This week, I have a new literacy snack read-aloud for you! We are going on an adventure, and reading A Ticket Around the World, by Natalia Diaz and Melissa Owens. The book takes kids on a journey across 13 countries and 6 continents as a young boy visits friends around the world. Along the way, children learn about each country’s culture, language, food, landmarks, wildlife, and traditions while exploring maps and fun facts.

It has engaging nonfiction content and great illustrations. This picture book helps kids discover both the differences and similarities that connect people around the globe. There are even some great reading comprehension questions at the back of the book to share with your class as a book extension.

This would be such a fun book to use if you have a multi-cultural night at your school, as part of your social studies units, summer school, or even a library summer reading theme!

For our snack this week, we will be making our own “world”!

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Snack Idea

To make the “world” snack, each student will need the following

To make the snack, each student will start with a waffle for the base. They can then add the vanilla yogurt onto the waffle and use a plastic knife or spoon to spread it all over the waffle. Lastly, they can add blueberries and grapes as water and continents to create their “world” or Earth. They turn out so cute and such a fun and yummy snack!

Around the World Free Printable

I’ve also created a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their snacks! Similar to the questions in the back of the book, I created additional questions for your students to answer, such as: In India, what types of fruit grow in the hot climate? I made two different versions, one to write the answers in and one for students to draw in their answers.

Click the green box below to download the Free Around the World printable.

I loved bringing A Ticket Around the World to life with this simple literacy snack and printable activity, and I hope it inspires your little learners to explore the world through books, too. Activities like these make reading more meaningful by helping children connect stories to hands-on learning and real-world experiences. Be sure to grab the free printable and enjoy your own around-the-world adventure right from home or the classroom!

See you next time!

Jenette

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I have another fun Halloween read-aloud this week for our literacy snack idea! This week, we are reading, We’re Going On A Ghost Hunt by Marcia Vaughan and pairing it with a simple, fun snack idea that your students will love! There’s nothing better than pairing a great book with a themed snack! It’s an easy way to spark excitement, encourage participation, and make reading truly memorable. Your students will love this Halloween read-aloud favorite!

We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt is a fun and slightly spooky twist on a classic favorite! Follow a group of brave little ghost hunters as they journey through creaky houses, dark forests, and shadowy paths, all in search of their very own ghost. Along the way, they’ll face a few spooky surprises, but their courage (and curiosity!) keeps them going. It’s a ghostly adventure your students will want to join again and again!

To go along with the book, our snack that we will be making this week is our very own ghosts!

Snack Idea

For each student you will need:

• Half of a banana
• 1 choclate chip
• 2 candy eyeballs

To make their little ghost, students will unpeel half of a banana, then gently press on two candy eyeballs and a chocolate chip for the mouth. It’s quick, easy, and absolutely adorable — the perfect simple snack for this week! 

Free Printable

I’ve created a free printable to go along with the book, perfect for students to work on while enjoying their spooky ghost snack! They’ll get to practice their sequencing skills as they color, cut, and glue the pictures in the correct order of what the kids saw on their ghost hunt. It’s a fun, hands-on way to extend the story! 

You can download the Literacy Snack Ghost Hunt Read Aloud free printable from my TpT store by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for some other engaging ghost activities, we have this fun Halloween Ghost CVC Middle Sounds Sort Center! This engaging ghost-themed literacy center provides students with hands-on practice in identifying and sorting CVC middle vowel sounds. It’s perfect for Halloween centers, early finishers, morning tubs, or small group literacy practice. You can get it out here.

And if you like this literacy snack idea, you’ll want to check out all of our literacy snack collection here.

I hope your students love this book as much as I do and enjoy their fun, yummy, spooky ghost snack!

See you next time!

Jenette

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Halloween is the perfect time to add a little extra fun to your literacy lessons! This week, our Literacy Snack Tricka Treat Read Aloud is Chicka Chicka Trick or Treat, by Julien Chung,  with a fun literacy snack idea that your students will love. Pairing a good book with a themed snack is a great way to bring stories to life, boost engagement, and make reading memorable. This fun Halloween read-aloud is sure to become a new classroom favorite! 

Chicka Chicka Tricka Treat is a Halloween companion to the beloved classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and there’s a spooky surprise in store for everyone’s favorite letters!

The classic alphabet chant gets a Halloween twist as the letters sneak their way up the tree, all wearing their favorite costumes. But when a witch swoops in, and the letters come tumbling down, will that be the end of their Halloween fun…or just the beginning?

For our snack this week to go along with the book, we’re making our own spooky alphabet tree and a special treat!

Snack Idea

Supplies that you will need for each student:

• 1 long pretzel rod
• 5 or 6 pretzel sticks
• 1 bag of mini alphabet cookies
• 1 small piece of candy

To make the spooky alphabet tree, have the students start with their large pretzel rod. They can then add the pretzel sticks as the tree limbs. You can suggest breaking a couple of them in half to make different branches. Add the letter cookies onto the spooky tree. Add a small piece of candy for each student so they can each have a special treat like the letters at the end of the book!

