Olive the Other Reindeer

During the Cyber Monday sale on TPT I picked up a cute unit that goes along with the book, "Olive the Other Reindeer." I had never heard of the book until Across the Hall in 2nd Grade blogged about it and I knew it would be a great addition to my reindeer week. I picked up a copy of the book at Barnes and Noble and immediately upon reading it the students and I were in love! 

The premise of the story is that there's a dog named Olive who keeps hearing people sing, "Olive the other reindeer..." around Christmas time. So she decides to go to the North Pole because obviously she's needed as one of Santa's reindeer. Cute illustrations show Olive literally hanging from the reindeer thinking she's flying and the story goes on to explain reasons why a dog made a good reindeer after all.

We used the unit Across the Hall in 2nd Grade made to plan out what other kind of animal we thought would make a great addition to Santa's brigade. After planning it out we used the cute paper provided to write a persuasive paragraph explaining what animal we chose and what the reasons were for choosing that animal. Students chose wolves, hamsters, cats, and even elephants. They were very creative with their responses, reasons, and illustrations. 

If you haven't read the book I definitely recommend it! And don't forget to head on over to Across the Hall in 2nd Grade for other fantastic ideas!