The Magic of Read Aloud

#sol17- October 17, 2017

This quarter has been tricky- lots of days off, which sounds lovely, but has made it hard for us all to find our rhythm. Today (Tuesday) is our last day of school as we then have a 6-day break (5 days for teachers) that spans Deepavali. After this break, we have a solid chunk of time teaching in the second quarter. Some students began their break early and most of the staff at school who are of Indian descent took leave today to prepare for their holiday. The excitement was definitely in the air!

Two of my colleagues were leaving right from school to catch a flight, so I offered to take their classes for the last few minutes of the day so they could leave quickly. In our classroom, as we finished cleaning up we welcomed the other students. As we waited for the last class to join us we talked about what we were reading and what we would read over break. My class had already had an extra book shopping time to load up their backpacks with some extra books to read.

All found a place on the floor and settled in for a story. I began the routine that my own class knows well- undressing the book, looking at the end pages and getting our minds ready for the story. Only one student knew the book already, yet they were all buzzing excitedly as we began. I told them that it was the first of four books with shared characters.

Throughout the reading, the giggles and groans told me that the students were totally hooked. As the dismissal bell rang we closed the book and gathered bags to go home. It was a perfect ending to a rather frenetic day and a great way to celebrate our love of books!