Kids will love seeing their tasty creations come to life (and then disappear bite by bite!). It’s a simple, hands-on snack that ties perfectly into the Chicka Chicka Trick or Treat story and keeps the Halloween fun going long after storytime!

Free Printable

I made a free printable to go along with the book for your students to work on while they are enjoying their spooky alphabet tree snack. They will get to draw Halloween costumes on a few letters and then write what they think the best Halloween costume is.

You can download the Literacy Snack Tricka Treat Read-Aloud free printable from my TpT store by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for some other engaging Halloween letter activities, we have this fun set of Halloween-themed beginning sounds board games. A fun way to reinforce this beginning sounds this month! You can check out the board games here.

You can find all of our other literacy snacks here.

I hope your students love this book as much as I do and enjoy their fun, yummy, spooky alphabet tree snack!

See you next time!

Jenette

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It’s apple season again, and I have another fun literacy snack idea to go with your apple theme this week! We are reading The Biggest Apple Ever, by Steven Kroll.

As a new school year begins in Mouseville, the students are diving into a lesson all about apples – kicking things off with a contest to discover the biggest one ever! Clayton, the town mouse, and Desmond, the country mouse, are both eager to win. But even after teaming up, the two friends can’t seem to find the largest apple. Will they admit defeat, or will they find another way to come out on top?

The simple text and lively illustrations make this book ideal for story time, keeping the kids entertained and perfect to go along with our apple theme!

Teachable Moments: The story naturally opens up conversations about cooperation, problem-solving, and kindness, great values to reinforce at home or in the classroom.

Encourages Discussion: You can use the rivalry between Clayton and Desmond to talk about competition, when it’s fun, and when teamwork matters more.

To go along with the book this week, for our snack, we will be having apple pie just like Clayton and Desmond made to share with their class!

Snack Idea

This week’s snack is a super simple one! Pick up an apple pie (or two, if you have a larger group) and serve each student a small slice to enjoy!

Be sure to bring along some small plates and plastic forks as well!

Free Printable

I also made a free printable to go along with the book! It’s perfect for your students to work on while they are enjoying their apple pie snack! They’ll look at the pictures in each box, number them in the order they happened in the story, and then color the illustrations. It’s a simple, fun way to practice retelling and sequencing!

You can download the Literacy Snack Biggest Apple Ever Read-Aloud Free Printable by clicking on the green box below.

If you’re looking for some more fun apple activities, you’ll want to check out our 7 hands-on Apple Week Centers! From crafts and snacks to measurement and phonics, these print-and-play activities make learning sweet and simple! Check out the apple week centers here.

I hope your students enjoy this fun apple-themed read aloud, and of course their special apple pie treat! See you next time!

Jenette

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October is Fire Prevention Month! Today I have a fun Literacy Snack Fire Drill Read-Aloud that will be perfect to go along with your fire prevention unit!

We are reading Miss Mingo and Fire Drill, by Jamie Harper.

Learning the rules of fire safety is a lot more fun (and less scary) when demonstrated by a charming and diverse group of animals. Alligator, Panda, Octopus, and the others work hard to master the rules of fire safety and perform the perfect fire drill, but thinking about fire is a bit nerve-wracking, and each of them reacts differently — often with hilarious results. I also love that the book has fascinating facts about animal behaviors. Miss Mingo books are always a favorite of the students!

This book is a great way to introduce fire drills to your students and go over the rules and expectations when one does happen.

For our snack this week, we will be making a fire truck to go along with our fire prevention theme!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

To make the fire truck snack, each student will need:

• One full-size graham crack plus half of a quarter of a graham cracker.
• 3 small pretzel sticks
• 1 mini Oreo
• A small amount of red frosting, about a tbsp – I like to put them into individual containers to make prep easier.
• Plastic knife

Instructions for fire truck snack

Your student will first use the red frosting the cover their large graham cracker. They can then place the half of a quarter of graham cracker pie at the left-hand upper corner as the fire truck window. Next, have them split the mini Oreo in half and place them at the bottom part of the graham cracker as the fire truck wheels. Last, place two of the pretzel sticks on the right side of the fire truck as the ladder. Bread the last pretzel stick into three parts and add them to finish making the ladder. Now the fire truck is complete! They look so adorable!

Free Printable

I made a printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their fire truck snacks. They will get to work on sequencing activity to show the proper steps of a fire drill. I made two different versions, one that they can number the order of the pictures and color them, and the second is a cut and glue version.

You can download the Literacy Snack Fire Drill Read-Aloud free printable from my TpT store by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for some more fun ideas to go along with your fire prevention unit, you might want to check out another great read-aloud, Firehouse, and I share a FREE printable fire safety expert hat that your students can make and wear! You can check that out here.

And you also might want to check out our fire safety bingo! Such a great way to review fire safety rules and vocabulary. You can grab the fire safety bingo here.

I hope your students enjoy making their fire truck snack and learning all about fire prevention! See you next time!

Jenette

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Activities to go along with books are my favorite! Over the years, I’ve shared many literacy snack ideas to go along with books and free printables to go with each one of them. I’ve gathered them all together into a Literacy Snack Collection, in one spot so you can easily access each one of them. I hope you enjoy doing these activities with your class!

