Stick Man: Literacy Idea for December

Have you heard of the incredible book called Stick Man? It is written by Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo and it has stolen my heart. This book is a great addition to any classroom during Christmas. I can’t wait to show you a Stick Man Literacy Idea for December.

Using Stick Man for Literacy Ideas

Stick Man is a book about a man, who is made of sticks, who is mistaken for everything but a man. He is taken on a journey but he only wants to get home to his stick family.

First, while reading this book, we can talk about seasons, rhyming words, and sequencing events. Julia Donaldson does a fantastic job of incorporating great vocabulary words as well. Check out this book on Amazon here.

Reading Comprehension Ideas

One of my class favorites is the reading comprehension game. My students THINK we are playing games, but I am actually working on teaching them and assessing them on reading comprehension standards.

Rhyming Practice with Stick Man

Next, we are working hard on rhyming words this grading period and this book is ideal for this standard. It has tons of simple rhymes and a few tougher ones to accelerate learners. When I am reading this book, I pause before the second rhyming word, giving my listeners and learners that wait time so they can think about the rhyme.

Once we are in small groups, we play a Stick Man matching game with the words from the book. Because the learners have the picture and the word as clues, this game can meet so many levels. We follow up with a printable cut and sort.

Stick Man Writing Ideas

One key to really allowing your learners to connect to the text is writing. Our standard this nine weeks asks us to focus on the spacing between words and we are looking to see if they can draw about what they write. Sure thing. We can work on many skills at one time.

Then, I usually love for my small groups to work on different writing prompts. I pick prompts that provide interest and challenge their thinking. Since the challenge of this book is for Stick Man to get home to his family, we pose the question of how he could get back to his tree. (I won’t ruin the ending for you.)

A few examples of my class writings are shown above. My students suggested he walk home after the snowman melts and even teleport home. I love kids and their minds!

You Can Read or Watch Stick Man

Finally and just for fun… this video is free on Amazon Prime. My students watched this and completed a sequencing sheet at the same time. They loved it. And I was able to reach so many literacy skills and assessments in one grading period with students have so much fun.

Looking for additional books to integrate this December?