Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is a delightful story that is perfect to read during the winter months. Yolen takes readers on a early morning journey, describing it with an interesting array metaphors and vivid imagery which makes it an excellent mentor text to use while teaching writing among other skills.

Introducing Owl Moon to your class:

Owl Moon is such a wonderful book to use as a mentor text. Whether you are studying figurative language, plot development, character change, or descriptive writing, Owl Moon is the book to use. This print and go unit will help you take care of all of these skills.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is a delightful story about a young girl spending an evening in the woods with her father. With beautiful illustrations and simple text, it is perfect for introducing students to reading comprehension strategies. This book companion is designed to provide both teachers and students with activities that can deepen their understanding of the text before, during, and after reading. It is available in both PDF and Google Slides TM formats, making it easy to use and customize for different classrooms!

Teaching author’s craft with owl moon

My favorite skill with this book is author’s craft. It has so many examples for students with the figurative language used and imagery shared. Kids can easily transfer the exemplars to their own descriptive writing as a post reading activity. In this unit, I give you all you need for that. I also tie visualizing to author’s craft as well.

sparking interest in owling with owl moon

One other great benefit in using quality literature for teaching skills is building interest in related topics. Kids are fascinated by owls after reading this book. You can tie in research skills and descriptive writing about owling or bird watching. I share discussion question task cards too that you can use for leading your groups or as a comprehension quick check. If you want to see more, CLICK HERE.

Owl Moon, the digital version

Gradually, I am adding Google Slides TM for all of my units. You can project the colored digital slides for modeling skills while your students complete the printed copy. It’s perfect for modeling and guided practice. Of course you can also save paper if you have one-to-one devices and your kids are tech savvy enough to use them.

There are 48 pages included in this bundle. I would say it is best for grades 3-5 based on the reading level of the text. I have aligned to both common core and the Virginia SOL’s.

dISCUSSION QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT USE:

• What is the setting of the story?
• Why did the main character go out on an owl-watching trip?
• How does the main character feel on the owl-watching trip?
• Describe the illustrations in the book. How do they help you understand the story?
• What is the main character’s relationship with her father?
• How does the main character feel when she sees the owl?
• What kind of owl do they see in the story?
• What did you learn about owls from reading “Owl Moon”?
• How did the story make you feel?
• Are there any parts of the story that you found interesting?
• How does the story relate to your own experiences?
• What would you do if you were the main character and went on an owl-watching trip?

connecting owl moon to nonfiction

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is the perfect companion for any nonfiction lesson too. You might bring in Owls by Gail Gibbons or other nonfiction texts to help students explore owl types. This would allow you the opportunity to compare/contrast fiction and nonfiction and highlight the text features that are present in nonfiction and not in fiction.

The resources that follow were just a few that I found tied in well with Owl Moon and nonfiction studies. You can check them out over on TPT.

what teachers have said about this unit:

This is a great resource. I loved the digital option. My students were able to complete the digital assignment with no issues.

— Keyla U.

Great resource to extend learning with this story. Students were actively engaged throughout the week using it.

— Laura H.

other mentor text posts you’d enjoy:

• PLANNING AHEAD FOR SKILL MODELING WITH WINTER RESOURCES
• 10 GREAT WAYS TO CELEBRATE WINTER WITH JAN BRETT
• WINTER “MUST HAVE” READS FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY

Owl Moon is a classic treasure, and ever child deserves to learn from it. This unit will make planning your lessons easier and effective. I think your kids will enjoy all I included.