Literacy Snack Collection

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Are you looking for a cute read-aloud for St. Patrick’s Day? Look no further! This week’s Literacy Snack Lucky Read-Aloud is called The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever! by Teddy Slater.

It’s a cute, simple book that takes you through the day, St. Patrick’s Day. It follows the Leprechaun family on their St. Patrick’s Day parade, and then back home for lunch with friends and family. The books gives a great opportunity to talk about different symbols of St. Patrick’s Day, looking for fun items on each page turning it into a scavenger hunt, and to talk about all kinds of great green types of food.

At the end of the book, they toast and say, May the luck of the Irish be with you today!” So that is what we are going to base our snack and printable on today, luck. For our snack today, we will be having a shamrock cookie.

Snack Idea

For our snack today, we’re keeping it simple with these store bought shamrock cookies. I found these in the bakery section at Target, but you can also probably find something similar at your local grocery store or Walmart.

Free Printable

For our free printable to go along with the book, we are focusing on the lucky aspect. It’s a great time to talk with students about what makes them lucky. They can reflect on who they are and value what they have around them. So often, our kiddos don’t think about what makes them a good person and appreciate the good things in their life so this is a great opportunity to do just that!

On the printable, the students will draw a picture and write about what makes them lucky.

You can download the Literacy Snack Lucky Read-Aloud free printable by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for more read-aloud for St. Patrick’s Day, we have 2 more literacy snack read-aloud that you might like. First up is There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover. You can check out the snack idea and grab the FREE printable to go along with the book here.

And we also have another literacy snack read-aloud for St. Patrick’s Day, Leprechaun On The Loose. You can get out the snack idea and get the FREE printable to go along with the book here.

I hope your students enjoy one of all of these fun read-aloud for St. Patrick’s Day! Share with us below in the comments if you have any other favorite books you like to read for the holiday.

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

I have three special books to share with you this week for our Literacy Snack Endangered Wolf Read-Alouds. . This week, we are learning about endangered animals, specifically Mexican gray wolves. Our three books that we will be reading this week are, Trumpet The Miracle Wolf Pup, Trumpet the Miracle Wolf Pup: Trumpet Grows Up , and Trumpet the Miracle Wolf Pup: Trumpet Finds Love

In Trumpet The Miracle Wolf Pup, at the Wolf Conservation Center, while the workers are worried about the endangered species of Mexican Gray Wolves, two wolves who live there just want a pup of their own. Sadly, there are no puppies yet, and everyone has begun to give up hope. But at the end, the are graced with Trumpet, the miracle pup.

In the second book, Trumpet Grows Up, it share about Trumpet growing up and learning new things at the Wolf Conservation Center. It touches of her different senses she’s learning more about and getting a check-up from the caregivers.

In the thrid book, Trumpet Finds Love, she is now grown to a year and a half old. She is relocated to a new home where she meets a special wolf named Lighthawk. They become the best of friends and fall in love.

Each year, in mid-October, there is a Wolf Awareness Week to help bring awareness to these endangered animals. These books are based on true events that happen at the Wolf Conservation Center. Each of the books that are purchased, 50% of the profit is donated back to the center. Their website has some great information on it too that you can share with your class. They even have a webcam that you can watch Trumpet from the books!

Another great resource to help your students learn more about the endangered Mexican gray wolves is Lobos of the Southwest. This link will take you directly to the kid zone and has some fantastic facts about the Mexican gray wolves that you can share with the class.

Snack Idea

Onto our snack for the week, we are having blueberries! They are a favorite snack of the Mexican gray wolf when they can find wild blueberry bushes.

Free Printable

While your students are enjoying their blueberry snack, I made a free printable for them to work on. They will get to draw a picture of Trumpet and write three facts that they learned about Mexican gray wolves.

You can download the Literacy Snack Endangered Wolf Read-Alouds free printable by clicking the green box below.

I hope you are able to share these special books with your class and that it helps teach about an endangered animal in a fun way.

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

It’s October which usually means the start of learning about 2D shapes! Today I have a fun new literacy snack to go along with learning about 2D shapes this month. This week’s Literacy Snack Shapes Read-Aloud is Walter’s Wonderful Web by Tim Hopgood.

“A determined little spider named Walter is trying to make a sturdy web that will stand up to the blustery wind. The webs he makes at first are woven in special shapes–a triangle, a square, a circle–but they are still wibbly-wobbly. Can Walter make a web that is both wonderful and strong? ” -Amazon

In the back of the book, it also has a place to go back and review the shapes that were shown in the book, and to review how many sides each shape has.

This book is a fantastic way to introduce shapes and is a great display of perseverance and the importance to keep trying. As a bonus, spiders are perfect to go along with the month of October!

For this week’s literacy snack, we will be making our own spiders!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Spider Snack Idea

Ingredients needed per student

• 1 donut hole – I found these fun sprinkled ones at Walmart
• 4 pretzel sticks
• 2 candy eyes

You’ll also need a small amount of cream cheese to share with everyone to help attach the candy eyes.

