Which Would YOU Rather Be?

... a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Here is a fun way to get your students to discuss their opinions, justify their answers, integrate the Common Core Practices into your lessons, and have FUN.  You can also use this as a springboard for an opinion writing assignment.

Here is the big question:

Would you rather be a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Behind the children you can see the live webcam we watch each morning.
It's reindeercam.com and it's a live webcam on 2 of Santa's reindeer.
Santa shows up each morning at 8:00 AM (Pacific Time) and feeds the reindeer!

First, We Read:

Well, actually, I read books to the class about snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men (and girls), and elves.  I might read only one book about reindeer and lots of books about gingerbread men, but by the time we are ready to discuss our opinions we have all been exposed to these fine characters.  :)

   

 (Click any of the books to see where to buy them.)

Second, We Discuss:

We talk about the pros and cons of being each character.  They have to justify their answers and tell why they would like or dislike being each character.  Yes, Common Core is alive and well in our classroom as we justify almost everything!  :)

Here are some of the things the children have told me in the past:

"Snowmen get to play in the snow, but they also have to stay outside all the time."

"Gingerbread men get to be covered with candy, but they can't cross rivers."

"Elves get to be with toys all day long, but they also have to work a lot."

"Reindeer get to fly!  :)  But they also have to work all night delivering presents."

Third, We Completed A Graph:

We used the cute icons that I offer on TPT to label our graph.  I have each child's photograph laminated on a piece of construction paper and I have attached a piece of sticky-back Velcro to the back of each photo and to the graph.  Students come up and attach their photo above the icon that represents snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men, and elves to express their favorite. 

Click the image to see the link.

Fourth, We Write:

Kindergarten kids love to tell you about their opinions!  :)  Now, we encourage them to write about them!  I give them the prompt dotted on the master that reads:  I would rather be a...  Then, all they have to do is copy the word snowman, reindeer, gingerbread man, or elf.  Then, they tell me WHY they want to be that character and I either write it for them to copy or I let them try to sound-blend the words and write them with temporary spelling.  They love to illustrate their writing too.

You might like our writing prompts.Click the image to see the link.

This is just one of the writing templates that comes in this set!

Last, I Take Their Photograph (dressed like their favorite character):

These are sooooo cute!  You can use them on the graph or on their writing piece.  

Here are some examples of the costumes I use.  I made the snowman and gingerbread man out of construction paper and tag board.  

The nose lights up!

Complete with ears and a tiny hammer!

I made this out of tag board and construction paper.

Made from tag board and construction paper.
We use these to play "dress up" in the home center.
We turn the home into a gingerbread house.

By the way, every year, the reindeer always gets the most votes!  Since we discuss our opinions and justify them, it seems that getting to fly with Santa trumps all of the other positives like getting to play in the snow, being with toys, or getting covered with candy!  

You might also like:

The Gingerbread Man's Book of Settings:

Click the image to see the link.

The Gingerbread Man's Number Formation Book:

Click the image to see the link

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 See yo all tomorrow!

Palma :)