Snow Mail

Craft and structure

Phonics

The essential question of this issue is What happens in cold places? The articles below connect to this theme.

• Picture This: “Grandma Shark,” p. 2
• Background Builder: “The Coldest Place,” p. 8
• Big Read-Aloud: “Escape From the Ice,” p. 10
• Mini History: “The True Story of Popsicles,” p. 30
• Poetry: “Snow Mail,” p. 32

Through the above genres, students will discuss:

• Have you ever been to a cold place?
• What do people need to survive in the cold?
• What are snow and ice like?
• What happens in cold places?

Shared Reading

• After you introduce and explore the meaning of the poem, use it as a daily shared reading experience to build fluency and phonological awareness through rhyme.

Show a Video (10 minutes)

• Tell children that they are going to watch a video about cold places. (This video also goes with other stories in the issue).

Preview Text Type and Illustration (5-10 minutes)

• Now tell students they will read a rhyming poem. Point out the features that many poems have: a title, lines, and rhyming words.
• Open your magazines to “Snow Mail.” Point out the illustration. Where do children think the girl lives? What is it like there?

•  Read the poem to model fluency. You can also click the Read Aloud button at the top of the digital issue to hear it read by a voice actor!
• Discuss the meaning of the poem. What did the girl in the poem ask for? Did her cousin forget? What happened? Are there any clues in the illustration that can help you guess? Encourage them to state their inference using an “I think . . . because . . .” structure.

ELA Focus: Craft and Structure (10 minutes)

•  The Mark Up the Poem! skills page allows children to engage with the elements of poetry.

ELA Focus: Phonological Awareness (10 minutes)

• The Rhyme and Match allows children to practice their rhyming skills.