How to Assemble the Spider Snack

To make the spider snack, start by having the students break their 4 pretzel sticks in half creating the spider’s eight legs. Next, help the students by placing a dab of cream cheese on each of their eyeballs so they can attach them to the donut hole. Once the eyes are on, they can now carefully insert the spider’s eight legs and he’s finished!

Isn’t our little Walter the spider cute?!

free printable

While your kiddos are enjoying their snack, I made a free printable for them to work on. They will get to draw a shape web as Walter did in the story for each shape that they learned. f you have younger kids, you can also just have them practice drawing the regular shape a few times in each box.

You can download the Literacy Snack Stapes Read-Aloud free printable by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for another fun activity that goes great with this read-aloud, I’ve got a few perfect ones!

First off, have you tried our 2D shape pictures? You can check out the FREE 2D shape scarecrow here, but you’ll also want to check out the 2D shape crafts here. There is a spider included that would go PERFECTLY with this story!

We also have a bunch of other great 2D shape activities that might work well for you too!

I hope your students enjoy this fun 2D shape read-aloud and spider snack! Do you have any other favorite books that help introduce and reinforce 2D shapes? Share them with us below in the comments!

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

I’ve got a fun new Literacy Snack Bear Hunt Read-Aloud for you! Today we are reading an all time classic, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.

In the book, you follow a father and his four young children as they cross a field of tall, wavy grass, wade through a deep, cold river, struggle through swampy mud, find their way through a big, dark forest, fight through a whirling snowstorm, and enter finally enter a narrow, gloomy cave. What will they find there? You’ll have to read on to find out!

I have such fond memories of this book. It is definitely my one of my favorite books to sing along and do hand motions with.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

If you aren’t familiar wit the hand motions etc., Youtube has a some great videos. There are also some great Bear Hunt inspired Brain Breaks and even a Bear Hunt Cosmic Yoga!

Onto our snack to go along with the book today, we are making bears!

Bear Snack Idea

Ingredients needed per student

• One piece of bread
• Small amount of peanut butter , almond butter or sun butter
• 2 candy eyes
• 1 mini Oreo cookie
• 1 mini Nutter Butter cookie twisted apart into 2 pieces

You will also need a circle cookie cutter for the students to all share.

To Assemble The Bear Snack

To make the bear snack, first have the students take turns using the circle cookie cutter to cut their piece of bread into a circle. Next, they will spread a small amount of peanut butter covering their bread. Take the mini Oreo cookie and place it in the center of the circle as the bear’s nose. Place the eyes above the nose. Lastly, take the 2 pulled apart piece of the mini Nutter Butter cookie and place them as the bear’s ears. All done! So simple but so adorable!

While your kiddos are enjoying their snack, I made a free printable for them to work on. They can color and draw lines connecting the path that the family went on to find the bear.

You can download the Literacy Snack Bear Hunt Read-Aloud free printable by clicking the green box below.

Do you have any other favorite books that you love to sing along with and do fun movement and hand motions with?

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

July means Shark Week is coming so I wanted to share a fun Literacy Snack Shark Read Aloud today.

This week, we are reading, I’m Getting A Shark! by Brady Smith. A girl overhears her mom and dad talking about her getting a shark for her birthday. Throughout the book, she wonders what type of shark it will be. Her pet dog helps give facts about the different sharks throughout the story. In the end, she ends up getting an adoption certificate to save a shark for her birthday.

For our snack this week, we’ll be making our very own shark!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Ingredients you’ll need for each student

• 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding or a vanilla pudding cup
• Blue food coloring
• A quarter of an Oreo cookie (you’ll want to have these cut into quarter and ready to go)
• A spoon
• Small plastic cup (9 oz is a good size)

If you’ll be using the instant pudding, the 3.4 oz box makes 5 servings. Add a drop or two of blue food coloring ahead of time to make the snack assembly quick and easy. If you are using a vanilla pudding cup, I suggest you hellp add the drop of blue food coloring in the cup and let them mix it up. They can then add it to their snack.

To Assemble

To make the shark snack, the students will first add the graham cracker crumbs to the bottom of the cup as the sand layer. Next, they’ll add the vanilla pudding as the water. Last, the students wil add their Oreo in the water as the shark fin. Isn’t it cute?!

Free Printable

While your students are enjoying their shark pudding snack, I made a printable for them to work on. They will draw and write about something new they learned about sharks from the book.

You can download the Literacy Snack Shark Read Aloud free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for some more fun shark books, I gathered all of my favorite shark read-alouds here. The shark snack we made today would go perfectly with any of these books as well!

I hope you little learners enjoy this fun shark read-aloud and making these shark snacks!

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

The other day I was walking through Target and this book caught my eye on the end cap. I peeked through it and just knew it would be perfect for our next literacy snack!

This week, we are reading, The Smart Cookie by Jory John. The cookie in the story has never felt like a smart cookie no matter how hard she tries. Especially in comparison to all the clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls in the bakery. In the end, she is reminded that perfect scores and having all the answers aren’t the only ingredients for intelligence. Sometimes all you need is a sprinkle of confidence and some creativity.

