Readers love hearing and matching Decibella as she learns the five volumes of voice and discovers that different situations require a different tone. 

My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook is a great way to teach students to listen AND wait their turn to speak. 

All of Louis thoughts are very important to him. In fact, his thoughts are so important to him that when he has something to say, his words begin to wiggle, and then they do the jiggle, then his tongue pushes all of his important words up against his teeth and he erupts, or interrupts others. His mouth is a volcano! ​

Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker is all about Lacey Walker and her love of talking.

​She talks all day, and sometimes all night. But when she loses her voice, Lacey learns the importance of listening. She learns about all of the things she misses out on every day. ​

A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue is a great platform to discuss the ever time consuming act of tattling! 

Josh the Tattler doesn't have any friends. He tattles so much that he wakes up one night to find that his tongue is yellow, unusually long, and covered in bright purple spots! Will a bad case of Tattle Tongue teach him a lesson?  

Did you ever read the Choose Your Own Adventure books growing up? I loved reading and re-reading the story to change the outcome. This book does just that! What Should Danny Do? let's readers choose how Danny's day will go and discover the natural consequences for his choices. 

Follow Danny, the super hero in training, through his day! 

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun is a beautiful story that empowers children to always do the right thing and be proud of themselves, even when they are faced with challenging people. 

How can Ralph be so mean? Lucy is one of a kind and Ralph loves to point that out. Lucy's defining moment comes when Ralph truly needs help. Because she knows what she stands for, Lucy has the courage to make a good choice. 

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes teaches a powerful lesson about mistakes and learning. Just because something has been one way, doesn't mean it will stay that way!

Beatrice has NEVER made a mistake. In fact, the entire town calls her The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes! One day, the inevitable happens: Beatrice makes a huge mistake in front of everyone!
But in the end, readers (and perfectionists) will realize that life is more fun when you enjoy everything―even the mistakes.

The Night Before First Grade 
​It’'s the night before the Big Day, first grade! Penny is excited to start the year with her best friend right beside her in the same classroom. This humorous take on Clement C. Moore’s classic tale has a perfect twist ending that will surprise readers —as well as the "heroine" of the story, and help all about-to-be first-graders through their own back-to-school jitters.

The Night before Preschool
The Night before Kindergarten
The Night Before First Grade

First Day of school FAVORITE read aloud! We read this book and sip some 'Jitter Juice' to help calm our nerves in the classroom!

Sarah Jane Harwell has that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach just before starting at a new school. She doesn't know anybody, and nobody knows her. With much prodding from Mr. Hartwell, Sarah Jane reluctantly pulls herself together and goes to school. First Day Jitters ​funny story with a surprising ending that students will love! 

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is a funny and honest school story about teasing, self-esteem, and acceptance to share all year round.
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I use red bulletin board paper to cut out a large heart. As we read the story, we crumple the heart each time something unkind is said. Before we know it, the huge heart is in a small ball. We try saying sorry and flattening it out, but the crumples stay. We then write our name on a bandaid to remind us the lesson of the story throughout the year. 

We read the The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn on Back to School Night. It is usually the first or second day of school for our families. It is a great way to remind students that parents are thinking of them AND an easy activity to make and leave on our desks. 
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​School is starting in the forest, but Chester Raccoon does not want to go. To help ease Chester's fears, Mrs. Raccoon shares a family secret called the Kissing Hand to give him the reassurance of her love any time his world feels a little scary. 

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister is a classic picture book with simple story. It is about beautiful fish who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions. We make a beautiful fish and write about what makes a good friend. 

Mean Jean the Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill is a new story about bullying that everyone can connect to. We read the story and discuss what a good recess friend does and how to let others know we are looking for a recess buddy. I love the craftivity pack by Michele Hudgeons on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mean Jean was Recess Queen
and nobody said any different.
Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung.
Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked....
Until a new kid came to school!

In How Full is Your Bucket for Kids Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well.

Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the buckets of his classmates, teachers and family members. Before the day is over, you’ll see how Felix learns to be a great bucket filler, and in the process, discovers that filling someone else’s bucket also fills his own.

My FAVORITE book to read whole class is Wonder by RJ Palaccio, as you can see by my beat up copy. I have read this book with 5th, 6th, and 8th graders in the different classrooms I have taught. Each year and each group of students loved it just as much, if not more, than the class before! Students, and adults alike, are fascinated by the story of Auggie overcoming challenges. It is a great way to start the year with discussions of differences, acceptance, and kindness. It tends to become a motto in our room, "when given the choice between being right or being kind, always choose kind". We take this motto and tie it into character education and take the kindness pledge. 

Welcome to the world of Greek Mythology! The Percy Jackson and the Olympian series is the modern day version of my Harry Potter magical gateway to reading. I usually read this book in tandem with D'Aulaires Book of Greek Mythology. The D'Aulaires book is a work of art alone, but the images and stories combined give such clear stories. Having this background knowledge, they make better inferences and connections to the fictional additions in the Percy Jackson series. Students, in my experience, rarely stumble onto Greek mythology on their own and when they do, they don't realize there is reading out there that includes this type of adventure! We only read book 1, Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, together as a class, but soon after, our classroom and school library runs out of Rick Riordan books! 

I've noticed some students will read within the comedy genre and never leave it, sticking to Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and any joke book, while other students have never picked up this genre. Towards the spring I love reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. It is a quick read, light hearted, and each chapter doesn't necessarily connect to the last, except repeating characters. This book is OFTEN on Scholastic's $1 list, so I purchased a class set so students are holding their own book as we read. 

I found affordable flashlights on Amazon. These EverBrite flashlights were sold in a pack of 18 for $16 (at the time) AND they came with batteries! They are miniature and fit in your palm, but provide a great amount of bright light for reading in the dark. 

We have some expectations for our Flashlight Reading time. With the room so dark, students need to stay where they are; so they must have 1-2 books ready to go so that no one has to move. We talk about safety with shining bright things on someone's eyes, so therefore lights have to shine on and only on the books. If we are not able to follow the expectations, the consequence is not having a flashlight to join us. 

My students genuinely love this activity and want to follow the rules and WANT TO READ. They have a book of their choice and are building reading endurance in addition to reading and writing skills!