At
night when sunshine goes away, And
it's too dark for me to play, I
like to come inside, and look For
new friends in a story book.
What
books do you read to your class?
That's always a popular question on
the KinderKorner Mailing
List, and on many of the other teaching lists I belong to.
I've compiled a list of books suggested
by teachers all over the world, to help you make your selections.
Many of these books may be available in your school library, or through
the Book Clubs like Scholastic and Troll.
What is the purpose of a read aloud
book? Enjoyment? Comprehension? The introduction of "good"
literature? Another way to reinforce the curriculum you're teaching?
I think all of the above reasons are valid. I also think that, by
choosing good read alouds for our students, we build a desire for them
to go read more books on their own. That's one of the reasons that
series books, like Junie B. stories, are so popular.
When we were children, we got hooked
on Henry and Ribsy, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and more. Today's
kids are more likely to read The Boxcar Children, Animorphs, The Babysitters
Club, GooseBumps, and other newer stories. Many of these series are
above the level of our emergent readers, but because they like the stories,
they're motivated to try. In many ways, reading is reading is reading,
and if they want to try harder books on their own, it's terrific.
So here -- in no particular order --
is a list of the most frequently mentioned titles when kindergarten, first,
and second grade teachers are asked "What do you read to your class?"
The great news about paperback chapter books is that they're almost always
less than $4, which is much less than some of the picture books we buy
for kindergarten, first, and second grade. Enjoy!
"Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
books are great to read to first graders." Leah T.
"My favorite chapter book to read aloud
to first grade is All
About Sam by Lois Lowry. It's the story of a little boy (from
birth to pre-school) told from his point of view. My kids LOVE it! They
roar whenever he does something funny... or wets his diaper. You know how
they are about anything to do with the bathroom! :-) They are also very
motivated to hear it. They choose to hear the story over extra recess even!"
Beth /1/MA
"At the beginning of the year my students
always love the Sweet Pickles series. They were my sister's
books years ago. Later in the year my students took to the Polk
Street School series and became obsessed with the Junie B. Jones
books."
Note from Victoria ~ I checked Amazon,
and the Sweet Pickles books are all out of
print. There were many requests/reviews posted to the site, begging
the publisher to reprint these books. Now my curiosity is up, and
I'll have to try to find one and see what all the fuss is about.
"I start the very first day with Matildaby
Roald Dahl. I read it the last two years and the kids fall in love with
what I call "Chapter Book Time." I usually read one chapter a day. Yes,
it sometimes takes a while to get through books, but it is worth it.
They get to know many authors this way. While I am reading, they draw/write
in their "Chapter Book Reading Response Journals" (I know it's a mouthful!).
One page a day, about what they are hearing me read. It is a very relaxing
time for the kids!"
"I read the Little
House series to my class. I also read Mr.
Popper's Penguins
and The
Secret Garden. After we were done with The Secret Garden
we watched the video ... they liked comparing the book and the
movie and were very excited to tell me what the differences were between
the two."
"My 2 favorite chapter books to read
to first graders are My
Father's Dragon and Trumpet
of the Swan. My
Father's Dragon is shorter and better for the first half of
the year -- I have never seen kids so excited about
a book as they are with that one. I usually start reading the book 2 weeks
before the Christmas break and for Christmas I give all the kids a copy
of the book -- I can't even describe the joy they and I get when they open them!"
"The first chapter book I read is Belinda's
Hurricane, a wonderful adventure story about a
young girl and her Grandmother on an island in Maine."
Alison/Illinois/1st
This title is
currently out of print.
Looking for more ideas?
My bookstore pages
have lots of information on how I use various materials in my classroom,
and on activities you can do with your students. The thematic pages
are complete unit resources, with lots of poems, songs, and links on each
page. Make yourself comfortable and take a look around!
Choose from the
categories below. Underlined subjects
are links, the other ones are coming soon!
