When I start the new school year, I pick a book of the day for the first two weeks. I create a variety of activities to go with each book. I use a lot of books that focus on social and emotional learning, including kindness, friendship, and respect. But, I also add in some fun silly books. Here are some of my favorite books that your probably already have in your class library.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
I love to start the year with Chicka Chicka Boom. It’s a great book about letters climbing up a coconut tree. If you can access YouTube or have the CD, it is twice as much fun to listen to. We read the book, talk about the letters in our name. We count how many letters are in our name. We make a Coconut Tree Hat with our name, and we find all the letters. We also made a class book with out names using one of the pages in my First Week of Kindergarten unit.
The Kissing Hand
The Kissing Hand is a great story for talking about first day feelings. Chester is sad to leave mom, so she gives him a kiss on the hand. I made a keep sake hand print with my students on the first day. It includes a poem and a heart. You can find the keepsake and more in my First Week of Kindergarten Pack.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates
This book has quickly became a class favorite. It is about a dinosaur named Penelope who ends up eating his classmates because they are delicious. Then, she doesn’t understand why no one wants to be her friend. This story is perfect for talking about classroom expectations, including good choices and poor choices.
The Rainbow Fish
Rainbow Fish is a classic story about a fish full of sparkle. He doesn’t want to share his sparkle. He hurts blue fish’s feelings. It’s a great way to talk about why we share. This is a cute FREE coloring sheet where kids can write about what they want to share. You can use foil or color with a metallic sharpie to make the fish sparkle. get your free Rainbow Fish here.
The Recess Queen
I read this book multiple times a year. It is a great story about kindness. Jean is the Queen of Recess, also known as the class bully, until Katie Sue shows up. Katie Sue is not afraid of Jean and invites her to play. It is a great way to talk about how to be a kind friend and include everyone. You can find my Recess Queen unit here.
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books
Don’t you just love all of the Old Lady Who Swallowed books? They are perfect for sequencing. The kids love this books because it is repetitive and they can read it with you. I created a FREE resource for The Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books. If you like it, be sure to check out my bundle with all 12 books.
Pout-Pout Fish and The Bully Bully Shark
The Pout-Pout Fish books are so fun to read. I love to do the Pout-Pout voice. In this book, Pout-Pout Fish loves to play at the park with his friends, until the mean bully shark comes along. This another great story about kindness, which is perfect for back to School. You can find these activities here.
Our Class Family
The illustrations in Our Class Family are FABULOUS! It includes diverse students. This is a wonderful story about how we spend so much time together in our classroom that we are a class family. I wanted a simple activity that the students could make on the first day of school. I created this FREE card to go with the bracelet and the themes of the book. You can get it free here.
