Here are a few of the books that I read to my class every year when school starts. (Some of these books I've already blogged about...but then again, I love books!!).
First Day Jitters is A MUST for ALL teachers to read on the first day of school. There is a twist ending that leave the kids speechless!! (There is a follow up book to this one called "First Year Letters".)
I read several of Roald Dahl's books to my kids each year. This is always a favorite. George mixes up a new medicine for his horrible grandma and gets marvelous results!
This book is wonderful for a first of the year writing activity. After I read it, I have the kids write about what they like about themselves. Pictures by my favorite illustrator, David Catrow.
Let's Go Home is another good book for a writing activity. Each page of this book is dedicated to a different room in a house/home and why the character likes that room the best. I have the kids write about their favorite room in their house and draw a picture of the room to go with it. It's a great way to get to know the kids.
I found this book a year or two ago. Max's brothers collect stamps and coins. Max wants to start a collection so he begins collecting words. From those words he starts to make stories and those stories come to life. I read it on the first day of school and give the kids a "homework" assignment. They find 10-15 words that describe them and cut them out of magazines, print them from the computer, or write them on paper. Then we use those words to come up with fun, silly, and creative sentences that are turned into stories!
Me First is FANTASTIC for talking about citizenship...and it's just plain funny!!
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful book. Great book for self-esteem and how to deal with bullies. The kids LOVE it (and I do too!!)
This is another good book for citizenship. Princess Penelope gets a little taste of her own medicine!!
Splat is seriously one of my favorite characters in children's books. In this book, it's the first day of cat school for Splat and he doesn't want to go!
A teacher friend introduced The Treasure Tree to me several years ago and it became a book that I ALWAYS read the first week of school. This book shows how different personalities (Lance the Lion is a leader, Giggles the Otter loves to make people laugh, Honey the Golden Retriever makes people feel warm and fuzzy, and Chew the Beaver like to make plans and is always prepared) work together even though they are very different. Then I have the kids decide who they are most like and talk about why and how we can all work together this year in the class.
