Daryl Grabarek, Curriculum Connections--School Library Journal
August 3, 2010
While most of us are always searching for fresh new titles to read aloud during the school year, we often return to old favorites for the first day (and sometimes week) of school. We choose these particular titles to calm jittery nerves, to have a little fun, to bond with our students, or to get the academic year rolling.
Here are the titles some of our readers shared with us as their go-to titles for the first day (and week) of school:
Two of my MUST reads as school begins are:
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes Once Upon an Ordinary School Day by Colin McNaughton Both show my students positive, creative examples of male teachers doing wonderful things within the classroom. Bill Cameron, Kindergarten teacher Fountain City Elementary, Knoxville, TN
I've used A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech many times at the beginning of the school year. But, as the school librarian my favorite book to read to classes is Stella Louella Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Vallena Dyson Harris, Librarian Sonoma Country Day School Santa Rosa, CA
I read First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. The kids love it and it lets them know that teachers are just as nervous as they are. Lisa Bogert, 3rd grade teacher Carillon Elementary School Oviedo, FL
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland is my first-day-of-school choice. It's message: reading opens the imagination and it's fun! Concept books I use during the initial week are Robert Kalan's Jump, Frog, Jump! (sequencing); Maryann Cocca-Leffler's Wednesday is Spaghetti Day (days of the week); and Caps, Hats, Socks, and Mittens (seasons) by Louise Borden. I also introduce a few books about feelings and moods including: Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis, Pete's a Pizza by William Steig, and I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe. Laurie Spinello, 2nd grade teacher PS/IS 208, Bellerose, NY
Fave, first-day-of-school read alouds? With my 3rd graders I've used: Julie Danneberg's First Day Jitters, Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Alana Phillips, Reading Intervention Teacher Ridge View Elementary School Rockwood, TN
The first week of school I start with Trolls by Polly Horvath. I begin with this book because I remember reading it with my daughter Sarai when she was in 4th grade and how much she loved it. My students always enjoy it. Pam Marcano, 4th grade teacher Bearden Elemetary School Knoxville, TN
I like to share: Hoy fue mi primer dia de escuela/I Started School Today by Karen Frandsen and Karen Fradsen; Azulin va a la escuela/Blue Bug Goes to School by Virginia Poulet and Peggy Perry Anderson, and Spot va a la escuela/Spot Goes to School by Eric Hill. Patti Wick, World Languages Department Head Sonoma Country Day School Santa Rosa, CA
An informal survey with my colleagues yielded these titles:
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes Tiptoe Into Kindergarten by Jacqueline Rogers No, David! and David Goes To School, both by David Shannon The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn Frindle by Andrew Clements Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar Pat Adamson, K-8 Curriculum Coordinator, and her colleagues at the St. James Assiniboia School Division, Winnipeg, MB
Well, I must read Beatrix Potter's Tale of Peter Rabbit (another McGregor). Sometime during the first week I also like to share Audrey Penn's The Kissing Hand, something from the "Miss Bindergarten" series by Joseph Slate, and It's Hard to Be Five, followed by the rest of the Jamie Lee Curtis/Laura Cornell picture-book collaborations. Jennifer McGregor, 1st grade teacher Robert E. Willis Elementary Lakewood Ranch, FL
I teach 3rd grade and I always read First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg the first week of school. Andrea Barone, 3rd grade teacher Carillon Elementary School Oviedo, FL
I use several books for each grade level I work with, but the following titles are always winners with kindergarten and first grade students:
Kindergarten: Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come by Nancy Carlson Brand-new Pencils, Brand-new Books by Diane deGroat The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague
First grade: First Graders From Mars by Shana Corey Starring First Grade by Miriam Cohen When Will I Read? by Miriam Cohen Mary Ann Lasky, Librarian Sacred Heart Elementary School Pittsburgh, PA
On the first day of school I read The Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen to kindergarten and grade 1 classes; Carmen Agra Deedy's The Library Dragon to grade 2; and Robert D. San Souci's The Talking Eggs to grades 3-5. The last title sparks a discussion about kindness and appropriate behavior in the library. Laura Abed, Library Media Specialist Southington Public Schools Southington, CT
My first-week-of-school read aloud is Math Curse by John Scieszka. After reading it I ask my students to record all of the math curses (review material) that we cover within the school year. It gets the kids thinking about math at the beginning of each class and serves as a fantastic review at the end of the year. Tera Witcher, 6th grade math teacher Prescott Central Middle School Cookeville, TN
With middle school students I like to use Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! I start and end the school year with it—with reflection on both ends. Loreen Azevedo, Business Office Sonoma Country Day School Santa Rosa, CA
My go-to titles for a new school year are:
The Wonderful Happens by Cynthia Rylant (A list of all the terrific things and people in the world—most importantly the book's readers and listeners). The Stars Will Still Shine by Cynthia Rylant (rhymes, beautifully illustrated).
And some old favorites... Chrysanthemum and Wemberly Worried, both by Kevin Henkes The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn Catherine (Cathy) Kilkenny, 3rd grade teacher PS/IS 208, Bellerose, NY
My latest favorite back-to-school book for classrooms is Minifred Goes to School by Mordicai Gerstein. Other good titles in my collection are How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague; First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg; Mr. Ouchy's First Day by B.G. Hennessy; and of course, David Goes to School by David Shannon. Classroom teachers often ask me for: Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco; The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn; Natasha Wing's "The Night Before..." series; and Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Barbara Auerbach, Library Media Specialist PS 217 Brooklyn, NY
The Homework Machineby Dan Gutman. Ben Bacon, 5th grade teacher Sonoma Country Day School Santa Rosa, CA
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