This is such a great book that can be read at the beginning of the school year, or even at the end of the year. Your students can reflect on how much they have learned and how far they have grown throughout the school year.

This is a great book that your student will be able to relate to and can help them all realize that they are smart cookies! For our snack this week, we are having smart cookies!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

For our snack to go with the book, we are having yummy sprinkle-covered frosted sugar cookies. These are always a favorite of the kiddos and go perfectly with the cookie from the book. You can usually find them at the grocery store, Walmart, or Target.

Free Printable

I made a free printable to go along with the book for your little learners to work on while they are enjoying their snack. They will get to reflect and write about what makes them a smart cookie. They can draw a write about it.

You can download the Literacy Snack Smart Cookie Read-Aloud free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another option is to give your kiddos a small pack of cookies and attach this cute free printable smart cookie tag. You can grab that here. They make a great treat to give out before a test or as an end of the year gift too!

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Smart Cookie Read-Aloud!

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

It’s the holiday season again, and today I have a fun Literacy Snack Christmas Tree Read Aloud for Christmas! Today we will be reading Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry.

“Christmas is here and Mr. Willowby’s tree has arrived. There’s just one big problem: The tree is too tall for his parlor! He cuts off the top so it will fit, and soon the top of that tree is passed along, again and again, to bring holiday cheer to all the animals in the forest.”

For our snack today, we’ll be making our very own Christmas trees!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Supplies You’ll Need

Each student will need

-1/2 of a small green apple sliced fairly thinly.

-6 or so blueberries

-1 pretzel stick

-1 small piece sandwich cheese to cut a star from

You will also need a small approx 1-inch star cookie cutter to have each use to cut out their cheese star.

To Assemble

To make the snack Christmas tree, have the students start with the apple pieces. They can lay them slightly on top of each other in order to form the shape of a tree. Next, add the blueberries as ornaments and the pretzel stick as the tree trunk. Lastly, have each student take a turn with the star cookie cutter to make their cheese start and add it to the top of their tree. A healthy and yummy Christmas tree snack!

If you’re looking for another fun Christmas tree snack idea, you could have your students make these Christmas tree cones! They are so much fun! You can get all of the details of how to make them here.

Free Printable

I made a free printable to go along with the book for the students to work on while they are enjoying their snacks. They will get to decorate a Chrismtmas tree of their own!

You can download the Literacy Snack Christmas Tree Read Aloud free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Do you have any other fun books about Christmas trees that you like to share with your class? Tell us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

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this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

The leaves are chaning colors, the morning air is crisp, you know what that means, autumn is here! This week, we have a Literacy Snack Autumn Leaves Read-Aloud. We are reading, The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming.

A worried squirrel thinks that SOMEONE is stealing his tree’s leaves. HIS leaves! Even though his friend Bird tries to help him, Squirrel doesn’t seem to understand the changes that the fall season brings like leaves changing color and wind blowing them off the trees.

It’s funny and illuminating — and will spark helpful discussions about the characteristics of fall– with a hint of a winter surprise at the end.

For our snack this week to go along with the book, we are making our own fall trees.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack idea

Each student will need

• 1 large pretzel rod
• 6 prestzel sticks
• a handful of Fruit Loops

To Assemble

To make the fall tree snack, have your students start with the large pretzel rod as the trunk of their tree. Next, have them add the pretzel sticks as the branchess of the tree. Last, they can add on the cereal as the fall colored leaves.

Free Printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their fall tree snack. They will get to draw and write about who the leaf theif is and also what their favorite thing to do with leaves is.

Click the green box below to download the Literacy Snack Autumn Leaves Read-Aloud free printable from my TpT store.

If you’re looking for more fun activities for fall, your students will love getting outdoors to do this Autumn scavenger hunt.

You can find all of the other scavenger hunts I’ve shared here. And if you would like the printable version, you can find that here.

I hope your students enjoy making their fall trees and this silly story!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Autumn Leaves Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Zombies are always a hit with the kids! ! So for this week, we have a fun Literacy Snack Zombie Read-Aloud for Halloween or any time really! We are reading Peanut Butter & Brains by Joe McGee.

Reginald isn’t like the other zombies that stumble around town moaning for BRAINSSSSS!! His stomach only rumbles for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He tries to tell his zombie pals that there’s more to life than eating brains, but they’re just not interested. In the end, the zombies all come to love peanut butter and jelly too while Reginald moves onto something new, pizza!

It’s a silly and fun story that has a great message to it about staying true to yourself. For our snack today, we are making our own zombies!

Snack Idea

Ingredients

• a circle cookie cutter to share
• a piece of bread for each student (you could use a plain circle sugar cookie too)
• blue frosting or white frosting with a couple of drops of blue food coloring
• 2 zombie eyeballs per student – I found mine at the grocery store
• 1 chocolate chip per student
• black gel icing
• pretzel sticks

Assemble

To make the zombie, have the students share the circle cookie cutter and cut their piece of bread into a circle. Next, they will spread the blue frosting onto the bread. Your students will then get to decorate their zombies. Have them place the eyes on and nose using the chocolate chip. Bread a pretzel stick into a few small pieces to use as the hair. Last, use the black gel icing to draw on the mouth and stitches if desired. Now you have a cute zombie!

