Teachers, are you looking for the perfect back to school read alouds? Do you need interactive activities for your students to participate in as a follow-up to the books? If so, keep reading! I have just what you need to fill in your lesson plans for the first week of school!
Back to School is such an exciting time of year for both teachers and students! But, as all of us teachers know it’s such a BUSY time of year! We have to get our rooms ready, prepare for Open House. . . and the list goes on and on!
Then. . . you realize. . . oh gosh! I have to actually have lesson plans for the first week of school! That is an additional stressor you must work on!
I’ve been in the classroom for 23 years. So, I have experienced back to school craziness many times. Throughout my 23 years, I have found many wonderful books to use for my back to school lesson plans. These read alouds are my “go-to” to use during the first week of school. Read alouds are a great way to engage students. These books help set expectations and help build a classroom community.
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I am so excited to share them with you! I’ve also included FREE interactive writing activities for EACH book I mention below that you can use with your students to extend the reading and get your class excited about school. Make sure to click on the link above or the picture below to grab your FREE set of Back to School Read Aloud Activities!
First Day Jitters
In this book, Sarah Jane is experiencing a case of the “jitters” about the first day of school. Students can probably relate to all the feelings Sarah is having. . . AND it has a surprise ending us teachers can probably relate to as well! I love this book! It connects to the students and how they might be feeling about the first day. This is a great book to use to open up conversations about first day emotions.
We Are All Welcome
This a more recent back to school read aloud find of mine, but it’s an AMAZING and NECESSARY back to school book to help build a sense of community in your classroom. This book celebrates diversity and inclusivity. It represents people of all races, cultures, religions, and sexual orientations, and makes all feel welcome. This book will illustrate that each of your students, no matter what differences they have, are welcome in your classroom.
Back to School Read Alouds
A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue
With its amazing illustrations, humorous storyline, and rhyming tone, this book follows “Josh the Tattler” through his struggle with tattling. Students learn the difference between tattling and reporting in this book. It’s a great read aloud book for setting classroom expectations!
Decibella and her 6-Inch Voice
In another of Julia Cook’s amazing stories that teach valuable back to school classroom lessons. In this book, Isabella (aka Decibella)has a difficult time using an appropriate voice level. Through this humorous book, students learn 6 different levels of voice. This book has been an important part of setting expectations in our classroom. My students and I are constantly referring to the 6 levels of voices to decide on an appropriate voice level to use for various activities in and out of our classroom walls. Grab your voice level chart HERE!
My Mouth is a Volcano
Do you have students that struggle with speaking out? I think I just saw you ALL raise your hand. This is another book by Julia Cook that I recommend reading aloud at back to school time. This book is great to use to teach your students a strategy to use when the urge to “shout out” or “speak out” is strong. In this book, Louis has a big problem with speaking up/out the wrong time. His mouth was erupting like a volcano. Through the help of his teacher and parents, Louis learned how to keep his mouth from “erupting” and your students will learn this too!
Our Class is a Family
In this adorable book by Shannon Olsen, students learn how families don’t have to be relatives—they can be classmates! Through the strong words and colorful pictures, students learn how important the “classroom family” is. This is such an impactful read aloud book for back to school when trying to establish the classroom community.
This School Year Will Be the Best Yet
This back to school read aloud book by Kay Winters is so cute! It is told from the students’ perspective and elaborates on ALL the exciting things they look forward to during the upcoming year. This book is great to ignite conversations about what students most look forward to experiencing during the school year!
Chrysanthemum
In one of my all-time favorite read aloud books for back to school, Chrysanthemum is SO excited for school UNTIL a classmate makes fun of her name. This book is GREAT for discussing how our names are all UNIQUE and that is perfect!
Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
Promoting Kindness should be a priority in each of our classrooms, right? This book opens up opportunities to talk about ways to show kindness and draw attention to things we do that might be unkind. My classroom refers back to the lesson in this book all throughout the school year!
Bucket-Filling A-Z
In another book by Carol McCloud and Caryn Butzke, students learn ways to show kindness using every letter of the alphabet—26 MORE ways to “fill a bucket”. I love this book because it elaborates on the message taught in the original Bucket Filler book and gives students more ideas.
A Letter From My Teacher on the First Day of School
Another great book by Shannon Olsen, and in my opinion, should be read aloud EVERY year on the 1st day. Told from the teacher’s perspective, this book welcomes students to the classroom and emphasizes how the first day of school is the beginning of a strong teacher/student relationship.
Mean Jean the Recess Queen
Mean Jean is the meanest girl on the playground. No one ever wants to play with her UNTIL she changes her ways. This is a FANTASTIC book to read during the first few days of school to review playground rules and etiquette! If your students have been learning virtually for a while, this is a MUST read!
I truly hope I have given you some ideas of back to school books and activities you can incorporate into your first few days of school.
I also want to help you out EVEN more by providing activities that correspond to each of these books I listed for FREE!
Included in the FREE packet are 14 activities for you to use right away in your classroom PLUS 2 BONUS book recommendations and interactive activities. Just simply download, print, and GO! Click the link below grab your FREE download!
14 Read Aloud Activities for Back to School
Are you also looking for Classroom Management Tips for Back to School? Here are some super easy ideas for you to incorporate into your classroom this year!
Have fun and I wish you the “SWEETEST” start to your school year!
Much Love and Sweetness,
Amy
Sunshine and Sweetness
