Read Alouds for First Grade

More thoughts on Read Aloud from author Jim Trelease:

A school’s objective should be to create lifetime readers—graduates who continue to read and educate themselves throughout their adult lives. But the reality is we create schooltime readers—graduates who know how to read well enough to graduate. And at that point the majority take a silent vow: If I never read another book, it’ll be too soon.

• During repeat readings of a predictable book, occasionally stop at a key phrase and allow the child to provide the words.
• Remember: The art of listening is an acquired one. It must be taught and cultivated gradually—it doesn’t happen overnight.
• Remember that reading aloud comes naturally to very few people. To do it successfully and with ease you must practice.
• The most common mistake in reading aloud—whether the reader is a seven-year-old or a forty-year-old—is reading too fast. Read slowly enough for the child to build mental pictures of what he just heard you read. Slow down enough for the children to see the pictures in the book without feeling hurried. Reading quickly allows no time for the reader to use vocal expression. 
• Preview the book by reading it to yourself ahead of time. Such advance reading allows you to spot material you may wish to shorten, eliminate, or elaborate on.

As promised, here is the list of 100 books for First Grade:

Classics

§              The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

§              Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

§              Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus

§              Little Bear by Elsie H. Minarik

§              Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

§              The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

§              Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss

§              Owl Moon Jane Yolen

§              Wemberly Worried Kevin Henkes

§              The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain

§              Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

§              The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Animal Stories

§              Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant

§              Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

§              George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends by James Marshall

§              Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate

§              Fredrick by Leo Lionni

§              Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni

§              Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman

§              Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

§              The Day the Goose Got Loose by Reeve Lindbergh

§              Swimmy by Leo Lionni

§              Hooway for Wodney Wat! by Helen Lester

Nursery Rhymes, Folk and Fairy Tales

§              Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood

§              And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens

§              The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

§              Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

§              Little Red Riding Hood by Lisa Campbell Ernst

§              Somebody and the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tollhurst

§              The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories by Jon Scieska

§              Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

§              The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

§              Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel

Alphabet, Numbers and Other Concept Books

§              AA is for Aardvark by Mark Shulman

§              One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab: A Counting Feet Book by April Pulley Sayre

§              Wild About Books by Judy Sierra

§              You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman

§              100^th Day Worries by Marjorie Cuyler

§              Math Curse by Jon Scieska

§              It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

§              The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter

§              Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald

Rhyming Stories/Language Play

§              Old Black Fly by Jim Ayelsworth

§              I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

§              The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

§              The War Between the Vowels and Consonants by Priscilla Turner

§              Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor

§              Max’s Words by Kate Banks

§              Inside a Barn in the Country by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

§              The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood

Friends and Family

§              The Pain and The Great One by Judy Blume

§              Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

§              Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus

§              The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

§              Sheila Rae, the Brave Kevin Henkes

§              The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

§              The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

§              A Chair for My Mother  by Vera Williams

§              Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

§              Margaret and Margarita: Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser

           Fantasy/Daydreams

§              Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner

§              Tooth Fairy’s First Night by Anne Bowen

§              Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

§              There’s a Monster Under My Bed by James Howe

§              The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

§              How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long

§              A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon

§              Imogene’s Antlers by David Small

§              The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Informational Text

§              Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

§              Brave Norman by Andrew Clements

§              Dogs by Gail Gibbons

§              Emergency by Gail Gibbons

§              Teeth, Tails, and Tentacles by Christopher Wormell

§              The Beetle Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

§              Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller

§              Stars! Stars! Stars! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

§              Amazing Bats! by Seymour Simon

Silly Stories

§              Alice the Fairy by David Shannon

§              Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

§              Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

§              Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

§              Lilly’s Big Day by Kevin Henkes

§              Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

§              There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Williams

§              Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis

§              Old MacDonald by Amy Schwartz

§              Five Little Ducks by Ian Beck

School Stories and All About Me

§              Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

§              Knuffle Bunny Mo Willems

§              Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

§              Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard

§              A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman

§              Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows

§              The New Girl and Me by Jacqui Robbins

§              Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran

§              Arthur’s Back to School Day by Marc Brown

§              Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois

§              Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

§  Marvin One Too Many by Katherine Peterson

Reader's Workshop Model: Read Aloud

Reading TO Students “There are many little ways to enlarge a child’s world.  Love of books is the best of all.”  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Read Aloud (10 - 20 minutes daily) with a discussion question or writing connection, set a purpose for reading and/or writing---integrate into the total language arts focus for the day. 