Another fun option would be to give each student a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to enjoy with their zombie too!

While your students are enjoying their zombie snack, I made a free printable to go along with the story for them to work on. They will get to draw and write about what their favorite food would be if they were a zombie.

Click the green box below to download the Literacy Snack Zombie Read-Aloud free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

I hope your students enjoy making this fun zombie snack!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Zombie Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

This week’s literacy snack read-aloud is a great one that would work any time of the year. It would also be a great one for the first month of school as a read-aloud about the importance of inclusivity, open-mindedness, diversity. We are reading, The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah.

In this book, two friends love doing everything together and always eat lunch together.  Lily eats peanut butter and Salma eats hummus-but what’s that between friends? It turns out, a lot A food fight ends up breaking out and in the end, the girls are able to work things out and try each other’s sandwiches which they both end up loving!

This is incredibly relatable for children, as we’ve all experienced times when people thought our choices were “yucky” or “gross,” or when we’ve thought the same about others.  This is a great book to use as a springboard for many class discussions.

For our snack idea today, we’re making sandwiches to go along with the story.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

For this week’s snack, we’re taking inspiration from the end of the book where they created a sandwich event for their entire school. You can do this a couple of different ways with your class.

• Simply have each student bring in a sandwich of their own to enjoy eating as a class together. You can talk about all of the different kinds of sandwiches that were brought in.
• Another option is for you to make 3 or 4 different sandwiches. Cut each one into quarters and let each student taste all 3 or 4 types of sandwiches.

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their sandwich snack. They will get to draw and write about what type of sandwich is their favorite.

You can download the Literacy Snack Sandwich Swap Read-Aloud free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

If you are looking for another great read-aloud about diversity, you might want to check out another book called Yoko. You can read about the book and get the snack idea and free printable to go along with this book too here.

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Sandwich Swap Read-Aloud!

Do you have any favorite books you like to read about diversity or inclusiveness? Share with us below!

See you next time!

jenette

The post Literacy Snack Sandwich Swap Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

This week’s literacy snack bee read-aloud is a great one for spring to go with your spring-insect unit or can be used at the beginning of the school as a read-aloud about the importance of sharing. We are reading, The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman.

In the book, the bee is very greedy and will not share his nectar with anyone! He finds the juiciest flowers, ends up eating too much, and gets stuck. He makes some friends that help him on his journey back home, and In the end, he shares all of his best honey with his new friends.

This is a great story that gives the opportunity to describe the character throughout the text. It helps the kids learn that they shouldn’t be greedy, to share and that sometimes you may need to ask for help from others.

For our snack this week, we’ll be making a bee!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

1 Keebler Fudge Stripes Cookie

1 pretzel stick broke in half

2 pretzel twists

2 candy eyeballs

to assemble

To make the bee snack, have your students start with the cookie. Next, take the 2 pretzel twists and place them under the cookie a little bit to look like the wings. Take the 2 pretzel stick halves and add them to the top of the bee as the antennae. Last, add the eyes and he’s done! Isn’t he cute!

Another option instead of making the bee snack is to have your kids taste test, honey. Grab a box of Ritz Crackers and a bottle of honey from the store and give each student 2 crackers with some honey on each as a snack.

This would make a great opportunity to graph with your class the number of people who like honey and the number of people that do not. We have a fun page in our Bee Activities Pack that goes perfectly with this too!

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their bee snack. They will get to draw and write about how the bee acted at the beginning of the story and then how the bee acted at the end of the story.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our bee craft! They look adorable hanging on the bulletin board or in the hallway! Click here to check it out now.

To also go along with the bee theme, we have this fun free Honey Bee Sight Word Game that you can grab to help your students practice their sight words. You can hop over and grab that for free here.

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Bee Read-Aloud!

Do you have any favorite books you like to read about the bees or sharing? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Bee Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Learning about the weather is always fun! There are so many fun activities, hands-on activities, and experiments that can be done! Today, we have a Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud. We are reading, Miss Mingo Weathers The Storm by Jamie Harper.

In our read-aloud today, Miss Mingo takes her class on a field trip to the weather station. The class experiences all kinds of weather and crazy atmospheric changes throughout their trip!

This book is sprinkled with great weather and animal habitat facts too!

For our snack this week, we’ll be making rain clouds!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

• Approx 6 blueberries
• Approx 25 mini marshmallows (or about a handful)

to assemble

To make the rain cloud, have the students use their mini marshmallows to create a cloud. After they have made their cloud, they can use their blueberries as raindrops falling from the cloud.

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their rain cloud snack. They will get to draw and write about their favorite type of weather.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our Umbrella Craft With Writing Prompts. They look great hanging on the bulletin board or in the hallways all spring long! Click here to check it out now.

And we also have our Weather Bingo. It’s a great way to review weather vocabulary while having some fun! Click here to grab it now.

