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Two of my all-time favorite read alouds for back to school are Chrysanthemum and Officer Buckle and Gloria. Are they on your list too? If not, they should be! 😉 They’re perfect for teaching about friendship, safety, confidence, and kindness – all qualities we want to foster in our own classrooms.
Chrysanthemum is an awesome mentor text for teaching about kindness! It’s a poignant example of how words can hurt and the importance of using kind words to build each other up. Check out this adorable “Let Kindness BLOOM!” writing craftivity to encourage acts of kindness in your own classroom!
Another important message in Chrysanthemum is learning how to love yourself (and your name!) and being confident in who you are. Encourage your students to love their own names with this fun activity mat! They can also use it to practice writing/making their friends’ names!
Officer Buckle and Gloria may seem like a surprising choice for a back to school read aloud, but it’s such a great springboard for discussing safety/health rules. This is especially pertinent right now with all the precautions in place regarding social distancing, germs, and the coronavirus.
Officer Buckle and his buddy, Gloria are wonderful examples of what friendship should look like. A fun activity to build friendships in your own classroom is the “Find a Friend Who” game (see example below). This game can be modified to play as a whole group – or even during a virtual class meeting!
Click the images below to snag these back to school read aloud activities! For more fun and engaging book companions, you may want to check out my Book Companions Growing Bundle! Best of luck this year! 🙂
