November is probably my favorite month. It has the best weather, my anniversary, and the beginning of all my favorite holidays. When teaching about turkeys, being thankful, and honoring our veterans, here are some of the best kindergarten stories to read in November.
“Turkey Trouble”
If you want a book that will lead to a ton of imaginative projects, this one is sure to engage your students! This made my list of kindergarten stories to read in November because author Wendi Silvano spins the tale of a turkey trying to avoid becoming Thanksgiving dinner by disguising himself as other animals on the farm. While reading you can discuss animal noises, adjectives, and Thanksgiving traditions as some students may celebrate very differently. There are also so many activities to do after reading this story!
A popular activity to do after is to have students disguise their own turkey. I’ve sent printable turkeys home with students to decorate with their families and I’ve also had them do it in class. You can set out different materials such as construction paper, magazines, cotton balls, yarn, etc. and have students be as creative as they can! I usually tell them to brainstorm first, draw it out, and then create so it’s a lesson in planning as well. Finished projects make great bulletin board displays!
This is one project that is an easy activity to engage older grades for a fun buddy project. Do you have older students that regularly interact with your kindergarten class? If so they can help them disguise the turkey and even help them write a bit about it afterward. We usually partner with a third grade class and this was one of the first activities we would do once the kids knew each other.
“10 Fat Turkeys”
Tony Johnston’s funny rhyming book is one of my favorite kindergarten stories to read in November because it involves math! I love using books to introduce different math concepts or just to read during math time and this one is perfect for math in November! The story is similar to 5 little ducks as throughout the story something continues to happen to a turkey until there are…none!
I love to read this book to practice counting backwards from 10, reviewing rhyming words, and to engage students in an interactive read aloud because it is easily predictable. They can shout out the next number as you are reading and practice acting out the book when you are done. It’s fun to have ten students stand in the front of the room during a repeated read later in the week or month and have one sit down as something happens to each turkey.
This book also lends itself to fun illustrations. The students can have fun illustrating their own turkey doing something silly and then you could even have them share out their own story such as 21 silly turkeys and each student have their own chance to shine.
“Bear Says Thanks”
“Bear Says Thanks”, written by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman, tells the story of Bear as all of his friends continue to bring delectable gifts and all he can do is say “thanks.” Bear is bothered the entire story because he has no gifts to share but at the end his friends tell him that he can share his stories! This book is one of the greatest kindergarten stories to read in November because it has a familiar character, Bear, that my students have seen in other books. I always love books with familiar characters or books in series as my students are automatically engaged because they have already met someone in the book.
It is also a great book for teaching about woodland animals, gratitude, fantastic vocabulary words, and friendship. There are so many fantastic vocabulary words in this book. In kindergarten I love to teach my students big words that mean the same thing as the little words they are familiar with. Some examples from this story include delectable instead of tasty, hare instead of rabbit, stroll instead of walk, and even lair! Your students will be so proud to use these words in their conversations about this book and in other situations.
Some great discussion topics from this book include what do students do when they are bored, why does bear feel unhappy when he doesn’t think he has anything to share, what they can share with others, and what students are thankful for. Your students will love this sweet book about Bear and his friends!
“The Thank You Book”
One of my class favorites each year are usually Elephant and Piggie. This book with favorite characters from Mo Willems follows Piggie as he wants to thank everyone. Elephant is determined that he will forget someone and the normal back and forth between the characters continues in a way that always makes my kindergarteners giggle.
I put this book on the list of kindergarten stories to read in November because in addition to having some favorite characters, it continues with the thankful and gratitude theme. Piggie specifically thanks each character for something as the book continues and this is a great model for how to show someone appreciation instead of just a general thanks. A great follow up activity is to write thank you notes to people in their lives including family members, school staff, or anyone they want! I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s really cute too!
“Hero Dad”
Written by Melinda Hardin, “Hero Dad” is told through the eyes of a little boy who has a superhero for a dad. However, unlike a Marvel character, his dad is in the military. I like to use this book in my classroom because I usually have some students who have parents in the military and others who might not know anything about it.
After describing what the boy’s father does in this book, you can discuss how Veterans Day is to honor veterans, or those who have served in the military either before or currently. This may be a good time to discuss the different branches of the military or to let students share about their military experiences if they are comfortable with that. I’m always looking for more military books to share with my students and this is one of my favorite kindergarten stories to read on this topic.
Greatest Kindergarten Stories to Read in November
There are so many amazing picture books to read in kindergarten. Whether you are teaching about veterans, turkeys, or how to be grateful and thankful, November is full of interesting topics. You can check out more November kindergarten books here! I also have adapted books that I love to share with my class in November! If you see any you think I NEED to add please send me your suggestions at katie@littlecountrykindergarten.com. I’m always ready to add to my library.
Keep Reading!
Check out my favorite kindergarten stories to read for the other months of the year! I am constantly adding to my list so I can own all the greatest kindergarten books. And make sure you grab this freebie before you leave. Encourage families to read at home with their children with this fun coloring tracker to see how much they can read every month!
