Using a read aloud is a magical way to build community in the classroom, learn about one another and set the tone for an amazing year while celebrating reading. Here’s a round up of my 7 tried and true favorites along with some matching follow up reading activities to use at the start of the school year. These activities are geared towards a kindergarten and first grade classroom.
All Are Welcome
All are Welcome is top pick because it promotes inclusion, is positive + welcoming and celebrates our differences because they are our strengths! Use this story and activity pack to get to know your littles, help them learn about each other and create a welcoming classroom along the way. You can learn more about this resource here.
The King of Kindergarten & The Queen of Kindergarten
If you teach kinder, these are a must have! I’m equally obsessed with both but was blown away by the fact I loved the follow up (The Queen) maybe even/almost more than the original! The King and Queen are charming reads to add to your kindergarten book collection because they are pure joy and ever kindergartener needs that type of positive reinforcement at the beginning of their school journey. The activities for the King and Queen pack help little learners share about their first day and really celebrate it with a cutie sunshine craft. You can grab this duo by clicking here.
We Don’t Eat our Classmates
I mean, Penelope is a classroom icon! LOL. We Don’t Eat our Classmates is so silly but works great to talk about how we SHOULD be treating our classmates. This activity pack has different printables, this Dino craft and chart supports to sort YES and NO choices when it comes to interactive with our classmates. You can grab these activities here.
The Magical Yet
The Magical Yet’s story + illustrations do a great job at showing littles what having a growth and fixed mindset looks actually looks like! I find this to be a great back to school book and a New Year story to chat about the importance of having a growth mindset and setting some goals. This activity pack has printables, crafts and growth mindset chart support. You can learn more about it here.
Your Name is a Song
Your Name is a Song celebrates names and shows littles that their name is SO important and deserves to be said correctly by all! Use this story to help littles learn each others names and share about their own – including how to say it correctly. I think this book is also a great for littles to see why saying a peers name correctly is valuable. You can grab this activity here.
The Day You Begin
You can grab this freebie for this very important read aloud about sharing your own story by clicking here
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