Ø     Refer to weekly reading skills from your district curriculum or benchmarks as you think aloud 

Ø    Use any classroom library materials or Media materials that you deem appropriate

Ø     Use a variety of genre (include current events, poetry, picture books, simple chapter books when appropriate, etc.)—See attached list

Ø     Model “book thinking” for students using weekly focus skill

Ø     Kids will want to read what you want to read—make these books available to them to revisit during centers.(If you don't like it, don't read it!  They will know)

Ø     Poetry makes a wonderful read aloud, especially for struggling readers. 

This summer we have begun compiling lists of 100 suggested read alouds for each grade 

level.  It's not that these are comprehensive by any means.  They are simply suggestions as

you are considering what to share with your students during the year.

Classics

The Runaway Bunny by M. Brown

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Madeline by L. Bemelmens

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Swimmy by Leo Lionni

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Make Way for Ducklings by R. McCloskey

Curious George by H.A. Rey

Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak

Caps for Sale by E. Slobodkina

Freight Train by D.Crews

The Carrot Seed by R. Kraus

Animal Stories  

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Bark, George by J. Feiffer

Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by D. Fleming

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest

Kitten’s First Full Moon by K. Henkes

A Mother for Choco by K. Kasza

Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

The Stray Dog by Marc Simont

Farmer Duck by M. Waddell

Owl Moon by J. Yolen

Old Black Fly by J. Ayelsworth

Whistle for Willie by E. Keats

Folk and Fairy Tales

The Three Bears by P. Galdone

The Mitten by J. Brett

Chicken Little by S. Kellogg

The Gingerbread Boy by P. Galdone

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by P. Galdone

Seven Blind Mice by E. Young

Rumpelstiltskin by P. Zelinsky

The Little Red Hen by J. Pinkney

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by J. Brett

The Three Little Pigs by J. Marshall

Little Red Riding Hood by J. Marshall

Letters, Shapes, Numbers and Colors

Mother Goose:  Numbers on the Loose by L. Dillon

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.

Color Zoo by L. Ehlert

Ten Nine Eight by M. Bang

Alpha Oops!  The Day the Z Went First by A. Kontis

Planting a Rainbow by L. Ehlert

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  by Bill Martin, Jr.

Black? White! Day? Night!: A book of Opposites by L. Seeger

Ten Naughty Little Monkeys by S. Williams

Ten Black Dots by D. Crews

Rhyming Stories/Language Play

Move Over, Rover!  by K. Beaumont

Old MacDonald Drives a Tractor by D.Carter

Is Your Mama a Llama? by D. Guarino

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Green as a Bean by K. Kuskin

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by J. Yolen

Jamberry by B. Degen

Old Black Fly by J. Ayelsworth

Silly Stories

The Baby BeeBee Bird by D. Massie

Down the Back of the Chair by M. Mahy

Click, Clack Moo: Cows that Type by D. Cronin

Smash! Crash! by J. Scieska

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Williams

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williams

Sheep in a Jeep by N. Shaw

Fantasy/Daydreams

Abuela by A. Dorros

The Gingerbread Boy by R. Egielski

There’s a Nightmare in my Closet by. M. Mayer

The Magic Hat by Mem Fox

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by C. Shaw

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini

Duck on a Bike by D. Shannon

Crocodaddy by K. Norman

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by L. Williams

Go Away, Big Green Monster by E. Emberly

Cumulative/Circle Stories

The Bridge is Up! By Babs Bell

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by J. Burningham

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by S. Neitzel

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by L. Numeroff

The Great Gracie Chase by C. Rylant

Jump, Frog, Jump! by R. Kalan

Rosie’s Walk by P. Hutchins

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by H. Oxenbury

Edward the Emu by S. Knowles

Friends and Families

Olivia by I. Falconer

Amazing Grace by M. Hoffman

A Chair for My Mother by V. Williams

Are You My Mother? by P. Eastman

No, David! by D. Shannon

Leo the Late Bloomer by R. Kraus

Guess How Much I Love You by S. McBratney

The Kissing Hand by A. Penn

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by J. Viorst

School Stories

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! by N. Carlson

Kindergarten Countdown by A. Hays

Officer Buckle and Gloria by P. Rathmann

Annabelle Swift, Kindergartener by Amy Schwartz

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by J. Slate

If You Take a Mouse to School by L. Numeroff

Froggy Goes to School by J. London

The Twelve Days of Kindergarten by D. Rose

      My Kindergarten by R. Wells 

Tomorrow we will share the list for first grade.  

Helping Kids Choose Books

In the first weeks of school, all students need to review book selection.  Here is what we use at our school.  It is adapted from the work of Regie Routman and Debbie Miller.

