Tonight on our Facebook LIVE we talked about Back to School Books that up the engagement during the first week of school. Those first few days we can choose books that are enjoyable, high-energy, and just flat out fun to read because we don’t normally have to worry about our scope & sequence yet. It’s a time to grab the attention of your little learners, expose them to books that show READING IS FUN, and get them excited about being in your class.
You’re Finally Here by Melanie Watt has been one of my favorites ever since Linda Kamp blogged about it. She has the cutest unit that your kiddos would just love during that first week of school! I’ve been reading it ever since, and it’s just my favorite way to start the year!
After we read the book, we chart where the students were while I was waiting on them. They think it’s so funny to hear me say I was waiting all summer for them to arrive :)) This is also a time where they get to share what they did throughout the summer.
To go along with our read-aloud and chart, I made this directed drawing. It has simple lines that will be easy for the students to tackle at the beginning of the year!
Right now it’s really hard to find a copy of “You’re Finally Here” You can find a couple of YouTube videos with the recording. Click HERE and HERE.
One of my other favorite stories is The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. This story is a perfect read aloud for that first week of school. The author does a beautiful job telling a story about a student that is lonely/feels left out. It teaches children that the things we say and do can truly affect another person. It’s a great way to talk about classroom community.
I always like to do a Class Promise or Pledge during the first week of school. This really emphasizes the fact that we are a family and everyone is important! It also helps us focus on expectations without constantly saying “You cannot do this” “Don’t do that”
You just can’t leave out the teachable moments that this book brings. The illustrations give us tons of insight to how the character feels. The craft allows us to discuss different situations that arise at school and how students feel around their classmates.
To check out the Facebook LIVE video click HERE!
4 Responses
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Thanks for the ideas. I love this book too. It is such a good way to start the year and welcome them back to school. Great blog 🙂
Do you have step by step directions for the directed drawing?
What an exceptional book!! My class and i loved the book as well as the activities that were included for the book. What a great book for character education. Even though we read it last week, the kids are still bringing the story line up in class.