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud!

Do you have any favorite books you like to read about the weather? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring is officially here, so for this week we’re focusing on birds and we are reading Nesting by Henry Cole for our Literacy Snack Robin’s Nest Read-Aloud.

In this black-and-white picture book highlighted with robin’s egg blue, the students will follow two robins as they build a nest with twigs and grass. The mother robin lays four beautiful blue eggs and keeps the eggs warm in the nest until they hatch into four baby robins.

The father robin protects the babies until they can fly on their own. The perils the babies encounter are many, including snakes and storms. The nest is always their safe place.

This book provides a great introduction to animal science concepts for young children.

For our snack this week, we’ll be making our own robin’s nest.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

• One rice crispy treat. You can make them yourself to bring in for the class if you are allowed, or you can purchase individually wrapped rice crispy treats. They also make full pre-packaged rice crispy sheets now that would work great for this too.
• 3 Mini Robin Egg candies

to assemble

To make the robin’s nest, have the students take their rice crispy treat and form it into a bowl or nest shape. Add the 3 robin’s eggs in the nest and you’re done! This snack is super easy peasy!

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their robin’s nest snack. They will get to draw and write about one thing that they learned about robins from the book.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our bird nest counting mats. Buy an extra bag of Robin Egg candies to use as the counters. (They’re my favorite Easter candy!)

If you are looking for some more great spring literacy snack read-alouds here are some of the ones we’ve shared.

When Spring Comes

The Tiny Seed

Kite Day

Worm Weather

Do you have any favorite books you like to read in spring? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Robin’s Nest Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring officially starts this weekend, so for this week, we are reading When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes for our Literacy Snack Spring Read-Aloud.

“Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it. “

This book takes you along on the beautiful transformation that happens between winter and spring. And for our snack idea this week, we are making my favorite part of spring, a flower!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies Needed Per Student

-1 to 2 strawberries thinly sliced (depending on the size of the berries)

-approx 8 blueberries

-a thin slice of green apple

-2 spring lettuce leaves or spinach leaves

To Assemble

To make the flower, start by laying out the strawberries in a circle like the petals. Add the blueberries in the middle. Next, add the green apple slice as the stem. Last, add the lettuce as the leaves.

You could use many different types of different fruits for this activity if you want to change it up. For example, use orange slices as the flower petals and sliced grapes in the middle. Tons of possibilities!

Free Printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their flower snack. They will get to draw and write about their favorite thing to do in spring. Also about how they feel, what they smell, and what they see in the spring.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

We have another fun flower snack idea to go along with the book, The Tiny Seed. Click here to check that one out and grab the free printable to go along with the book.

And to help us welcome spring, we have our Spring Bingo which is perfect to play all season long. Click here to grab it now.

What are some of your other favorite books or ways to welcome spring?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Spring Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring is in the air and the days are beautiful outside! This week, we have a Literacy Snack Kite Read-Aloud that takes us outdoors. We are reading Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand.

On a windy spring day, Bear sniffs the air.  Could it be. . . Kite day? Bear and his friend Mole build a kite of their own. But when the storm gets too strong, the kite snaps and lands in a tree. Not all is lost though, as the kite is stuck in the tree it protects a nest full of birds from the rain.

This is a fun read-aloud for spring or is a great addition to your weather unit. For our snack this week, we’ll be making our very own kites!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies Needed Per Student

-Half of a graham cracker (so one square)

-Approx 12 M&M’s or Skittles

-1/2 of 1 piece of pull-n-peel licorice

-3 mini marshmallows (for this snack, I left the bag open overnight to let the marshmallows dry out a bit. It makes it easier for the kids to form them into the bows.)

To Assemble

To make the kite, start with laying out the square graham cracker and turning it so it looks like a diamond. Place the M&M’s or Skittles along the outer edges of the inside of the graham cracker. Next, add the licorice piece as the kite tail. Last, take the 3 mini marshmallows and pinch them in the middles to create the bows. Place them on top of the licorice tail as the bows. Cute as can be for their very own kite!

Free Printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their kite snack. They will get to draw and write about a time that they got to fly a kite. Or if they haven’t flown a kite before, they can draw and write about a kite they’d like to fly.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

We have a fun kite math activity that would go along with this book perfectly too! The kites look adorable hanging up around the classroom for spring. You can get all of the details and download the kite template for free here.

Do you have any other fun kite activities to go along with the book? Share with us below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Kite Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

There’s just something magical about rainbows! And March is always a fun time to learn about them! For today’s Literacy Snack Rainbow Read-Aloud, we are reading, A Rainbow Of My Own by Don Freeman.

In this book, a small boy uses his imagination to see what it would be like to have a rainbow of his own. In the end, he even gets a rainbow of his very own in his room made by the sun shining through his goldfish bowl.

This is a great book to discuss the students using their imaginations and would also be a great addition to your weather unit. For our snack today, we will be making a rainbow of our own from fruit!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies Needed

Plastic Punch Cups & Plastic Forks

Red Fruit- We used 2 strawberries per cup. You could also use raspberries or apples.

