Preschoolers are such a fun age to teach. At this age, they are curious and excited to learn. Moreover, they are still imaginative and believe in the fun and possibility of things. Like Santa Claus!
Their belief in magical things makes it extra fun to teach preschool around the holidays. While Santa is always a fun topic to create lessons around, he would not be anything without his reindeer. Therefore, it is important to include his reindeer in lessons and that means ALL of his reindeer!
We all know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. We even know the most famous reindeer of all – Rudolph! But, do your students know Olive? If your students do not know Olive yet, they will love meeting her when you read Olive the Other Reindeer along with our Preschool Read Aloud
Olive the Other Reindeer for PreK
Olive the other Reindeer Read Aloud for Preschool is one of our most popular (and favorite) December learning activities. This learning resource is full of fun and engaging activities that will help preschoolers explore literacy. Furthermore, this activity packet has enough activities to last for 3 to 5 days!
Before we jump into sharing with you all of the activities included in this read aloud, have you read Olive the Other Reindeer? If so, go ahead and jump ahead to read about all of the Olive the Other Reindeer for PreK activities we have ready for you to teach. Not familiar with Olive? Take a peek at our quick summary below to see if this book is a good fit for your students.
Summary of Olive the Other Reindeer
Olive the Other Reindeer is a delightful children’s book written by Vivian Walsh and J.Otto Seibold. This adorable story follows Olive, a Boston Terrier, on the adventure of a lifetime to the North Pole!
Olive had always thought that she was a dog. She barks like a dog, runs like a dog, and looks like a dog. However, when winter rolls around she starts hearing the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” everywhere she goes. And the closer the listens the more it sounds like, “Olive is a reindeer…”
Well, if the song says so, she must be a reindeer! Therefore, Olive runs out of her house and towards the North Pole just in time to help ALL OF THE OTHER REINDEER get ready for Christmas!
Olive the Other Reindeer Close Reading Activities for PreK
If your preschoolers have never read Olive the Other Reindeer they will love reading it for the first time. Even if they have read it before, they will love the opportunity to learn more about Olive with the close reading activities we have prepared for you and your students.
In our Olive the Other Reindeer read aloud, every activity is created with the intention to help preschoolers explore the text in more detail. This includes close reading activities like comprehension questions and whole group responses to text activities.
Moreover, as we mentioned earlier, all of these learning activities are spread out over several days. Therefore, students have multiple opportunities to return to the text. This encourages students to learn the importance of close reading in preschool. These activities include providing students opportunities to make connections with the characters and events.
One of the most important reasons for spreading out the reading activities for preschoolers is that it gives them time to absorb each important detail and lesson. This supports their learning while also helping them to fall in love with the story and reading!
In addition to the benefits of chunking the story and reading activities for students, it also benefits you as the teacher. This structure provides you with a week’s worth of ready-to-teach reading activities. The perfect holiday gift!
PreK Read Aloud Activities for Olive the Other Reindeer
Below is an introduction to the different read aloud activities we have created for you to use with Olive the Other Reindeer. Each lesson is designed specifically with preschool students in mind and provides students with a different purpose for revisiting the text, talking about it, and responding to it.
Each activity can be printed or uploaded to a digital program such as Google Slides or SeeSaw. In addition, there are detailed lesson plans that guide you through each day’s lesson.
Comprehension Questions for Olive the Other Reindeer
Guide students in understanding the story by using these preschool-appropriate comprehension questions.
PreK Whole Group Response to Text Activities: Olive the Other Reindeer
Engage your students in the story of Olive by asking them whole group questions. This further develops their comprehension of the story, while also allowing you to quickly assess their understanding of it.
Response to Text Worksheets for Olive the Other Reindeer
These response to text worksheets are designed to support preschool students in sharing their understanding of the story. Moreover, it helps them begin to practice written responses.
Writing pages for Preschoolers
While your preschoolers are not going to be writing full sentences about Olive the Other Reindeer, they can use these guided writing pages to begin exploring written responses at their current level. In addition, writing pages help preschoolers practice their tactile skills and write complete words.
Preschool Vocabulary cards and worksheets
Help students further develop their vocabulary by introducing them to text-related vocabulary during reading. Our preschool-aged vocabulary activities help students successfully learn new vocabulary by using pictures to support the development of language skills.
Olive the Other Reindeer Quiz for PreK
Assess your students’ understanding of the book with a final quiz on Olive the Other Reindeer.
Retelling Puppets for Olive the Other Reindeer
It is important to show students there are several ways to demonstrate their comprehension. Therefore, we have included retelling puppets for students to verbally retell the story. This is also a fun way to encourage students to share what they learned at home.
Craftivity Template for Olive the Other Reindeer in PreK
Obviously we have to include a craft for a PreK read aloud! While craftivities are fun, they are also educational and provide another opportunity for students to share what they have learned. In addition, these crafts support preschoolers in further developing their fine motor skills.
Ready to read Olive the Other Reindeer with your preschoolers? Grab your ready-to-teach acuity packet at our Teachers Pay Teachers store today and be ready to teach it tomorrow!
If you like this preschool read aloud, then you can read more about out our Preschool North Pole themed activities. We are positive your preschoolers will love this bundle!