Is THIS The Right Book For Me?

If you answer YES to these questions, the book is probably:

EASY

• Have you read this book over and over ?
• Do you understand the story very well?
• Do you know almost every word? 
• Can you read it easily and smoothly?

JUST RIGHT

• Do you understand a lot of the book?  
• Is the book new to you? 
• Is it a familiar author, content, series, or genre? 
• Are there just a few tricky words on a page? 
• When you read, are some places smooth and some places choppy?

HARD

• Are there a lot of words you don't know? 
• Are you confused about what is happening in most of this book? 
• Is it hard to understand even when you reread?
• Do you need a lot of help with the book?

        

When presenting updated literacy material...

This year we'll be sharing the work of Dr. Connie Hebert  with our literacy teachers.  Connie has written two easily digestible books on ways to catch falling readers and writers.  The books are short and have ideas that will be easy to implement.

I envision using these with our staff as little "Have you thought about...?"  nuggets throughout the year.  It's kind of tips for when you're saying, "I don't know what to do about so-and-so's reading."

If you haven't picked up these two books, why not check them out?  You'll be glad you did!

Storytime Boogie by Author Kim Norman

Children's Author, Kim Norman, shared this song with us during her visit to Gocio this year.  It was a real "hit".  I just found this version on the web and thought I'd share it with you!  You can connect with Kim via her facebook page or her website Thanks, Kim for this fun song!

Back to School

It's time for new crayons, new pencils, new folders, and a new year! Education is one of the only professions I know that regenerates. It gives everyone in the organization a fresh start. It's a chance to begin again and to enhance the good and eliminate what didn't work the first time.

What do you do to regenerate? How do you freshen up your teaching each year?

We are excited to be speaking to the Polk County Reading Association tonight! Should be a fun time with make and take!

Here's some food for thought as we prepare for Spring Break:

When it started, people were really excited about integrating content areas and helping curriculum make sense. Today, though, we are seeing a shift back to teaching discreet and isolated skills thanks largely to the state of assessment in American Education. It's time to realize, once again, that if we want it to be "tasty", be memorable, and really last long term, learning should make sense to the student! Let's get back to what we know is good for kids and do it right!

A Fantastic Motivational Reading Video

From a middle school here in Florida. A fabulous message for kids everywhere! Enjoy!

Regie Routman writes: Access to books and a wide variety of excellent reading materials and genres have the potential to do more increase student achievement than any advanced technology.

In our book, Intermediate Literacy Stations, you will learn how to use your classroom library as the hub of all of your station work. It's critical that intermediate readers have TIME in TEXT! It starts by setting up a well-organized classroom library. Here are some questions to think about when considering your own library:

Does your classroom library…

Have at least 8–10 quality titles per student in your classroom?

Have tubs or baskets to house similar books by author, genre, or topic?

Give students easy access to books with titles facing outward and un-crowded shelves for easy browsing?

Have books representing multiple levels and interests to appeal to your students?

Allow students to check out books and take them home?

Include books that students have helped select?

Have current books that interest students?

Include comfortable places to sit and browse books?

Include multiple copies of popular titles to encourage group discussions?

Contain a variety of text (books, magazines, graphic novels, newspapers, etc.)

If you are just getting started building your literacy classroom, start here. Build your library well! Include your students in book selection when possible. Then you can create and introduce literacy activities that center around the reading your students are doing every single day.

Questioning and Comprehension

Here are two great books to use when you're teaching questioning to your students. Have them preview the book and ask "before reading questions". Remind them that good readers don't always find answers to their questions. Sometimes, though, the questions are what keep us reading and understanding. If you can ask a meaningful question, then it demonstrates that you are really thinking.

In The Wise Woman and Her Secret, the little girl in the book is taught to keep "wandering and wondering". It's a great way to help readers understand that we do the same thing as we read: We wander through the book and wonder about characters, setting, problems, and solutions. This book is beautifully illustrated and is probably best-used with students in grades 2 and higher.

Have students make a list of their own questions from before, during and after reading. They can put them on sticky notes and post them on a chart paper labeled, "Before, During, and After". Let them compare and contrast.




The second book was once a popular "war-song" by Peter, Paul and Mary. It is called, "Day is Done". Have students listen for the questions presented by the singer as well as the child. Then have them ask their own questions.
The book includes a CD in the back with the song on it. (Note: I like the original Peter, Paul and Mary version much better as it is a bit faster.)

Still readers love listening to songs made into books. It's a great way to discuss interpretation as well.

