It is so important to add a nonfiction read aloud to the rotation every now and then. Students need the opportunity to practice their reading strategies across all different genres, especially nonfiction titles. This week we are spotlighting the nonfiction read aloud Snowflake Bentley. We love this book because it is an engaging book for elementary students and they will enjoy all the new information they learn. It is a great book to share with your class this winter. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Snowflake Bentley tells the story of a real person, Willie Bentley. Ever since he was a young boy, Willie Bentley was fascinated by snowflakes. He spent his winters catching snowflakes and studying them. When he got older, his parents bought him a microscope camera so he could photograph the snowflakes. Willie wanted to share the beauty and uniqueness of snowflakes with others. It was not easy to photograph the snowflakes and people in Willie’s town thought he was silly.
Willie Bentley dedicated his life to studying and learning about snowflakes. Eventually, he published a book with all of his photographs and scientists around the world were interested in his work. When he passed, the children in his community dedicated a monument and museum to his work.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Working with nonfiction books give students a chance to practice familiar skills in with a new genre of writing. Even though you might have practiced some skills before, it will feel different for students to use these skills with a nonfiction title. Check out some of the important skills you can teach with Snowflake Bentley.
- Vocabulary- there are so many new words for students to learn and discover in this story.
- Practice identifying the main idea and discuss how the title and key details relate to the main idea.
- Sequence the important events in the story. This will help students with their understanding of the book and allow them to demonstrate what they learned.
- Use this nonfiction book as a mentor text for expository writing.
- Get students writing poetry with topics based off the story.
- Explore multiple meaning words and shades of meaning.
- Teach students about antonyms.
- Discuss the importance of perseverance and patience.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
It can be a lot of work for teachers to plan a comprehensive read aloud. Our goal with Starts With a Story is to make planning read alouds easier for teachers. We do all the planning and work for teachers so all they need to do is print and teach! Check out the book companion we’ve created for Snowflake Bentley.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
- Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
