Back to School Read Alouds

It is that time again! Some teachers are already back in the classroom! I hope their first day was FABULOUS!

Here are some first week read alouds, I have used in the past. Give them a try!

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by: Mike Thaler 

In 4th grade I read this to my students and we discussed how anxious the main character was to meet his new teacher. We made a chart of character traits that described the teacher. I used this chart as a jumping point for the students to write their own version of story. 

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

A great book for kindergarten and first grade. After reading the book, talk about how she worries about school. Have each student draw a picture of what they were worried about before school started. Have them write a sentence to go with the picture. 

Tiffany's Weird. Totally True Summer Vacation 

Tiffany did not do anything exciting during summer vacation. She had a boring summer and is not looking forward to going back to school. When her teacher calls on her to talk about summer, she begins to tell a tall tale.

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School
by Herman Parish

Amelia confuses a lot of directions on the first day of school. This is a funny story on a favorite character. Make a list after reading this book and save this list for tomorrow's part two of this lesson.



Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School 
by: Herman Parish 

Compare the cover before the read aloud to yesterday's book. Predict what kinds of things Amelia (the adult) may misunderstand. After the read aloud add to the chart paper from yesterday. 

How I Survived My Summer Vacation 

Thirteen-year-old Jackie wants to write a novel the summer before he starts high school. There's just one problem - he can't get past the first sentence. His friends are no help! Before the summer is over, everything Jackie has counted on to stay the same has changed!



Happy Back to School Reading !!

Favorite Read Alouds

I spent five years in 4th grade and two years in 5th grade. These wee some of my favorites!

Sideways Stories from WaySide School by Louis Sachar

Each chapter is a story about a different student in this school! My 4th graders loved the silly tales of each book so much, I would read the next two in the series.




Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

There are two stories going on in this book. This story is has a mystery, with a friendship theme, and a story about family. My students are hooked every year and always surprised by the ending! I have used this in book club book in grade five and six! 

Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech

This book is similar to Walk Two Moons. There are some characters in this book from Walk Two Moons, too, but it is a completely different story.

*** Please note there is some sensitive material in Chaos that I skip over when I read it aloud. ***

I love picture books, too!

I have a slight addiction and I have been resisting the urge to buy them! Here are a few of my favorites I use in the classroom. 

Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
This is such a sweet story about a baby bat. It teaches us about friendship and family! This illustrations are just as beautiful as the story.





The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
A great first day or first week of school read aloud! It's a story of friendship and sharing. I have used this book in 4th grade on the first day of school with a poetry writing activity.





Click, Clack, MOO: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
A funny story about cows who go on strike with a surprise ending. The first graders just love it because of the repetitive text and the funny ending!

Lilly's Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Lilly loves everything about school until her most prized possession is taken by her teacher. This is a cute book that teaches some valuable lessons.








Happy Reading!

Summer Reading

Arthur's Family Vacation by March Brown

A perfect book to read during the summer time because goes on a vacation with his family. He turns a rainy vacation in to different daily field trips for the whole family to enjoy!




Here are some fun activities to do with this book:

• There are sample postcards on page 20 of this book. Write postcards from different points of view of the characters. Use the illustrations in the book to make the cover of your postcard.

• Make a T-chart and compare what Arthur does on his vacation to what types of activities you have done on your summer vacation.

• Make a book called "______________ summer/family vacation" Take some pictures of fun places you visit and add them to your book.

• There are several compound words in this book. Go on a word hunt for compound words.

Happy Reading !

Summer Slide

Most teachers know there is summer slide for kids because their brain is not working as hard as it does during the school year. Here are some daily activities I do with the student I tutor to keep her brain in work mode all summer long:
1. Read aloud to me and then retell the story.

2. Weekly spelling words. Daily writing of the words on a white board. We also go outside and write them with chalk on the sidewalk.

3. We play scrabble, sight word bingo, sight word memory, and the game "Magic Word Bucket" which I blogged about here

4. Weekly poetry activities. I made a poetry notebook for my kido and I give her two new poems a week that we choral read together.

5.Write and illustrate her own books.

6. Play educational computer games.

7. Write a grocery list for her parents and then organize that grocery list by food categories.

8. Assemble a puzzle.

9. Participate in a reading program at the local library. I also have used the summer reading rewards from my local Barnes and Nobles.

10. Write to family and friends using email, letters, and postcards.

11. Read the newspaper to learn about special summer events. We also read the comics to practice fluency.

The beat part of all these activities I do with kidos is I suggest the parents do it with their child, too!
Happy Reading !

End f the Year Read Alouds

Here are a few of my favorite books I have shared with students during the last week of school. I hope those teachers still working can find something they want to share!

Enjoy!

I Can Be Anything by Jerry Spinelli
The boy sees himself as a “puddle stomper, or a apple chomper. He sees himself as a mixing-bowl licker and a tin-can kicker,” among numerous other “professions." It is a nice story to read to any elementary classroom!




Who doesn's love Dr. Seuss at the end of the year??
Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a fun book that I use to read to my 5th graders before they left school and headed off to middle school. I read it on the last day every year and it always made me feel a little teary!







Arthur Goes to Camp by Marc Brown
This is a cute story about my favorite aardvark who is homesick at summer camp until a mystery arrives. My first graders love this lovable character and it is a nice way to kick off the summer and share camping stories!







Summer Beat by Betty Franco
The sounds of summer sizzle and pop in this bouncing,swinging tribute to the best sound of every child's favorite season. There is a lot of fun words in here that students just love. This book works well in any K to grade 3 class!


Happy Reading! Summer is just around the corner !!