Another school year has started. Whether your school is masking (or not), in person (or not), or delayed for weather (or not), you are planning lessons. My hope is you are also planning your Read Alouds. The quote above is but one good reason to Read Aloud to your students. Others include:
- Students can get a “taste” of a genre.
- After Reading Aloud a story, it is ready to be a mentor text for writing, reading or a curriculum learning lasso.
- Develop students listening skills and comprehension
- Introduce a topic that may be difficult but when presented from “safe” characters allows students to discuss without making the topic personal
Read Alouds should be planned. In a day filled with curriculum requirements, you want to make sure that your time allocated to Read Alouds can be justified if need be. As an admin, I have had teachers tell me there is no time for a Read Aloud. As an admin, I say there is always time for a Read Aloud, see the reasons above.
But why plan them? So that you have a ready set of mentor texts available later in the year. So you can open a curriculuar discussion. So you can adress a social-emotional issue happening in your classroom. So you can teach your Book Picker student how to choose a book. But sometimes a book on the shelf calls to you, and you adjust the plan for that Read Aloud.
Here are a few Read Alouds to start the school year.
Whether you teach ELA, social studies, or any other subject, there is a place for Read Alouds in your class. Check out this Padlet, https://bit.ly/LitLassoPadlet, for some great Literature Lassos across the curriculum. This is an ever evolving list of books. Check it out often and let me know what others to add or what categories you want to see.
Looking for more suggestions? Reach out and I would be happy to talk BOOKS! Books about Digital Citizenship, STEAM, Reluctant Readers and more. Would you like me to come to your school in person or virtually to discuss Literature Lassos? Reach out via Twitter (@edtechease) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/edtechease/) or email me, swladis@edtechease.com.