The Legend of the Poinsettia – Featured Resource
Update: This Giveaway has passed, but you can still grab the Legend of the Poinsettia on TPT. Be sure to follow this blog, and Ms. Cotton’s Corner on TPT and Instagram so you never miss a FLASH FREEBIE again!
Your students will love this heartwarming story – so perfect for the magic of Christmas! You wil love an easy to use lesson that includes vocabulary and comprehension practice. Grab the Legend of the Poinsettia on TPT today!
This Reading Comprehension Passage features a heartwarming story from Mexico. The Legend of the Poinsettia is a traditional tale that carries a powerful message – a gift from the heart is more important than riches. Grab this FREE resource today!
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
What is Included in The Legend of the Poinsettia?
The Legend of the Poinsettia is a traditional tale from Mexico. In the story, a poor young girl does not have a gift to bring on Christmas Eve, so she gathers weeds and grasses along the road as she walks to church. When she lays them by the manger, all the people in the church gasp in surprise because her weeds have transformed into a beautiful flower – the poinsettia. In Spanish, the flower is called La Flor de Noche Buena, which means Flower of the Good Night. The flower is the symbol of a gift given in love, from the heart. As you can see, this story is perfect for this holiday season!
The resource includes the text, lesson plans, text dependent questions and a fun poinsettia synonym craftivity. Kids love the craftivity! They add petals to a flower stem to build a poinsettia made out of synonyms. It’s a perfect activity to keep them learning and thinking and busy during this hectic holiday season!
Extension Ideas for this Activity – Close Reading
This story is such a lovely, heartwarming tale to share during the holiday season. And, I’m not the only author to think that. Tomie dePaula retold and illustrated this legend in his charming picture book. Not a fan of his childlike drawings? I love this version by Eve Lundy Lewis as well. It’s perfect for older kids!
To use this as a close reading, plan for three or four days.
To extend this activity, I begin by having students read the passage included in the resource. For the first reading, our purpose is to enjoy the story. When we finish, I have students draw an illustration of their favorite part of the text. We save those for later. I also introduce the idea of synonyms, and we look at the synonyms included in the text.
On day 2, I read the picture book aloud to them, allowing them to see the illustrations in the text. Next, we return to the passage included in the resource, and I ask students to reread the text, this time with the purpose of thinking about their mental images. Did the images in the picture book change their mental image from the first reading? Improve it? Challenge it? We have some great conversations about how the images in a text can affect our comprehension of the text, and our love of the text.
One Day 3, I ask students to reread the included passage one more time, this time paying close attention to the text dependent questions. I remind them that the answers to the questions depend on the text they are reading, not the picture book.
Finally, on Day 4, students make their poinsettias and practice the synonyms. After reading the text three times, this is usually a fun, and easy, task for them.
What Are Teachers Saying About this Resource?
“My students loved it! Thank you. This resource saved me so much planning time.”
-Prieto
Love This Reading Comprehension Passage? Check out these!
Click to check out these resources and more in my TPT store!
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope The Legend of the Poinsettia, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find MsCottonsCorner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
And don’t forget to tell your teacher friends. Sharing is caring!
Happy Teaching!
Susan
