For many of us, back to school is just around the corner! Ready or not, I’ll have a batch of Firsties waiting for me in just three weeks. That said, I’m starting to think about what those first weeks of the year will consist of, and I’ve found six read alouds for back to school that I think will set the tone for the year and our classroom! I should add, I’m in no way affiliated with these books, their authors, or any providers that sell them. I just genuinely love these books, and I know you’ll want to grab them for your classroom, too!
Snag These Now!
The first read aloud for back to school that I’ll be using with my First Graders is “On the First Day of First Grade.” This read aloud is so much fun and can actually be sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas! Full of images of what first grade will be like, I plan to read this book and do a compare/contrast activity between kindergarten and first grade! It will be a lot of fun!
Another of the read alouds that I’m super excited for is this DK Book, “How to Be a Big Kid.” Whether you’re teaching kinder, first, or second, primary kids LOVE to be told the secrets of acting like a big kid. This book teaches kids everything from basic manners to teeth brushing, and everything in between! I think it will be perfect for reading a page a day here and there when we need a moment to calm down (like after morning recess!) It’s definitely one of the back to school read alouds that I’m most excited to use!
If you teach primary kids, you probably already know and love Todd Parr, and if you don’t, this book will hook you! When it’s time to establish a caring and kind classroom community, I adore this read aloud, “Its Okay to Be Different.” Parr shows kids that differences are okay and to be celebrated. This read aloud for back to school will help lay a foundation for later discussions on what it means to respect and care for everyone, and the pictures will make it a read aloud that your kids will love AND want to get their hands on for independent reading. Because it lays that foundation for showing respect to everyone, we will probably reread it during our unit on respect, so this read aloud will get use way beyond the back to school season! Plus, the illustrations are just so fun!
This read aloud for back to school has to be one of my all time favorites! Those back to school days are filled with conversations about building a community of friends where learning is safe. This story helps kids understand how to be a good friend in a fun, silly way, and if you love the story you’ll find its part of an amazing series! Sometimes our littlest learners need to be explicitly taught HOW to be a friend, and this book will surely help meet that need!
My next read aloud for back to school is one that I believe will really set a tone for the community I want to create in my classroom. If you’ve read anything on my blog, you know that SEL is a huge focus for me next year. This book teaches kids (and adults!) what it means to be present and what that looks like! The illustrations are gorgeous, and I believe this book will lend itself to some fantastic conversations! I plan to add this to my Calm Down Corner, too!
My final read aloud for back to school this year is The Recess Queen. It’s a classic, it’s fun, and it reminds us that it’s way more fun to play with everyone! Kids love the rhythm of the story. Plus, it can be reread whenever there is playground drama, which is an awesome bonus!
Final Thoughts
Not pictured here, but definitely an honorable mention, is a read aloud that my students will be creating. Each student will get to make a book page introducing themselves and telling something that they like. I’ll add a photo and compile the pages into a book to help us get to know one another! Plus, it will serve as review and let me see who can write independently and who still needs a strong sentence frame! I love this as a read aloud for back to school because it gives the students ownership of the classroom library, and it will be a book they’ll love to read independently, too! If you’re interested in this idea, click here!
No matter what read alouds you choose for back to school, I hope your last few weeks of summer are full of relaxation and fun! Hopefully picking up a few new read alouds gets your creative juices running and makes you a little more excited to head into a brand new year! Do you have a favorite back to school read aloud? Let me know in the comments below!
