Groundhog Day is one of those holidays that always sneaks up on me. With it being February 2nd, I’ve barely turned my calendar and it’s here and gone. As a first grade teacher, I really like to talk about Groundhog Day, do Groundhog Day read alouds, and have the students predict if the groundhog will see his shadow, or not. BUT, if you want to do this, you have to be prepared to start it at the end of January, especially if February 2nd, is on or right after a weekend.
Today I hope to share a few of my favorite Groundhog Day read alouds, some lesson plans, and activities with you! Keep reading and they’re will be a FREE Seesaw activity too!
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Groundhog Day Read Alouds
These are a few cute Groundhog Day read alouds that I enjoy sharing with my students. Click on any of the images to buy from Amazon.
Favorite Groundhog Day Read Aloud
While there are a number of Groundhog Day books out there, this one is definitely my favorite. Wake Up, Groundhog! originally called Punxsutawney Phyllis, is about a female groundhog who is trying to convince her Uncle Phil that she should be the next Punxsutawney Phil.
I love this book and the students love listening to it, especially my girls! We always have a wonderful discussion about girls doing any job they want.
Can’t Find This Book?
I’ve been having a hard time finding this book and with Groundhog Day right around the corner, there isn’t time to order it.
I’ve got you covered! Sometimes when I don’t have the book, or want to switch it up a bit, I’ll use a YouTube video. You can complete all of the components of my Wake Up, Groundhog! Interactive Read Aloud, and this can be done virtually or in person.
As you’re watching the video, use the included planner and stop the video. Have students, in person or on the screen, answer and continue the video. All the additional activities, vocabulary, retelling, etc. can be done, but instead of reading the book yourself, you cut yourself a break, and had the kids watch the video. Ea sy, peasy! ????
Here’s a YouTube video that I made into a safe video link for you to use:
Wake Up, Groundhog! Read Aloud-YouTube
Read Aloud Lesson Plans & Activities
You know how I feel about interactive read alouds! I love taking my favorite books, reading them to my students, and making them so educational! You know that I also like making lesson plans and activities that are easy for teachers. I do all that I can to make planning easy, teach as many things as possible, and help out my fellow first grade teachers!
You may be familiar with these other read alouds of mine and can see blog posts about these books: My Mouth is a Volcano, Chrysanthemum, First Day Jitters, Last Day Blues.
This read aloud is like all of my others and includes a lot of easy-to-use lesson plans and activities.
It includes:
- Interactive Read Aloud planner for 2 complete read alouds.
- First Read: The first read will get your students acquainted with the book, allow them to practice their predicting skills, and help them learn the sequence of the story.
- Second Read: The second read is more focused on Common Core Skills. Because this is the second time they have read it, they are more able to understand the characters, setting, and structure of the book.
- Sticky note printables
- Print & cut notes for easy on-the-go prep.
- Vocabulary resources including word cards with definitions and sentences, suggestions, and a worksheet.
- words: burrow and fellow
- 3 mini-charts to use for brainstorming and connecting
- 5 reading connections/retelling worksheets with differentiation options.
- Graphing printables and worksheets.
- Tips for printing on sticky notes with a link to a blog post with step-by-step directions. Check out >>THIS<< blog post if you need help.
Lesson Planner, Sticky Notes, and Print & Cut Notes
When I create my read alouds, I try to make it as easy as possible for you to follow the lesson plans. This, and all of our my resources includes easy to follow lesson plans for 2 complete read alouds.
I like reading books aloud 2 or 3 times because students can learn so much when rereading a book. This shows them it’s a great idea to read books more than once and how much they can learn from rereading.
This resource includes a lesson planner that has all of the stopping points, questions, and vocabulary in one place. It also includes printable sticky notes. Not sure how to print on stickies? Check out >>THIS<< blog post: How to Print on Sticky Notes in 3 Easy Steps. It’s really quite simple and once you figure it out, it’s life-changing.
If you’re not so sure about printing on sticky notes, that’s ok too, because I have easy to print and cut notes that you can just place into the book on the correct page.
Mini-Charts & Worksheets
Also included in this resource are mini-charts to build background knowledge and schema. I use this chart before I read and students come up with all they know about Groundhog Day. We discuss words we might see in the book, important vocabulary, and more.
I use these charts under my document camera. If you’re virtual, use your doc. cam. and share the screen.
With these read alouds, it is important for me to include options for furthering their understanding, assessments, or partner work. One of the big power standards at first grade is retelling and identifying story elements. These worksheets are differentiated to meet the needs of all of your learners. Have your students draw, draw and write, or just write.
Vocabulary
As a dual language teacher in a two-way immersion program, vocabulary is an important part of any read aloud. I typically choose 2-4 vocabulary words and I will pre-teach the vocabulary words, and as we read students are to listen for our important words. Students will tap their heads when they hear a word and we stop and talk about it.
This resource includes vocabulary information sheet with tips and suggestions, sticky note printables, print & cut notes, words and definition cards, and a worksheet.
Graphing Activity
One of the best parts of Groundhog Day is having students predict whether Punxsutawney or our local Groundhog Jimmy, will see his shadow or not.
The last thing this resource has are materials for your students to predict if they believe if the groundhog will see his shadow. On February 1st, or before if it’s over the weekend, have your students color one of the black and white groundhogs and use a pocket chart to create a graph. Then complete the graphing worksheet. My kids love this activity!
Free Seesaw Activity for Groundhog Read Aloud
I also made a FREE Seesaw activity for you if you’re virtual, or in person. After you read the book, assign this activity to your students. Have them choose their prediction and color it in. I also, always have my students record themselves to practice their oracy and langauge skills.
Additional Read Aloud Resources
Additionally, here are some more read aloud resources that you might find useful.
- Read Alouds: Interactive Read Aloud Bundle for the Year Grab 20 read aloud lesson plans for less than $3 each. That’s $1-$2 off each read aloud. Buy now, and get new read alouds for free when they are added.
- Free Guide: The Ultimate Read Aloud Guide
As always, I truly appreciate it if you pin and share for others to see.
I’m hoping for an early spring! What about you? Happy reading!
