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Our Favorite Read Aloud Novels for Grades K-6

April 5, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 3 Comments

Most children love to be read to, and through listening, learn to love books. Children who love books will read more and the bottom line of reading research is that the more you read the better you read. If you want your children to be good readers, read to them daily.

Reading to children helps to build classroom community and offers a common experience to use when discussing reading strategies. Reading to children improves their vocabulary and models fluency. It builds their attention span in a way that time on the iPad or a video game doesn’t. It improves listening skills in an age when teachers often complain that their children aren’t good listeners.

Reading just 15 minutes a day offers many benefits in a short amount of time.

Here are ten of our favorite, tried and true books to read aloud to your students.

1. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

You probably remember this from your own childhood. Four orphaned children build a home in an old boxcar. It is a sweet, satisfying and heart- filled story. Although it is old -fashioned, it still works for children today. Grades K-3

2. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren

Children love Pippi, perhaps because she lives on her own without the influence of adults, or perhaps because of her silly adventures. Michele still remembers her daughter’s giggles at Pippi carrying a horse and her crazy adventures with the police. Grades K-4

3. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

All of Beverly Cleary’s books make good read alouds. The Ramona books are great choices. The Mouse and The Motorcycle, and it’s sequels are especially good choices for active little boys. Who doesn’t love a mouse riding around on a motorcycle? There is lots of action and good fuel for the imagination here. Grades K-3

4. Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli

This one is technically a picture book, though a longer one. Mr. Hatch is a lonely old man with no friends. His whole life changes when he gets a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates in the mail- by mistake. This is a great story to build empathy and an understanding of what it means to be a friend. Grades 1-4

5. Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Barbara Cohen

A lonely young boy befriends the elderly cook in his mother’s inn. They bond over a love of baseball, and especially the new Brooklyn Dodger, Jackie Robinson. Racism rears its ugly head, and leads to great discussions of what it means to be racist. Ultimately this is a great story of friendship, and a message very meaningful for today. Grades 3-5

6. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

A young girl named Opal finds and keeps a stray dog. Along with collecting a dog, she collects a unique cast of characters, each with a story to share. This is another story with heart. Grades 2-5

7. The One and Only Ivan by Kathleen Applegate

This story is told through the eyes of Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a shopping mall tourist attraction. Ivan has a great story to tell about friendship and the power of art. This book easily kept children’s attention in a summer school program, which is a good sign. Grades 2-5

8. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

A classic story of a boy and his dog on a ranch in the Texas frontier. There is a lot of adventure and plenty of escapades from the rangy old mutt. In the same vein, try Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Dogs are like magnets to kids, and together, this is a powerful trio of dog stories. Grades 2-6

9. Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor

This book works for third through eighth graders. This story of four young black children who witness discrimination and then tragedy in 1930’s Mississippi never fails to ignite lots of insight and powerful discussion. Grades 3-6

10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

If your children are a little older and ready for a scary story, this is a good one. It is about a young boy who is raised by ghosts and wanted by a murderer. It is clever, imaginative and sometimes frightening. Gaiman knows how to draw you in and keep you there. Grades 4-7

We would love for you to share YOUR favorite read alouds or the ones you fondly remember your teachers reading to YOU.

Are You Killing the Love of Reading?

January 4, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 6 Comments

There are many reasons to develop a love of reading. Reading, like playing tennis or a musical instrument, is a skill. When we read, we are practicing a skill, and as with any skill, the more you practice the better you will get. If you enjoy reading, you will be more likely to read, and more reading makes you a better reader.

Reading also helps us to bridge cultures, to learn about other people and places that we may not have had the chance to experience first hand. Reading is a source of unending information about almost any subject imaginable. It is a key to success in school and in life.

No parent or teacher would intentionally try to lessen a child’s success by killing the love of reading, but it happens every day.

Here are some ways adults unintentionally kill the love of reading:

Using long sessions of round robin reading.

You remember this from childhood. Going around in a circle, or up and down a row, each person reads a paragraph followed by the next person. Good readers are bored and read ahead. Poor readers count the paragraphs before their turn so they can silently practice it so they won’t look foolish. No one is actually paying much attention to the student who is actually reading. The lesson? Reading is boring.

Asking students to read as a punishment.

When reading is assigned as a punishment for some infraction, the message is that reading is a punishment. Enough said.

Never allowing students to choose their own reading material.

Our knowledge, abilities, and interests vary widely. We are more interested in reading when we have a choice in our reading material.

Allowing students to read only when all of their work is done.

In school, this often means that the students who most need to practice reading don’t get any time to read. Reading is seen as an “extra” and not as something important.

You don’t model a love of reading.

Children imitate adults. If they never see an adult read, they are not likely to understand the value of reading. If adults don’t think it is important, why should children?

You don’t allow students to reread a beloved book.

Good readers often reread favorite books. There is comfort and joy in rereading. It also helps beginning readers to develop fluency. Rereading is a sign of a good reader.

We hope that you are not committing readacide with your students.

.Do you want to help students to develop a love of reading? Here are some things you can do:

Read aloud to children every day.

