To get you started, I made a list of my favorite books I have read with my middle school students throughout the years. Talk about something that warms your teacher heart! When the adult version of the seemingly apathetic boy from years ago hugs you in the local Mexican restaurant and tells you they still remember reading Schooled in class…there is nothing better! For example, we can infer a character’s motivations based on their actions, we can talk about the meaning of a figurative statement, or talk about the mood of a section. I’ll do a blog post on how I specifically do this next week.Īt this point, it might go without saying, but I am a HUGE advocate for reading novels with your class! Not only will their end of year test scores dramatically increase (at least that’s been my experience), but you will create relationships and memories! I have students that see me years later and say they still remember reading one of these books. It’s amazing how the stories come alive in the classroom.ĭuring this time, I also model how good readers stop and think about what's happening in the story. Since the majority of my students have not been read to, I do the voices so the students get an understanding of dialogue and how everything flows.Īfter we read our first novel, I have students who take on character parts and read the dialogue out loud like a play.
When I started teaching, I knew I wanted to do the same thing for my students, so I made a commitment to read at least 3 novels aloud. Without her, no one would have read aloud to me, and I would have no idea about the magic of a good book. I may not remember who was in my third grade class, or even the name of the teacher, but I do remember the stories read to us from the wooden stool-Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Indian in the Cupboard, Sarah Plain and Tall, and Superfudge.Īlthough I didn’t realize it at the time, my third grade teacher ignited a love of reading that has lasted to this day. As my teacher read aloud, I got lost in the story. I remember pulling out my copy of Island of the Blue Dolphins, brushing my fingertips over the image of the proud girl standing on the cliff with her hair blowing in the wind, and eagerly opening up to the page we left off the day before. With this action, I knew we were about to start my favorite part of the day, read aloud time.
I can still see my teacher pulling the wooden stool out from the corner of the classroom and placing it in front of our desks. I don’t remember much about my awkward childhood, but there is a memory from 3rd grade that vividly stands out in my mind.
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