Orange Fruit- We used 2 canned peaches per cup. You could use orange slices or canned mandarin oranges too.

Yellow Fruit- We used about 1/3 of a banana for each cup. You could also use pineapple.

Green Fruit- We used 4 green grapes cut in half for each cup. You could also use kiwi fruit.

Blue Fruit- We used a small handful of blueberries in each cup.

Purple Fruit- We used about 6 blackberries in our cup. You could also use red/purple grapes.

To Assemble

This snack works best with your help or a volunteer’s help so you can be the one to add the appropriate amount of fruit to the cup. The students can help tell you what color to add next and you can talk about what kinds of fruits they are.

Free Printable

Do you teach your students the colors of the rainbow? One of my most favorite songs to help with this is from an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every time I see a rainbow I still sing the song! Isn’t it just funny how things stick with you? I found it on YouTube you want to share it with their students.

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their rainbow fruit cup. They will get to draw and write about a time that they saw a rainbow.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

We have a fun rainbow science experiment that would go along with this perfectly too! To make this rainbow in a jar, the students are exploring density by layering sugar water to make a rainbow. You can get the details of the experiment here.

We also have this fun Rainbow Tally Mark activity. These rainbow tally marks are a great, hands-on way to practice counting by 5’s, counting on and working on fine motor a bit as well! Rainbows always make me happy and are great to use all year long, or during your weather unit, St. Patrick’s Day, or spring in general. Check out the activity here.

Do you have any other fun rainbow books you like to read or activities to go along with the book? Share with us below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Rainbow Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Today we have another Literacy Snack St. Patrick’s Day Read-Aloud to share with you! This week, we are reading, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover by Lucille Colandro.

The old lady is back in this book, this time swallowing a clover. Then she continues to swallow items to make the perfect rainbow to hide a pot of gold. It’s a fun rhyming read-aloud for St. Patrick’s Day.

To go along with the story, we are making our own rainbow snacks today!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies needed – each student needs

12-15 mini marshmallows

Fruit Loops cereal – 6 pieces of each color cereal

To Assemble

First, have your students create their cloud using their marshmallows. Next, have them use one color cereal at a time to create each arch of their rainbow and they’re done! Easy fun beautiful rainbow snack!

Free Printable

While your students are enjoying their rainbow snack, I made a free printable for them to work on. They get to recall all of the things in the story that the Old Lady swallowed and color them in. See if they can color the items in the order that they happened in the book to make it into a sequencing activity.

Click the green box below to download the Literacy Snack St. Patrick’s Day Read-Aloudfree printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

If you’re looking for another great Literacy Snack St. Patrick’s Day Read-Aloud, we also shared the book, Leprechaun On The Loose, and a fun trap idea that you can check out here.

In case you’re looking for even more St. Patrick’s Day fun, we have a scavenger hunt for you too!

You can find all of the other scavenger hunts we’ve shared here. And click here if you’re looking for a printable version.

And we have St. Patrick’s Day bingo too! It’s always a favorite! Click here to see It on TpT and click here for Primary Playground direct. 

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack St. Patrick’s Day Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Today we have another Literacy Snack Valentine Read-Aloud to share with you! This week, we are reading, A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger.

In this book, an ordinary kid becomes Crankenstein on the most lovey-dovey, yuckiest day of the year: Valentine’s Day. Cheesy cards, allergy-inducing bouquets, and heart-shaped everything? YECHHHH! It’s enough to turn anyone into a monster!

Compared to some Valentine’s Day books, this book shows some dislikes about Valentine’s Day which makes it great since there will be some students who can relate. It’s also great for making inferences.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

For our snack idea this week, we will be making our own Crankensteins!

Snack Idea

Supplies needed

Vanilla pudding – we made instant pudding – each box made enough for approx 7 students. You can also use vanilla pudding cups which would eliminate the need to purchase cups.

Green food coloring

2 Oreo cookies per student

9 oz plastic cups

Plastic spoons

Black sharpie

To Assemble

If using the pudding made from a box, use a few drops of green food coloring to color the pudding. Next, give each student a 1/2 cup of pudding in their cup. Have the students crumble up their two cookies and add them to the top of the pudding as his hair. The students can then use a black sharpie to draw Crankenstein’s face onto the cup.

If you’re using the pudding cups, you’ll do pretty much the same thing. Add a drop of green food coloring to the pudding cup and have them stir it in making the pudding green. If using the pudding cup, they’ll just need one cookie. Have them crush it up and add it as his hair. They can then use a black Sharpie to draw on Crankenstein’s face.

Free Printable

While your students are enjoying their snacks, I made a free printable for them to work on. They get to draw a picture and write about something that makes them say YECHHHH! And they can draw a picture of something that made Crankenstein say YECHHHH in the book too!

Click the green box below to download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

If you’re looking for some more Valentine Snack Read-Alouds, we’ve shared Love Monster and the Last Chocolate here.

And The Day It Rained Hearts here.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Do you have any other favorite Valentine’s Day read-alouds you like to share with your class?

See you next time!

Jenette

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