5 Books I Read Aloud Every Year

     Read Alouds. Quite possibly the best part of my school day when I was in elementary school.  I loved being able to sit back and listen to my fifth grade teacher read to the class.  He had an incredible presense when he read aloud.  I can vividly remember listening to The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi and jumping out of my seat when he used the jarring voice of Captain Jaggery.  I can still hear him saying, "Mizzzzzzz Doyle!"  
       Finding time for a read aloud in your classroom is imperative.  It can be so easy to let it fall by the wayside with all the other demands we face.  I try (keyword: try) to make sure I have time for a read aloud 4-5 days a week.  Here are 5 books that I read aloud every year.  I read each one for different reasons.

1. Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing By, Judy Blume: Good old Judy Blume has a spot in my read aloud rotation, and it is in the lead off spot!  I start my year out with this book for several reasons.  The first reason is simple...it is funny.  I want everyone to laugh at my toddler Fudge voice saying, "Pee-tah," I want them to want me to pick up the read aloud book, and I want them to want more.  Many times when I am about half way through the book, students start checking it out of the school library so that they can follow along.  Once I finish reading it, I point out the basket of "Fudge books" in the back of the room and they beg me to read the next one in the series.  I refuse, of course, and many students continue the series.  
2. Gooney Bird Greene By, Lois Lowry:  Another popular author, but not necessarily a popular title.  I usually read Goodney Bird Greene while I am teaching students how to write using more elaboration and detail.  Gooney Bird Green, a young girl, is quite a character.  She has a mind of her own, and she is FULL of elaboration and detail!  She also is known for telling seemingly outrageous stories to her class, but declares that they are always 100% true.  As she tells the story, students realize that things are not always what they seem.  Gooney Bird is a story teller and she teaches students how to be story tellers.  This carries over into their own writing seamlessly!  
*An added bonus is that this books has multiple levels of humor.  As a teacher, you will surely laugh at her entire class! 

3. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane By Kate DiCamillo: If you haven't read this book, you should go out and get it right now.  It is one of the best books ever written.  When it was first recommended to me years ago, I took the book, agreed to read it, and put it in a pile of books on my night stand.  About a month later, I pulled it out and finally made time to read it.  I couldn't put it down and I needed tissues.  As soon as I finished, I knew that I had to give the gift of this book to my students.  It is the first, more serious book that I read aloud during the school year.  Students take a little longer to get hooked, but once they are hooked, they want me to read it anytime it seems like we have a little time.  It shows students that longer books are worth investing time in.  This book has a beautiful message that goes far beyond the book, to love and to hope. 

4. Shiloh By, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor:   This book is a classic and you might have even read it when you were in grade school. It has great characters and it introduces students to a cold-hearted villain.  This book also shows them how powerful characters can be, both good and bad.  There are so many lessons in this story which create deeper conversations among peers about lying and when, or if, it is ever justified.  


5. Kensuke's Kingdom By, Michael Morpurgo:  This book is my hidden treasure.  A friend in the library recommended the book to me in my first year of teaching.  I read it in one night and it instantly became a necessity in my classroom.  I tend to read it closer to the end of the year.  It has higher level vocabulary and lends itself to using context clues to determine the meaning of some of the words.  The story is suspenseful and brings in some historical elements.  The book essentially takes a boy who is very relate-able and, after a suspenseful set of circumstances, puts him on a deserted island with a survivor from World War II Japan.  The struggle between the two, and the eventual friendship, is full of twists and turns.  After reading this book, my students actually get mad that it is fiction. 

~Heather