melt. Let each student cut out the pictures and sort them on construction paper by things that melt and things that do not melt!

In the story, Peter makes a little snowball and places it into his pocket. To his surprise, after some time in his warm house, the snowball is no longer there. Have students tell what they think happened to the snowball.

Do a class experiment by having students make snowballs, place them in sandwich bags (closed tightly), and predict what will happen. For an extra challenge, have them predict how long they think it will take for their snowball to melt. Place some snowballs closer to a heat source. Ask students to predict what will happen to those snowballs. Make a few of the snowballs very big. Have students predict how long it will take for the larger snowballs to melt. Record the data on a graph.

Visit Teaching Heart for more Snowy Day Activities...
http://www.teachingheart.net/snowyday.html