Book Summary
Winter Is Fun is a collection of poems that celebrate the many fun activities to be enjoyed in winter. The activities include ice skating, sledding, and making snow angels. Photographs support the text. Approximate book level: K

Build Background
Read the title of the book. Ask students to share what they enjoy about winter. Which activities can they do only in winter?

Discuss poetry's rhymes and rhythms. Explain that rhyming poetry follows a beat based on syllables and includes words that rhyme. Point out that some non-rhyming poetry also follows a beat based on syllables. Write the word here on the board. Invite students to identify words that rhyme with here. Write these words on the board. Remind students that not all ending sounds of rhyming words are spelled the same. (For example, here and year rhyme but have ending sounds that are spelled differently.)

Preview the Poems
Show students the front and back covers of the book. Discuss the photographs. Turn to the title page. Discuss the photograph and the information on the page (title of book, author's name). Ask students to explain what the topics of these poems might be, based on the photographs, and what they already know, based on the title of the book. Explain that thinking about what they already know will help them understand and enjoy the poems.

For detailed lessons on teaching types of poetry, click here.

During Reading
Have students listen as you read the poems aloud. Tell them to clap or raise their hand whenever they hear the second word of a rhyming pair. Read the book expressively and emphasize the words that rhyme in each group of sentences.

Use think-aloud strategies to remind students to use what they already know to help make sense of each poem. React to parts of the poem with facial expressions and gestures. Allow students to stop and ask questions during reading, especially if they do not understand something. Invite them to identify some characteristics of poetry (it uses a great deal of description, it expresses feelings, it allows the reader to see a topic in a different way through the concise use of vocabulary, and so on).

After Reading
Reader Response
Ask students what they thought of the poems. Have volunteers describe their favorite poem.

Comprehension
Ask specific questions that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the poems.

• Does the author like winter? How do you know?
• How did the words used in the poems create images in your mind of people having fun in winter?
• What is the author's purpose for writing this book? How do you know?