I spend the last few (15-20) minutes of my day reading to my students every school day. You can see my previous post here about the reasons why upper elementary students NEED a daily read aloud time.
I am very choosy about the books I read with my students. I love a classic like Charlotte’s Web or Freckle Juice, but more than that, I LOVE books that really resonate with my students. I don’t read aloud just to hear myself talk. This is purposeful reading time. Here are a few of my favorites & why I like them.
1. Matilda By: Roald Dahl
I don’t even think this one needs an explanation! I like to start my school year with this book for a few reasons. First, Matilda is smart and LOVES learning. What’s better than that?! Secondly, it’s a quick, easy read that is not hard for my students to get into. I want to lead off our year together with a book that I know will catch all of their attention & this one does the trick.
Third & most important of all, Matilda has awesome characters. Reading this book helps me kick-start my study of characterization. Beginning third graders have limited understanding of character traits. Their choice words are always “good” “nice” “bad” and “mad.” Through our read aloud discussions, I help the students begin to use words such as fearless (Matilda), intimidating (Ms. Trunchbull), caring (Ms. Honey), and clever (Matilda). These characters stick with my students long after we finish reading this book. So later in the year when we encounter the word clever again & a student asks me what it means, I’ll say “remember when we said Matilda was clever because she was always able to trick her parents and Ms. Trunchbull?”
2. How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor
This book ranks very high as one of my favorites. Georgina is homeless and her family lives in their car. Her mom is working two jobs and trying to save enough money to get a new place for them to live. But, Georgina wants a house now and she decides to take matters into her own hands. She decides she will steal a dog, watch for the owner to post a MISSING/REWARD sign, then return the dog and collect the reward.
This is a great book to discuss right vs. wrong, characterization, and theme. The genre is realistic fiction so your students will find this book to be very relatable. It’s always a winner in my classroom!
3. Smells Like Dog by: Suzanne Selfors
This book takes commitment because it is 384 pages long, which is almost twice the length of a book I would normally choose. But it is so good & worth your time!
This mystery focuses on the main character, Homer Winslow Pudding. He is fascinated with all things treasure hunting. When his uncle dies, he leaves him with a very unique gift. After receiving this gift, a series of unexpected events lead Homer to begin a quest to finish what his uncle had started: to find the long lost treasure of the pirate Rumpold Smeller.
This book is very well-written and the author does a wonderful job creating suspense and leaving your students wanting to know more. Every chapter ends with a cliff hanger. This is my favorite thing about the book and why I continue to read it year after year. This book helps students see that reading is fun & exciting & suspenseful. I love it!
I begin reading this book in March and I usually finish in early May. This book is the first of a short series, which makes for great summer reading material! Every single year I have kids who have their parents buy them the next book or get it from our county’s public library. Literally… every. single. year.
4. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Gilly Hopkins is a foster child who wants nothing more than to be rescued by her birth mother. She’s tough and because of that, she is transferred from one foster home to another. Your kids will laugh at some of the things she does to show her foster parents who’s boss! That is until she is sent to live with Ms. Trotter.
Ms. Trotter is Gilly’s “strangest” foster mother yet. Gilly creates a plan to get her birth mother to rescue her. But, her plan doesn’t work out the way she imagines. Slowly during the novel, Gilly finds herself loving the strange family she has been sent to live with. But she is taken away by her birth grandmother and wishes she could stay with Ms. Trotter.
This book sends the message that family is what you make it & that doesn’t always mean it has to be your birth mother and father. My kids and I always have a big discussion about this because so many of my students do not live with both of their biological parents.
5. Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O’Connor
I use this book to introduce the idea of multiple perspectives. This story focuses on Aggie, Kirby, Loretta, and Willow. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective. The character’s stories are intertwined and they all end up at Aggie’s hotel in the Great Smoky Mountains.
The characters all come away changed after their experience at Aggie’s hotel. It’s a heart-warming, realistic story. The characters are very relatable and because they each take turns telling parts of the story, it’s a great book to use for character motivation & theme.
What are some of your read aloud favorites? I am always looking for new ones to add to my list! Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