Remember to teach your readers that there are meaningful questions and "fluff questions". Readers must be asking about the deeper meaning of a book if it's going to help their comprehension. Those surface-level questions (what color was the character's shirt?) are OK, but they generally don't lead to more understanding.

Happy Questioning!

Environmental Print

There are many ways to incorporate Environmental Print into the Elementary Classroom. It's a great place for younger kids to start really digging into letters and sounds. It also presents opportunities to explore visual literacy.

For older kids, why not actually READ some of the writing that is found on food boxes, maps, and attraction brochures. Have students explore information found on familiar products.

The most important thing to remember is that YOUR environmental print is probably NOT the same as your students. This is especially true if you are teaching in a school with students from lower SES groups. It's not wrong. It's different. Have kids start collecting words, pictures, and logos from THEIR environment.

You can sort them. Make books using logos. Have students make word families using letters/words they find. Help them make the connection between the logo and the print form of a word. Have students make an Alphabet Book of environmental print.

Above all, don't forget to ASK THEM what they'd like to do with the print. Their ideas are often the best and will take them deeper in their literacy acquisition.

From the Files

While cleaning out some old files today, I found this little gem:


Has Anybody Seen My Brain?
(Sung to the tune of 5'2" Eyes of Blue)

Kill and drill, Empty skill
Dittoes, please I've had my fill
Has anybody seen my brain?

Row by row, I can't grow
Boy, this day is movin' slow
Has anybody seen my brain?

I want to spread my wings
Try new things
Use all seven smarts
Save this Earth, prove my worth
Come on teacher, have a heart!

Look at me, set me free
Teach my brain compatibly
I really want to find my---
Has anybody seen my---
Please teacher let me find my BRAIN!!

(Note: My notes indicate this is written by "Jean Spanko". I don't know who Jean is, but she sure had it right!)

A GREAT Simile Lesson!

Loreen Leedy's book "Crazy Like a Fox" is a GREAT way to really help kids understand similes. The entire story is told in similes.

If you're looking for a fun way to help students understand this writing craft, check it out!

1. Read the book Crazy Like a Fox. Students can predict how some of the similes will end since they begin on one page and end when you turn the page.

2. Pause occasionally to let students try out their own similes using Leedy's work as a frame. Ask them what words they would use, for example, if the simile was "He ran as fast as a __________."

3. Use Leedy's note page at the end to talk about this craft that writers use. Practice some more in small groups of two or three. Let students share their thinking.

4. Have writers get out their writing notebooks and find a piece they can revise using similes.

5. Circulate the room and look for those places where writers have successfully "hit the target" for using similes.

6. When they hit the target, put a colored marker dot on their paper to mark the spot. We call these "Did It dots". Then, let them ring the target bell to signal to all writers that another writer has "hit the target".

7 This is a fun way to encourage revision, use of similes, and writing for a target all at once!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

One of our third grade teachers asked students to write their feelings about our state-wide test, the FCAT, in their journals. One student's comment stood out. She wrote:

It feels like a storm has been chasing me. I am just plain nervous.

We really DO make every effort to help our students not stress about this test. We try to keep it fun and remind them that they just need to "show what they know". Still, there are pressures from everywhere. And in our state, third graders who do not "pass" will be retained. It's scary.


I am all about asking kids to think deeply when they read. I agree that we only scratch the surface of critical thinking on most days. I also think many kids ARE capable of more than the output they give. But, to quote my principal, "At what expense?"


As we seek rigor and alignment in our classrooms, are we adding too much to the pressure cooker that dwells inside each of our students' minds? Do we help them with coping strategies? Do we remind them that good thinking is simply what a person "should" do and really has little to do with the test or its outcome? Do we remind them every single day that they ARE important no matter what a number on a test says about them?



The truth is, if we asked most teachers how they feel about testing, they may answer just the same as this little girl:

It feels like a storm has been chasing me. I am just plain nervous.

At least the ones that I work with WANT their children to do their best work. They believe in our kids. And they know that this one little blip on the radar screen of life does not define who you are or what you'll become.


I'm hoping for calm weather as we take this test. I'm trusting that our teachers and our students truly have done their best teaching and learning. And I know it will all be OK.

It's FCAT Time...

Here's the song we created for our kids:

Wordless Wednesday---Sort Of...

My colleagues and I wrote a song to High School Musical's "What Time Is It?" to help motivate our kids for their upcoming FCAT test. It mushroomed into quite a production complete with video. I'm hoping to get it up on Teacher Tube or You Tube to share. I was able to recruit my son and his friend to help us out. I love it when people work together to make school a little more exciting for kids. It makes me sure that there is plenty RIGHT with public education!