The Christmas Owl is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
Â
SUMMARY
"The Christmas Owl" by Gideon Sterer is a beautiful and enchanting children's book that follows the journey of a young owl on a snowy Christmas Eve. As the owl explores the quiet winter landscape, it encounters various forest animals who are preparing for the holiday festivities. The owl's presence brings joy and wonder to each encounter, highlighting the magic of the season. Through captivating illustrations and lyrical text, the book captures the serene and mystical atmosphere of a snowy winter night. As the owl continues its journey, it eventually finds a special place to rest and becomes a silent observer of a joyful Christmas celebration. "The Christmas Owl" is a tender tale that celebrates the beauty of nature, the spirit of Christmas, and the power of finding peace in unexpected places.
 USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Analyze the setting of this book. Discuss where and when it takes place.
- Analyze the illustrations in the story. Discuss how they provide meaning that the words might not.
- Encourage students to use their summarizing and retelling strategies.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Explore the different ways words can be made plural.
- Teach a lesson on verb tense and have students categorize examples from the book.
- Discuss the importance of kindness.
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
- 30Â 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
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- As Cool As It Gets by Jory John
- Dasher: How a Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever by Matt Tavares
- Elf by David Berenbaum
- Madeline's Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans
- Mooseltoe by Margie PalatiniA
- The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
- The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
- The Crayons' Christmas by Drew Daywalt
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!
