Kirsten 0:09

Welcome, welcome to another episode of the social studies teacher podcast. So glad that you're here to tune in. Today we're going to be talking about for classroom read aloud tips for upper elementary. This is something I swear by as far as just one of those things that takes a little time out of your day carves a little bit of time, but it's so valuable and worthwhile with all the discussions that take place, and just really great literature that you get to read with your students and get them excited about. So in short, nothing beats a good class read aloud, no matter what subjects you teach. Introducing your students to the thought provoking stories and new characters is an awesome way to stimulate learning. Not only does it inspire discussions around difficult topics, but it also turns literature into a shared experience for everyone in the room. Whether you're just starting out or looking for some fresh ideas, hopefully these tips will help you make sure that your next class read aloud is successful and enjoyable for both you and your students.

Kirsten 1:54

So let's talk about why class read alouds are beneficial for upper elementary. You might think that students in grades three through five are too old to listen to books read by the teacher, but that is absolutely not true. My students in upper elementary always loved to listen to read alouds. It's a great way to discuss text, vocabulary, and it also increases comprehension. There are several great times to conduct read alouds with students. I used to read a chapter to my class during snack time or after recess. And this is always a great break from student learning because all it takes is 15 or 10 minutes, I do have a blog post and podcast episode of my favorite read alouds for upper elementary, so I'll make sure to link that in the show notes.

Kirsten 2:48

All right, let's talk about four tips to conduct a class read aloud. Tip number one is to choose a text that is rich and complex enough for older students. While picture books are great to utilize for many lessons with upper elementary class read alouds work really well with chapter books. It can be a book that is at or slightly above their grade level, you as the teacher will be reading the text. So it's all about students focusing on listening and comprehension of the story, which would be done when discussing the text after reading.

Kirsten 3:22

The second tip I have for you is to preview the text to get an idea of its main ideas and themes. While you might hear a great chapter book recommendation from others, it always is best to read the text in advance to make sure you understand the overall central idea and major themes from the book. It's also a great way to see if the text is appropriate for your students, and if it would be something of interest to them.

Kirsten 3:48

The third tip I have for you is to stop periodically to ask questions students might have about the text or discuss their thoughts and reactions. My favorite part of reading a chapter book to my classes were when a particularly juicy part of the story such as something suspenseful, or an event and a plot that's been building comes to a head, you can hear a pin drop, it is so quiet as you're reading because students know it's really cool to be able to experience that. So make sure to stop at the end of that moment to discuss their reactions and thoughts.

Kirsten 4:24

The fourth and final tip I have for you is to close that specific read aloud day with a discussion of what they learned from the text. After your read aloud time, don't just close the book and call it a day. If you're reading just a chapter a day, or maybe a couple chapters or you know depending on the length of the book, maybe a few pages, make sure to ask questions about it. Then get them excited for the next chapter with something like Oh tomorrow we might find out what happens at the event the characters go to or whatever it might be.

Kirsten 4:58

So I'm I'm going to share with you my own recommendations based off of when I taught third grade and fifth grade. So I always started in third grade with third grade angels by Jerry Spinelli, that was just like what we always started with, it's a pretty easy read, you can probably get done with it in like maybe two weeks, which is good, because it is the first couple of weeks of school talks about rules, and he's trying to be a rule follower so you can get those angel wings and all of that stuff. So it is a good recap of like, you know, some of the things we should be doing and not do in the classroom as we're in a new grade level. So this is a great start of the year book. The other thing I really love is around the fall time, Bunnicula, I don't know I started, maybe it was now almost 10 years ago, where I read Bunnicula I had never read it as a kid. But then I read it with my students. And it was actually pretty interesting was fun. So this is a classic one that I love to read around Halloween or the fall, there's a mysterious bunny that a family finds in a movie theater with a cat and a dog who noticed that all the vegetables in the house are turning white. So the main characters are probably the cat and the dog, they're talking cats and dogs. They're noticing that the vegetables are turning white. There's just a few complex plot elements and vocabulary words that are great to discuss with students. So it's an interesting read, that students likely have never read before. With my fifth graders, one book I loved to start with is wonder. So this is a great way to build a classroom community and empathy for others, we would always discuss the chapters and I loved how it changes point of view based on the characters in the story. Another book I read, I used to read at the beginning of the year with my fifth graders was out of my mind, I've done it with both third and fifth grade. That was a amazing story. And there is a follow up story as well. I think there's a sequel, so definitely check that out. It's by Sharon Draper. And bonus points is there is now a movie out with that related one, I don't know I'm gonna have to look to see if that is appropriate for students. It's TV 14. So maybe, maybe not. But there is a movie based off of this book. But either way, if you maybe you love the book yourself and you want to watch the movie, it's out so you can watch it. So that is a another recommendation. And then Esperanza Rising. This was a great read of our unit when we were doing the 20th century towards the end of the unit. It takes place in 1930s. In the Great Depression era, there are a lot of symbols and themes to discuss. So definitely highly recommend really any time of year. But this is what we did towards the end of the year in the spring because it was when we were discussing the 20th century. All right, so hopefully these tips are helpful for you. I'm going to recap the tips again. So we don't forget, choose a text that is rich and complex enough for older students does not have to be on grade level. Preview the text to get an idea of its main ideas and themes. Stop periodically to ask students questions about the text or discuss their thoughts and reactions. And then close that specific read aloud time with a discussion of what they learned from the text. So that is something to keep in mind. All right. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. I'll talk to you next month in September.