Share your favorite books.

Encourage daily reading.

Take children to the library.

Buy children books.

Let children see you read.

Talk about what you are reading.

Building a love of reading isn’t rocket science. It is possible to promote reading and good reading habits. We hope you are doing all things in your power to help students to develop a love of reading and ultimately, to be good readers.

Happy reading,

Do you want to learn more about motivation? Get our free guide:

Little Bright Spots: Read More Live Longer!

September 2, 2016 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Reading is good for us for many reasons, but we now have a good reason to celebrate reading even more.

According to a recent study by Yale University School of Public Health, researchers studied 3635 people to see if reading offered any advantages in longevity of life. The results, adjusted for wealth, education, cognitive ability and other variables showed that reading more is associated with longevity.

Reading as little as 1/2 an hour a day gives you a significant survival advantage. Readers who read for 3 1/2 hours a week were 17% less likely to die in the next twelve years. Readers who read more than that were 23% less likely to die in that time period.

We’ve always encouraged reading, but we have even more reasons to encourage it today!

Happy reading,

Book Clubs, Chocolate Lava Cakes, & Day-Old Donuts

August 23, 2016 by educationdivas@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Book clubs are a great way to meet new people or to connect more deeply with people you already know. Have you moved to a new city for your teaching job? Are you looking to meet new people? Or are you looking for a reason to get to know your colleagues better? A book club may be your answer.

Most people fall into one of 5 categories regarding book clubs:

You belong to a book club and love it.
You belong to a book club that rarely meets or rarely talks about the book and are considering finding better uses of your time.
You used to belong to a book club but dropped out due to reasons listed in #2 above.
You want to belong to a book club but can come up with a reason (or six) why it won’t work for you (not enough time, not invited, too busy with work, too busy with family, etc).
You don’t understand why anyone would want to belong to a book club. (Don’t worry. We hope to enlighten you here.)

The phrase “book club” is about as vague as the term “chocolate.” We all love chocolate but a rich, dark, melted chocolate flowing out of a warm molten lava cake is a whole different taste than the cracked chocolate frosting on your day- old gas station donut. The name is the same but the flavor couldn’t be any more different. The same can be said for book clubs.

We are both fortunate to be in book clubs that we LOVE. And by “LOVE” we mean exactly that. Our book clubs feed our souls. We belong to different book clubs but our experiences are the same. We leave our book clubs with our souls rejuvenated, our intellect stretched, and our love of literature and the people we share it with confirmed. That is not to say we love every book we read. There are many books we detest, but some of those lead to the greatest discussions.

There are many websites and blogs that will give you long and short lists on starting and maintaining book clubs. One of the world’s most famous book lovers, Oprah, offers wonderful tips on starting a book club that we suggest you follow if you are just beginning.

We offer the following 7 short and practical tips for making your book club more like a delicacy than a day-old donut:

Gather people who will bring different perspectives and create an environment in which everyone feels comfortable sharing their connections to the books. How this looks in your situation will vary. This could mean teachers creating purposeful groups for a classroom or all school book club. It could mean gathering an eclectic group of co-workers to meet in the coffee shop down the street after school once a month. Wherever and whenever you meet, set a welcoming tone that encourages people to share their unique perspectives.
Make sure everyone reads the book. The whole book. Every time. This is key. You can’t fake meaningful conversations. You just can’t. People who don’t read the book begin to create side conversations and pull the discussion away from the book. Make reading the book a rule from day one. Of course there will always be exceptions but they should be the exception, not the rule.
Talk about the book. This seems like a given but it is not. You don’t have to talk about the book the entire time but at least bring the conversation back to the book once in a while. That is what makes it a book club and not just another social gathering.
Encourage people to highlight key quotes or ideas while reading. This will give you discussion points to start with when you come together. Another option is to look for discussion guides that were created by the publisher to start a meaningful conversation.
Ask other book clubs what they are reading. Some of our best recommendations of what to read and what not to read have come from other book clubs.
Set a date to meet and follow through. Always set a date for the next meeting before leaving book club. Otherwise, life will get in the way and book club will be set on the back burner.
Embrace what is unique about your book club. Paula’s book club meets late at night and goes into the wee hours of the morning. It works for them. Michele’s book club is made of a unique blend of women, all of whom have been teachers at some point in their lives. They share stories that all members can relate to. Embrace whatever is unique about your book club.

Like the different variations of chocolate, create your book club to suit the needs and personalities of your members.

What makes your book club unique? What would you add to our list? We would love to know.

Wishing you deep and memorable book club conversations (that may or may not be accompanied by chocolate),

Little Bright Spots: The Nerdy Book Club

August 19, 2016 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

We love the Nerdy Book club website for reviews of children’s and young adult books, for top ten lists of favorite books, and for all things promoting books and reading. The Nerdy Book Club is run by four amazing teachers, including the Book Whisperer Donalyn Miller, third grade teacher Colby Sharp, Monticello, IL 5th grade teacher Katherine Sokolowski and Pennsylvania high school English teacher Cindy Minnich.