Class begins with a quick review of the vocabulary (see snowman—part one). Then I split the class into groups. I find that four is the maximum number, so team size will vary accordingly. Each team gets a paper (ideally not white) with the title “Our snowman” and a place to write their names at the bottom. Each team also needs a black pencil, glue, and a die. My board is depicted here. It is a large piece of paper laminated. You could change these fields to be anything you want, possibly ones where you need to move forward or backward some fields, or adding broom or scarf.

In a classroom I hang the paper on the board and use different color magnets for each team. With small groups it can be on the ground in the middle of a circle. In each team the children take turns rolling the die. The child who rolls says the number in English and their marker is moved the correct number of squares (in a classroom I move them, in smaller groups they can move their own). Although the child who has rolled needs to tell me what is on the square to be able to put it on their snowman, he can consult with the rest of his team. The team that completes their snowman first wins.

The snowballs, nose, and hat are cut out of paper and given to the children to glue on. Eyes, mouth, arms, and buttons are drawn on. If children roll something they cannot draw yet as the snowball is still missing, I write this down and they can add it later.

Snowman song:

I usually only sing the first verse and incorporate the movements we use when learning the vocabulary. Verse two is for kids who love a challenge. It can be sung acapella or with any instruments you have on hand.

Snowman story:

There are lots of great snowman stories out there. My favorite is Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright. While reading this I try to elicit any vocabulary we have already learned by pointing to the picture and having the kids say it. I also teach them the phrase “I like this a lot!” and have them say it at the appropriate places in the book.