*Gifts of Reading* Blog Hop!

Welcome to Literacy Loving Gals and the *Gift of Reading* blog hop! A big thank you to Wendy over at Read with Me ABC and Andrea over at Reading Toward the Stars for organizing the hop!  The graphics are adorable, aren't they? 

At each blog stop, you will be gathering Reading gifts and freebies. Just so you know, the hop is set up as a loop. You may start anywhere along the hop, but if you'd like to start at the beginning, visit Andrea over at Reading Toward the Stars! 

As we know, graphic organizers are effective visual tools for students to use when reading and responding to text.  All students can benefit from using graphic organizers, including English-language learners, gifted children, as well as students with special needs. Graphic organizers allow students to arrange ideas and content in a meaningful way to support their comprehension of the material.   

If you're looking for a fabulous resource filled with step-by-step guidance on using Common Core aligned graphic organizers with your students during Reading, check out Laura Candler's book Graphic Organizers for Reading: Teaching Tools Aligned with the Common Core.  

Therefore, my gift to you for this hop is a set of graphic organizers that can be used with any holiday or winter-themed text.  (They will become a paid product once the hop is over, so grab it while you can!)  As you can view below, each organizer comes in color and black and white.  They can be downloaded from my TPT store by clicking HERE, or by clicking on the picture below.  If you have the time, I'd appreciate a rating. ;)

Skill: Main Idea & Details

Skill: Sequence- First, Then, Next, Last

Skill: Compare & Contrast

Since we had our first snow of the year, my students have been putting the graphic organizers to great use with various winter-themed titles, including The Snowy Day and Snowman Magic.  

However, an uplifting story to read around the holidays is Christmas Makes Me Think by Tony Medina.  It's an oldie, but a goodie.  I haven't read it with my students just yet, since it would be a bit premature prior to Thanksgiving, but it comes highly recommended. ;)

Summary on Amazon: In this delightfully original Christmas story, our young narrator is thrilled. His favorite holiday is coming, and he looks forward to the presents, a great big tree, and baking a chocolate cake with his grandmother. But soon he starts to wonder: What happens to all the trees that get cut down and don't make it to the next Christmas? And what about all the people "who don't have a place to live or food to eat or presents in a stocking/or under a tree?" His thoughts shift — maybe he should give his extra presents to kids who don't have any, and give homeless people hats, gloves, and scarves. He realizes that Christmas is really about community, people coming together and helping each other. "Christmas makes me think/about others/and not just me!" His thoughtfulness leads to a magical celebration of the real spirit of Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by Literacy Loving Gals during the *Gift of Reading* blog hop!  If you would like to enter the giveaway I'm offering, please see the RaffleCopter below. If you do enter, make sure to email me your information (Twitter handle, Bloglovin' name, Facebook name, IG username, etc.). I'd like to be able to contact you, if you're the winner! The winner will get a choice of any two products in my TPT shop.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway Click the Next Stop picture below to continue hopping!  Deniece over at This Little Piggy Reads has more Reading gifts and freebies just for you! 

Happy Holidays!