Freddy’s Favorites compile TextProject’s recommendations for read-aloud books for struggling and beginning readers. The Common Core State Standards bring increased focus to what it is that students are learning in schools and what they need to know. Through read-alouds, students can be introduced to topics and genres that they might otherwise not be able to read independently. Our list of Read-Aloud Favorites can be searched by grade level, genre, format and subject.
To read more about the importance of reading aloud in a classroom, please read this blog entry in Frankly Freddy.
Meow Ruff
Joyce Sidman is the author of many books of poetry for children. In Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry, a cat is lost and meets a neighborhood dog on the loose. They are caught in a rain storm and the result is a story of friendship. The book is similar to a play in that different characters have different thoughts and lines that add to the entire story. Because of this, the book can be read as a single poem or the reader can follow one character, such as the crow or the clouds. Either way, this is a fabulous book. Concrete poetry allows the writer to play with shapes and placement of the words, and Sidman makes use of every possible surface to tell the story. I can see this book being an example that leads into a language arts or art project. This is a great book that shows poetry in a different format.
Wangari’s Trees Of Peace
Wangari Maathai grew up in the rich green land of Kenya. However, in the years she studied in the United States, the rich green land she grew up in was on the verge of becoming a desert. Without trees, the land had dried up and was no longer able to support the people who depended on the food grown in the soil. Wangari’s simple plan was to replant some of the native trees that had been removed. Over time, Wangari convinced other women to plant trees. Word spread, and after a few decades, the land that once was barren became fertile again. For her initiative and contribution to world peace, Wangari was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 2004.
The Prairie Builders
A prairie is habitat where animals that depend on grass and wild grass live. As the American settlers moved west, most of the prairie land was turned into farmland. By the 1980’s Iowa had less than one tenth of one percent of its original prairie left. One Congressman and a team of scientists began the journey to rebuild Iowa’s prairie. This book is about the progress of the reintroduction of native plants and animals. The book raises an interesting question at the end: Is it really a prairie if it looks and acts like a prairie? That is to say, can an entire ecosystem be replaced if not all of its components are understood or known?
How The Forest Grew
This is one of those books that can be described as quiet beauty. Originally published in 1980, How the Forest Grew is not flashy or even colorful but it is a true gem. The book traces the slow restoration of a plowed field back into a hardwood forest in Massachusetts. First the plowed field used for farming is overgrown with weeds and is considered a meadow. Next, fast-growing sun-loving trees take over and the meadow turns into a forest. Next, slower-growing and shade-loving trees start to take over the forest floor. At each stage of transformation, the author describes the animals and plants that inhabit the new habitat. The simplistic text mirrors the quiet and fluid changes the habitat undergoes.
Come Back, Salmon
Jackson Elementary School is located near the mouth of Pigeon Creek in Washington’s Puget Sound. Before the town grew into a proper city, Pigeon Creek was home to pigeons, native plants, and Coho Salmon. By 1986, only trash called Pigeon Creek home. The students and teachers of Jackson Elementary School wanted to change that. It took them many months and diligence to clean Pigeon Creek. When the city wanted to build a storage facility near the mouth of the Pigeon Creek, the students wrote letters against the plan.
Once they cleaned the creek, the students began to raise 1000 salmon eggs in a large aquarium. The entire school took charge of making sure the salmon survived. When the salmon were large enough, they were released into Pigeon Creek. No one knew for sure whether the salmon would return. But everyone continued to keep the creek clean, and when it came time for salmon to spawn, they monitored the creek for signs. Finally in 1988, two years after the first salmon were released, twenty-three salmon were spotted in the once-polluted Pigeon Creek. The salmon came back.