As the flowers bloom and the birds sing, there’s no better time to dive into a good book (or two) about tales of growth, renewal, and adventure with our little learners. Moreover, there’s no better time to help our students see the transition from winter to spring through storytelling.
While there are several children’s books we can suggest as a spring read aloud for kids, in today’s blog post we are going to focus on a favorite book – Spring is Here. This delightful book celebrates the joys of the spring season through the eyes of an excitable Mole. A perfect way to say Hello Spring through reading at any age!
Spring is Here Read Aloud
Spring is Here Read Aloud
Authored by award-winning children’s writer Kevin Henkes, Spring is Here is a delightful tale that follows Peter the rabbit through a series of events as he awaits the arrival of spring. From the first hints of green peeking through the winter snow to the cheerful chirping of birds and the emergence of colorful flowers, Peter discovers the signs of spring all around him.
In addition to the carefully curated words designed to support early readers through this story, are the whimsical illustrations that capture the beauty and wonder of the changing seasons. Through the words and pictures, students from preschool through second grade will love learning about spring through the eyes of Peter.
Since this picture book provides wonderful opportunities for learning at all grade levels, we have created a read aloud for all early readers. While each read aloud is carefully designed to reach the different needs of each student at various grade levels, there are many similarities in how these read alouds are designed.
As current and former elementary school teachers we have had decades of experience finding the best way to engage students in reading. Moreover, the most effective way to help students develop literacy skills at every stage. Below is an overview of the tried and tested read aloud formula we have used for years in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.
What is a Read Aloud?
A read-aloud serves as an engaging and immersive way to introduce young readers to important literacy skills. As the name expresses, this is done by reading aloud as a class. However, an effective read aloud goes beyond just reading the book.
An effective read aloud includes text dependent questions that engage readers in critical thinking. Moreover, read alouds often incorporate some type of writing activities since writing is as much a part of literacy development as reading.
In addition to the reading and writing components of a read aloud, we have found that it is important to incorporate hands-on learning activities to help with both engagement and reading retention. Some examples of these types of activities are matching and sorting activities that can be done with printable worksheets or digitally. We have also found that including a craft is a great culminating activity!
Take a look at how we incorporate all of these activities into one read aloud by exploring our read aloud for Spring is Here. Below is an overview of the Spring is Here read aloud for first and second graders. If you continue scrolling you will find a similar Spring is Here read aloud for PreK and kindergarten.
Spring Read Aloud for 1st Grade
Here is a sneak peek of all the reading activities included in this spring read aloud for the picture book Spring is Here. This read aloud is designed with first and second graders in mind and will help students in these grades engage with literacy in a rigorous and fun way.
Comprehension Questions for Spring is Here
Whole Group Response to Text Activities
Response toText Worksheets for Spring is Here
Spring is Here Writing pages
Spring is Here Vocabulary Activities
Quiz for Spring is Here
Retelling Puppets
Spring is Here Craft Activity
As you can see, there are several reading and writing activities included in this read aloud. More than you can do in one day! This is because we designed this read aloud to cover three to five days of learning.
While one benefit of having these activities span the course of several days is less planning for YOU, that is not the only benefit. Extending the read aloud over several days supports students’ literacy development by allowing them to revisit the text. Each day they revisit the text they engage with a new reading focus. Moreover, each time they revisit the text they get to explore new ways to enjoy reading.
If this is a new way of incorporating a read aloud into your classroom, don’t worry! In addition to all of the activities provided for students are detailed lesson plans for teachers. These lesson plans will walk you through each day so you can confidently instruct your first and second grade students in their reading of Spring is Here.
Spring Read Alouds for PreK
As mentioned above, Spring is Here is a great book to enjoy with students at all ages! Therefore, we created a read aloud resource for several grade levels. Including preschool.
As a preschool teacher you will find the same read aloud resources included in the read aloud above for first and second grade students. However, the worksheets and activities have been adjusted to meet the needs of preschool students. In addition to preschoolers, this read aloud can also be used for kindergarten students.
Whether you are using this read aloud in preschool or kindergarten your students will get to explore the wonderful world of spring with Mole and Bear, while developing their reading skills.
Spring Read Aloud Books
While Spring is Here is a favorite book to read with students this time of year, as we mentioned in the beginning of this post, it is just one of many! The great thing is that spring goes beyond one week; therefore, there is plenty of time to read many amazing spring books for kids. Not only that, there is plenty of time to continue to teach students through these books with read alouds.
If you are ready to continue teaching about spring through reading, then take a look at the book list below. This book list is full of spring read aloud books that we have aligned with our tried and true read aloud formula. This means that your young readers will already be familiar with the expectations of the read aloud and therefore able to more fully engage with their learning AND enjoyment of reading.
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Snowmen at Night Book Companion-Winter Snow Activities
$4.50 -
Turkey Trouble-Thanksgiving Read Aloud Activities-Disguise a Turkey
$4.50 -
The World of Gustavo- Flavia Z. Drago Read Aloud Bundle-Halloween Activities
$4.50 -
Vlad the Fabulous Vampire- Book Companion and Halloween Activities
$4.50 -
Bonaparte Falls Apart-Halloween Read Aloud Activities
$4.50 -
The Leaf Thief Book Companion and Fall Activities
$4.50
Whether you choose to use one read aloud book from our book list above or focus on Spring is Here, we hope the spring activities we’ve included will help you and your students enjoy each Spring Day!