We just had a massive snowstorm here on the east coast so all my remaining Christmas ideas may go unused! This book is new to me this year and contains a treasure trove of great WH questions. I'll list them below, basically following the sequence of the story. Naturally this is only appropriate for kids on your caseload who celebrate Christmas.
1. Does a duck come down your chimney? (if it's not a tough crowd, they laugh)
2. If there is one day left, what day is xmas? What does Nicholas usually get for xmas?
3. Who gave him the hat and coat? Did he like it? How do you know?
4. What do you think a chicken would want for xmas? (I cover the text for all the animal pages if I have a reader; also I accept any good associative word - even eggs). What do all the things the chicken wants mean/have in common? So what does the chicken want to do for xmas?
5. What do you think a cat would want for xmas? What does 'bonkers' mean? Why does Nicholas think all the animals are bonkers? What does the cat want to do with the things on his list? Also I review the meaning of canary and trout.
6.What would a turtle want? (I'll take almost anything..pond, friend, shell) Why does the turtle want something fast?
7. What would a squirrel want? (review almonds, walnuts) Why does he want a shovel?
8. What would a rabbit want? Does he want a big cake or a small cake? What's another word for 'frosting'?
9. For higher level students, we discuss what happened when the hat fell off? Did he forget? What did he realize? Why did he want to get rid of the hat? What does 'phew' mean? What do you think will happen to the cow now?
10. What would a cow want? Why does he want an XL hat?
11. Which animal is Nicholas' brother? How do you know?
12. What do you think Nicholas wants? Will he get it even though he didn't tell Santa his list?
13. Who wrote the note? What does Santa mean when he says "May I count on you next year?"
14. On the last page: I just review what everyone got and talk about it.
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