Eve of the Emperor Penguin is a great choice for the winter months. This guided reading unit is set up with before/during/after activities and vocabulary for each chapter. Each chapter focuses on a comprehension skill.
Skills include: making predictions visualizing problem and solution summarizing character traits question types citing text evidence author's purpose making comparisons and connections, and drawing conclusions.
Group discussion is encouraged throughout the reading of the book. The unit would also work well with literature circles. It's been tested in several classrooms and found to be easy to follow for parents and teaching assistance. An answer key is not included as some answers vary and group discussion fosters higher level thinking skills.