"The Mitten" - A Great Retelling on a Cold Day!

One of our favorite stories to share with the children after the winter break is "The Mitten" retold by Jan Brett. It's about a boy who asks his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens. She warns him that the color is not a good choice because it's the same color as the snow. It doesn't take long for Nicki to drop one outside and it is soon found by a series of winter animals who make it their home. After the class heard the story a few times, we decided to retell it again via Reader's Theater. Our characters included a mole, followed by a snowshoe rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear and, finally a mouse. And then, of course, there was Nicki and his grandmother. The story comes to an end when the bear has a big sneeze, all the animals fly out, and Nicki finds his mitten floating in the air. When he returns home, the grandmother is puzzled as to the grand size of the one mitten. By retelling the story and acting it out, students practice sequencing, learn new vocabulary, (swoop, lumber, trot), and most of all have fun. "The Mitten" has become a fast class favorite, especially with everyone wearing their mittens on these cold Florida days!