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.
The Little Ships
Remembered as one of the most important and valiant efforts to save human life, the series of events at Dunkirk, France that occurred from May 26 to June 4, 1940 provide a fantastic example of how ordinary people can help move mountains. The main characters in this book are fictional, but the boat, Lucy, is not. Because of the subject matter, this book would not be appropriate in primary grade levels. It would perhaps be better for a group of older students whose reading ability may not be as strong as their classmates.
The Greatest Skating Race
This is a fantastic story of the courage and physical endurance of a boy determined to get his friends to safety. During the coldest of winters, the canals of the Netherlands and Belgium freeze and form a highway of sorts. People of all ages take to the frozen canals and skate from place to place. Only during the coldest of winters, when the canals of 11 cities freeze, do the Dutch hold the Elfstedentocht, the Eleven-Town Race. It is on these frozen canals that Piet Janssen has to travel to get his friends to Belgium, where they will be safe from German Soldiers.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Drought and famine took away William Kamkwanba’s chance to continue his education. But he did not let hardship keep him from learning. What his family needed was a way to pump water from underground. This would allow his family to grow food to eat and to sell at the markets. He found his solution in a picture of a library book.
The A+ Custodian
This is a lovely book about showing appreciation to those who work tirelessly to help schools run efficiently. A pair of twins arrive early every school day because their mom is a teacher. They see their school’s custodian getting the school ready for the day. They help with his morning tasks but soon they realize that there is something missing. Students get notes of job well done, so where are all the notes for Mr. Carillo, their custodian?
Rain School
For many Americans, the idea that schools are only temporary places of learning is a novel one. Where do teachers put all the desks, chairs, and books? In Africa, where building materials come directly from the land, the rebuilding of the school is part of the education. After all, it’s the lessons learned that need to last a lifetime, not the building in which the lesson was learned.