What Are Your Favorite Read-aloud Stories?

Do your students love read-aloud stories like mine do?  I actually remember being in 4^th grade and story time was my favorite.  I fell in love with authors like Beverly Cleary and Judy Bloom.  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Henry and Beezus will never be forgotten.  I became a reader that year.  I was hooked, reading every book in the series.  After that I haven’t been without a book.  I love them.

I have done many read-aloud books in third grade over the past 6 years.  Among my favorites are Magic Tree House, Little House on the Prairie, Charlotte’s Web, A-Z Mysteries, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, The Secret School, Beezus and Ramona, How to Eat Fried Worms, and The World According to Humphrey.  My students remind me of myself when I was little.  They are getting hooked every year and I’m so excited.

You can get a copy of this Word Doc free at TpT

Our school also has “Accelerated Reading” which has been a great success.  The students can choose any book in their range and test on it.  I love doing independent reading this way.  I work with the students one-on-one and the proof of their comprehension is in their AR tests.  I teach the Daily Five’s “picking a good-fit book” and from that and the AR range the students do pretty well on every book.  Once in awhile I have to discuss with a kiddo that a book may need to be abandoned for the time being.  My students fill out a reading log in class daily and meet with me according to their needs.  Some students meet with every day and others once or twice a week.  I keep a chart documenting every monthly STAR (Accelerated Reading) test result along with “Scantron” test results and notes taken on the reading logs.  I move students up and down on the chart every week based on who needs to read with me the most on the top to those students that can work more independently on the bottom. This year it worked perfectly since I did it every week and was able to catch those students that were getting hung up on something.  The growth in reading was amazing.

This summer I am creating lesson plans for every one of my read-aloud books, since we have to have everything aligned to the Colorado standards (which include the CCSS).  I just finished my first one on “The World According to Humphrey” which will be my first read-aloud.  I’m very excited and can’t wait to read it to the class.  I’m looking forward to all of the vocabulary work, character posters, and fun activities.  My students will have no problem remembering this story – probably for life.  Anyway, it is for sale in my TpT store if you want to check it out.  You can download the free preview (8 pages and 4 different days) and see what you think.

I’m also hoping to get more followers.  I have 5 now – THANKS!  As soon as I get to 15 I’ll pick someone randomly to receive a free copy of the lesson plan.  YEA!  Please leave me a comment on your favorite read-aloud book while you’re here.