The Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston & Scarecrow Freebies

The Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston is one of my favorite fall books.  It is a beautifully illustrated storybook about a sad scarecrow who is longing for friends.  All the animals that come near him are afraid of his scary appearance but as the season changes and fall becomes winter he is transformed by the snow into a friendly looking snowman.

I love reading this story each fall and using it as a mentor text for practicing identifying the problem and solution and teaching central message.  As my sweeties uncover the central message, don't judge a book by its cover, it gives us opportunities to talk about friendship and the importance of getting to know each other.  This story also allows students to identify how the scarecrow's feelings change from the beginning of the story to the end of the story.  There are so many wonderful ways to use this book...

Check out my latest product which has everything you need for a full filled scarecrow unit.  There are opinion writing activities as well as story maps, word work activities and vocabulary rich noun, verb and adjective sorting center.

Now for a few fun freebies!  Check out Enchanted Learning's fun and FREE printable scarecrow patterns!  My cuties just loved making their own scarecrows!  

Another fun scarecrow FREEBIE that I found was this great math center.  Click the picture below to check out Teach With Laughter's Roll and Add Math Station.  In case you have never used Roll and Cover centers for your class, they are the cutest simplest math centers that allow students to practice adding using 2 and 3 dice.