Read Alouds For the First Day of Kindergarten

A new school year is almost here.  These are some of the books I will read on the first day of Kindergarten.  I selected these books because they are engaging and kindergarteners can easily identify with the characters.

INTERACTIVE BOOKS
I want my kindergarteners to know that they are readers; even on the first day of school. These engaging, short interactive books get students to actively participating.

Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell is my favorite choral reading book. Within the pages, we find a little girl and her mother reading a bedtime story. Along the way, we discover a story that combines a mixture of questioning and fairy tale characters with a modern twist.

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Press Here and Mix It Up by Harry Tullet have readers interact with the book. With each page turn students eagerly await what will happen next. This is a perfect book to use if you want to also teach carpet or rug expectations. Often, even my most squiggly of students, will sit up tall and raise their hand to have a turn.

The songs and videos of Pete the Cat books are just right when your students need a bit of movement and fun. It's all good when you have Pete the Cat by your side on the first day of kindergarten.



FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL BOOKS
I want to acknowledge my students feelings about the first day of school.  For many of my kindergartners, this is the first time that they have been away from home for an extended period of time. These books help to ease and comfort them.

Dad's First Day is a great read if you have parents in the room with their child on the first day. They will be able to relate to the mix of emotions Oliver's dad is feeling.

In I Don't Want to Go To School, Simon says "No way!" to going to school. But as he discovers, school is a fun safe place to learn.





CLASSIC KINDERGARTEN READS
I also make sure to share a few "classic" reads that students may recognize from preschool if they attended.  No, David!, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom are always within reach on the first few days of school. They are great for teaching many concepts and are timeless classics.

What are your must read books for the first day of kindergarten?

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#Operation55 -The Little Linebacker

I am so excited to team up with Stephen Tulloch and Maria Dismondy to share with you a book about self determination and dreams.  

Based on Tulloch's own life, this book shares how his passion for football and a BIG dream led to a successful 10 year NFL career.  None of this was easy but with self determination, Tulloch was able to turn his can'ts into cans.

This is not a book just about football. The Little Linebacker teaches students to DREAM BIG, persevere, and believe in yourself.  These are traits I teach my students all year long.  

What is wonderful is that teachers and homeschoolers can access a complimentary Reader's Guide.  

The authors of The Little Linebacker have generously offered to giveaway a book to one reader of this blog. All you need to do is comment below.  A winner will be selected on May 31st. 

Congratulations to Lor! Raines~

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Books that #CelebrateDiversity

I am honored to be able to spotlight Maria Dismondy's latest book, Chocolate Milk, Por Favor!

Maria is well known for writing books which #CelebrateDiversity.  As a former classroom teacher turned award-wining author, Maria creates books that make a difference by empowering children with courage and confidence.

Chocolate Milk, Por Favor! is no different.  In fact, it may be my favorite!  In this book, Gabe is a newcomer and learns to navigate through school despite his lack of English skills. Johnny, his classmate, doesn't understand why Gabe is getting all the attention. Learn how chocolate milk plays a role in Johnny's discovery that actions speak louder than words.

One unique feature of the this book are the Teacher Tips.  Personally, Your Name is Important reminded me of an experience that happened in our family. As a child, my sister had her name changed by the school. Yes, the school! When my parents enrolled us, they told them that her name was to hard to pronounce so that they could call her this instead.  Unbeknownst to them, my parents agreed.  It stuck and to this day, it is the name my sister uses.  Today, we would think of this as unacceptable but it does happen, in subtle ways; usually in our attempts to use the English version of one's name.

As a minority teacher and a teacher of minority students, I feel it is important to read books which have characters that not only look like us but share the message of acceptance and understanding.  I must admit that finding these types of books can be a challenge. Thankfully, there are authors like Maria Dismondy who strive to celebrate inclusion.

I am delighted to add Chocolate Milk, Por Favor! to my collection of Books that #CelebrateDiversity.  I hope that you, too, will add this book to your collection.  Maria Dismondy has graciously offered a signed copy of her book, Chocolate Milk, Por Favor!, to readers of this blog.  All you have to do is leave a comment. Perhaps, share how you celebrate diversity in the classroom or make a book recommendation.  I will select a person to receive this book on Friday, April 17th.

In the meantime, enjoy listening to Maria read, Chocolate Milk, Por Favor!.

Happy Teaching!

UPDATE: Comment number 1 was selected as the winner of Maria's book.

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Beginning Reader Nonfiction Books

I am so excited to be joining Mrs. Jump's Class book link party. I love books and am always on the look out for new ones.

Since the Common Core has a heavy focus on informational text, I thought I would share with you my favorite nonfiction books; Pebble Books or Pebble Plus Books.  Our school library has many of these beginning reader nonfiction books but recently I have begun purchasing more for my classroom library.

Although there are many nonfiction series, I like this one the best.  The text is easy to read for end of the year kindergarteners and first grade students.  I love that my students can not only enjoy the photographs but feel proud of themselves for being able to read the text.

Currently, Scholastic has some of these books for sale.  Just type on their search engine to see their selection.  I have purchase most via Amazon.  I assure you, once you start purchasing this series and see your kids reading them, I am sure you'll want more.


Happy Reading!

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Teaching Empathy to Young Learners

Teaching young children to be aware of the emotions of others can be tricky but important to creating a caring classroom environment.  

When, I read The Potato Chip Champ, I knew that I wanted to use it to teach my students about empathy.  

First of all, I felt that it was important for my students to understand what empathy meant.  This video did a good job of portraying what empathy looks and feels like.  

(For a longer video with more examples, download it as a  podcast via iTunes.)

Next, I read the book to my class.  We paused along the way to see which pictures showed empathy; an understanding of how others feel.   Then, we discussed how we could show empathy.  We used this sentence frame to help our discussion.

Click to download.

Students said that they could show empathy by asking, "Are you okay?" or saying "I'm sorry."  I think this book did an excellent job of showing how our actions and reactions have a lasting effect on the relationships we have with others.  I will use this in the coming weeks as I teach about the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders.  

I am delighted that Maria Dismondy has generously offered an autographed book for one of you. 

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To learn more about the book, watch the book trailer video.

Be sure to visit Maria's blog and/or Facebook page where she provides an upbeat view on many topics that you'll not want to miss.  

Happy Teaching and Learning!

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Book Recommendation

Have you read this book, Twelve Hats for Lena, by Karen Katz?  It is a story about a little girl, Lena, who makes a hat for each month of the year. I always like to read it at the start of the new year.  (Another recommendation is to read it during the unit of study of time as related to months of the year and days of the week.)  As you read the book, you get a sense of what each month has in store.  Sometimes, that is a very hard concept to understand here in California, where our seasons seem to blend from one to the other.


By the time, we head back to class from Winter Break, we will be in the middle of January.  I hope to get my class to understand that as a new year begins, we repeat the months of the year.   We will make a class book, Twelve Hats for Room 3. I've created this Twelve Hats for Lena document to help get me started.  It is a collection of different hats that I can copy and resize if needed.  Children will choose which hat they would like to use for their month.  Then, they will use paper face cut-outs to put the hat onto and decorate both.  I have the cover page and months ready to go.  We will end up with two class books.  I think this will give us a great opportunity to compare similarities and differences in each of our hats. 


But the fun won't stop there!  Each child will make a paper hat to wear.  My class loves hats!  They will have more room for creativitiy like Lena had and hope to let them use some of my calendar pieces like these.



Here are some other favorite books, I will read as we do this mini-unit of study.

   

 Happy Teaching and Learning!

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