Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “book recommendations”
Brave Irene is an interesting story of a young girl that braves a blizzard in order to make sure the duchess has her dress in time for the ball. The vocabulary and figurative language that the author William Steig uses is vivid and captivating. It lends itself to a variety of different reading activities to do along with reading the …
Snowmen at Night is a fun winter read aloud that draws out the imaginative side of kids. The text in this snowman book is not complicated, so it is often used for younger grade levels. However, the whimsy in this story appeals to readers of all ages, and the activity ideas below are geared towards 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade …
Looking for some fun, engaging monster books to read aloud to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for Halloweeen? Or maybe you have a monster themed classroom, or are doing a monster unit with your upper elementary class. Whatever has lead you on a search for monster read alouds, you will find a book that works for your students …
There are so many good books that teach kindness and empathy to read aloud to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Sometimes it can be hard to choose. But kindness and empathy are themes that upper elementary students need to be reminded of all year long. You don’t have to choose just one book! Below, find some kindness and …
Thank You Mr. Falker is a heartwarming story that contains themes of overcoming obstacles, persevering, and how kindness can make a huge difference. Patricia Polacco, the author and illustrator, wrote this to tell about the real teacher in her life that encouraged and helped her, and it will encourage your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Below, find comprehension questions …
Enemy Pie is a sweet story of friendship where a boy finds out that his enemy is not really an enemy after all, but a friend. This theme of friendship makes it a great book to read aloud at the beginning of the school year to help you set a positive classroom culture in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans On last week’s exit ticket, I asked my students what they enjoy most in class. The majority of them said, “Reading my Choice book.” That makes this reading teacher want to jump for joy. Now in my twenty-fourth year of teaching, I’ve finally arrived at what I believe to be a winning formula for …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans Hope. Right now, we need it more than ever. 2020 was hard. We are all, to some degree, the walking wounded here. We are all a bit weary of pep talks, we are all feeling the strain of social distancing and wearing these (insert expletive here) masks…ready to throw up our hands, crawl into …
One of the first steps to getting your reluctant readers excited about reading is getting to know what interests them as readers. A reading interest survey is a great way to do this. Written by guest blogger Cindy KoopmansReading Interest Surveys – Through Conversation, Paper, or DigitalYou can get to know what sorts of books interest your 3rd, 4th, and …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans Let’s start with something familiar: the story of Cinderella. Then let’s take a trip around the world and transport this classic tale to many different settings and cultures. Let’s use the story of Cinderella to teach point of view, theme, compare and contrast, and summarizing. Doesn’t this sound like a fun reading unit? …