The Leaf Thief

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming is a perfect fall book for a read aloud and guided reading study in Kindergarten and First Grade! Your students will LOVE this seasonal story featuring Squirrel, and the mystery of the missing leaf. Who is the Leaf Thief?!

THE LEAF THIEF BOOK ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING IDEAS

Squirrel is resting in his nest, his belly full of hazelnuts. As he lazily counts his leaves, he notices that one of his leaves is missing. Who is the Leaf Thief? Squirrel sets off to find out.

Squirrel seeks the help of his friend, Bird. As Squirrel flits about, he notices that Mouse's boat is made from a leaf. Is Mouse the Leaf Thief? No, he's not. Bird reminds Squirrel that it is perfectly normal to lose a few leaves in autumn.

The next morning Squirrel notices more leaves are missing! Then he sees that Woodpecker making a nest with leaves. But Woodpecker has collected these leaves by himself, and is not the Leaf Thief.

Bird again reminds Squirrel that this happened to him last year, and that he should just try to relax. So Squirrel heads back to his nest. Squirrel tries yoga, taking a bath, and taking a nap in hopes that he will feel more relaxed. But it doesn't help. Squirrel is still upset that someone is stealing his leaves!

The next day Squirrel sees Bird decorating his birdhouse with fall leaves. Is Bird the Leaf Thief? No he's not, but Bird shows Squirrel who the culprit is!

Bird points out to Squirrel that the Leaf Thief is everywhere, shaking trees and rustling leaves. The Leaf Thief is the wind! It happens every year in the fall. The leaves blow away and will grow back in the spring. This satisfies Squirrel, until he wakes up to see that the ground is covered in snow. Who stole the grass?!

I have made a book study unit that contains companion activities that help to connect this engaging read aloud with important reading skills.

Your Kindergarten and First Grade students will have fun while learning about fall with the engaging reading activities in this literacy unit.

My book study is packed with activities that will help your students work on story elements, character traits, story retell, writing activities, problem & solution, making text to self connections, making inferences, and more.

This resource also has activities that help to develop story vocabulary, define the author's purpose, think about the story's main idea or theme, offer opinions and advice, recognize cause & effect, and check for understanding with comprehension questions.

The activities in this literacy unit are aligned with Common Core, TEKS, and VA SOL learning standards. Checklists for the standards are included in this resource, to aid in lesson planning.

This book study unit can be used as a whole class activity, during small group guided reading time, as individual student work, or as part of a book club. Copy a pack for each student and you're ready to go!

This Leaf Thief book companion unit will save you tons of time, is no prep, and is great to leave for a sub!

Your Kindergarten and First Grade students will LOVE fun fall story The Leaf Thief.

THE LEAF THIEF CRAFT

The craft in this pack has students writing a story retell or sharing about their favorite part of the story. This craftivity makes a fun seasonal bulletin board display, to showcase student learning!