The weather may still be saying summer but if you are a teacher then you recognize a small buzz in the air. The buzz of back to school!
There are many exciting things that take place during this time of year as you prepare to welcome your new group of young learners. From back to school night to beginning of the year assemblies, it is often jam-packed.
Beyond these big events are the most important aspects of a new school year – the lessons you are preparing for your students. Like back to school read aloud stories.
Back To School Read Alouds For Elementary School
One of the wonderful things about read alouds is how they can be used to introduce students to a variety of topics. From pumpkins to snow to ground hogs, there is a book to get students familiar with any topic. Moreover, with an effective read aloud you can go beyond just reading a great story and guide students into thoughtful conversations.
When it comes to the start of a new school year there are a handful of topics we think are essential to introduce to students each year: friendship, bullying, manners, kindness, self-confidence, and a growth mindset.
These topics help establish a welcoming and positive learning environment. They also establish a classroom that is committed to both academic growth and community building.
Come along as we dive deeper into why we believe these topics are important to discuss at the beginning of the school year, and the books we love to use for teaching students about them.
Friendship Read Aloud Books
These early years in school are a crucial period when young kids are forming their views of the world and how to interact with others. One of the ways educators can support this development is by explicitly teaching students about friendship.
By emphasizing the value of friendship, children learn the skills needed to build and maintain meaningful relationships. These skills include how to listen to others, how to cooperate with peers, and how to resolve conflict. Friendship is also a topic that helps build awareness around kindness.
All of these skills can lay the foundation for a strong classroom community that supports positive academic exploration. Moreover, these are essential life skills that students will carry with them beyond the walls of the classroom.
With so many wonderful books about friendship, it can be hard to pick a favorite. However, we have three favorites: The Invisible Boy, We’re All Wonders, and Do Unto Otters.
These two books show how friendship can be built upon kindness and accepting each other’s unique differences. Two important qualities we hope all young kids can embrace when making friends in the classroom.
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
The Invisible Boy is one of our favorite stories about friendship. This heartfelt story follows Brian, a kid who feels invisible until the new kid Justin invites him to join him and another boy for a class project.
One of the unique things about this book is how the author uses illustrations to show the change in Brian. At the beginning of the story, Brian is drawn in black and white with the world around him in color. This symbolizes his isolation.
However, over the course of the book, the illustrations become more colorful. This reflects how Brian feels more accepted and included.
In addition to the discussions you can have about friendship and kindness, the use of color throughout the book is an excellent way to engage students in a discussion about how illustrations create meaning. Just another thing to love about this book!
We’re All Wonders by Raquel J. Palacio
If you are familiar with the Wonder books series that is often taught in upper elementary then you will love We’re All Wonders. This book is written by the same author, Raquel J. Palacio, and helps bring the #choosekind movement into our younger grade classrooms.
In this story, Auggie knows that he looks different from other children. However, he still has the same desire to be accepted and make friends.
With his positive outlook and hope to be accepted, Auggie teaches kids how to find the wonder in everyone! A truly wonderful book about kindness, acceptance, and friendship.
Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller
Friendship is not just about who plays with who. It is about how we treat others. Therefore, we encourage teachers to include books like Do Unto Otters in their library of friendship read aloud stories.
This book focuses on teaching kids about the importance of manners and is a great way to start a conversation with students about treating otters the same way you’d like them to treat you.
This book introduces students to the golden rule in a playful way with the character, Rabbit and his new neighbors, the Otters.
Anti Bullying Read Alouds
In addition to teaching elementary students about friendship, addressing the topic of bullying with young learners is equally important, especially at the start of a new school year.
By discussing bullying early on, teachers create awareness about the negative impact of hurtful behaviors. Having an open conversation about the consequences of bullying also helps foster a sense of responsibility and empathy among students.
This encourages and empowers students to recognize and report any bullying they may encounter. By addressing this issue early in the year, your students will be equipped with the tools needed to establish respectful and inclusive interactions with their peers.
Since kindness and inclusion are important to discuss as a way to prevent bullying, the books mentioned above are excellent choices. In addition, we also love Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, I Like Myself!, and Ish as back to school books that teach about bullying.
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon is a heartwarming story about a confident little girl who wins over Ronald Durkin, the school bully. This book provides the perfect plot and positive message for discussing bullying.
In addition, it engages young readers with its gorgeous illustrations and provides teachers with a wonderful structure to teach students about character traits. Overall, a perfect combination of literary elements to help teachers successfully start a new school year.
I Like Myself! By Karen Beaumont
Another book that is wonderful for teaching students about character traits is I Like Myself! By Karen Beaumont. While this story does not focus explicitly on bullying it teaches kids how to like themselves, no matter what! An important trait to learn when standing up to bullies.
Along with providing a fun and humorous character to analyze, this book can also be paired with Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon to teach compare and contrast. Providing yet another great reason to add this read aloud to your back to school library.
Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
Ish is a wonderful story about a creative boy named Ramon. Ramon loves to draw until he is teased by his older brother for the way his pictures look. However, the boy’s younger sister helps him learn to think “ish-ly” and focus on his creativity rather than getting things just right.
This is an important lesson for our students to learn at the beginning of the year because it shows them how to face someone who is tearing them down. Moreover, it teaches students how to help lift someone else up.
Beyond the moral lessons in this book, there are additional opportunities for introducing students to academic skills. This book is especially great at helping students learn about suffixes. Particularly, the suffix -ish – meaning “kind-of like, similar to, or creatively.”
Growth Mindset Read Aloud for Kids
Introducing students to the concept of a growth mindset sets the tone for a positive attitude toward learning and personal development. Therefore, we believe it is an essential part of any back to school unit.
With a growth mindset, students are more likely to embrace challenges, view failures as opportunities for growth, and persist in the face of setbacks. While students of all ages can understand and benefit from adopting a growth mindset, how you introduce it to young students is important.
The most effective way that we have found to introduce elementary school students to a growth mindset is through reading. Specifically, through carefully selected books that are paired with thoughtful reading activities.
What is our favorite book to use for teaching kids about a growth mindset? Keep reading to find out!
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
When The Most Magnificent Thing was published we were ecstatic! This inspiring story presents the idea of perseverance and a growth mindset to young kids in a way that we find to be exceptional.
Kids learn about perseverance through the lens of a young girl who plans to build the most magnificent thing, with the support of her little furry sidekick. Throughout the journey, things don’t turn out the way she and her dog planned though. Despite many failed attempts though they keep trying.
This story is our all-time favorite for teaching a growth mindset at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, it is a wonderful choice for teaching a character’s response to events and challenges.
Back to School Reading Activities
Even though starting a new school year is exciting, it is also a lot of work. Therefore, to help alleviate some of that planning we created read aloud lesson plans for all of the books above.
Each lesson plan will guide you through 3-4 days of close reading. This means each book provides you with almost a full week’s worth of reading activities! Combined with one another, you can easily cover reading lessons for first one to two months of school. All without needing to do any planning!
Even though you are not going to need to plan, you can rest assured your students will be engaging with the same type of rigor your own lessons may provide! Each day your students will read the book for a different purpose and complete a different activity using the included rigorous text dependent questions, writing in response to text activities, plus fun and engaging crafts. The perfect back to school blend of learning, reading, and fun.
