Top 10 Spring Books To Read Aloud To Your Students… Plus Some Comprehension Goodies!
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Spring is here and that means it is time to unpack all the spring books! Here’s a list of the top ten spring books for your elementary classroom, as well as a fun way to build comprehension skills with your students!
- Five Tough and Tiny Seeds
- And Then It’s Spring
- Busy Spring
- Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole Story
- Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring
- Up In the Garden and Down In the Diry
- The Wonder of Thunder
- On the Same Day in March
- Bently & Egg
- When Spring Comes
*The book list contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thoughts about Read-Aloud Time
Read-aloud time is one of the best parts of the day in an elementary classroom. The closeness of the children as they gather around you is so enduring. The interactions you have as you think through the stories together are so special. Your students’ expressions and reactions as the stories come alive for them are priceless to experience. It’s also such a treat to be able to introduce them to new authors and illustrators and genres and characters!
You are able to teach them to hold onto what they have heard and what they have read. Reading opens up so many doors! It takes you on adventures you could never experience on your own. It exposes you to problems and situations that teach, guide, and humble you. It helps you develop your dreams in ways you could have never imagined.
It’s important to teach students how to hold onto all that information, so they can tuck it away to be used throughout their lives.
Interactive Bookmarks
Using interactive retelling bookmarks is a great way to help students hold onto what they read or what they have heard read aloud.
So often students do not want to take the time to think about what they have read after the book is done, but interactive retelling bookmarks help them to remember to slow down and give their brains some time to process what they have seen and heard.
How to Use Interactive Bookmarks
Give each student a laminated bookmark and a clothespin. Also, give each student a copy of the retelling bookmark questions to keep in their individual reading folders.
Start out by spending a good amount of time retelling books together using our bookmarks and clothespins to keep track of the story elements you are reviewing.
For example, if the read aloud was “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”, everyone starts with their clothespins on “setting” and you would ask and answer the question “When and where does the story take place?”
Once you all have come up with the answer, then move your clothespins down to “characters” and ask and answer the question “Who is the story about?” “Who else was important in the story?”
After the students get a good understanding of how to use the bookmarks as a group, they start to use them with their “turn and talk partners” after read-alouds.
Everyone works on the same story element together, but instead of answering together as a class, students turn to their partners and answer each question together. For example, “turn and talk to your partner about how the main character felt at the beginning of the story”.
Once the students have mastered using the retelling bookmarks with “turn and talk partners”, then have them start using their bookmarks during their independent reading times to self-assess their comprehension and to help them process what they read.
Your students will LOVE using these retelling bookmarks! Get your own set of interactive retelling bookmarks and questions for FREE. Just sign up above!
Reading Response Sheets
Reading response sheets are another great way to have students respond to read alouds.
The beauty of these reading response sheets is:
- every child has a voice and can get their thoughts down on paper
- it is a great way to assess comprehension
- it is a quick and easy way to incorporate a quick writing activity into your daily routine
- it is a fun way to practice speaking and listening skills by having students share their responses with the class when they are done
They can be used for independent reading as well, although it’s not best to make this a requirement after every book read. This takes the joy out of reading and the fun out of responding.
See all the different reading response page choices and purchase your own set for your classroom.
Now let’s dive into that list of spring books, shall we?
10 MUST-HAVE Spring Books for Your Elementary Classroom
1. Five Tough and Tiny Seeds
Five Tough and Tiny Seeds follows the journey of different seeds through rhyming and repetition. Students love the story line and don’t be surprised if you all end up singing this one the rest of the day! There is a great graphic about the life cycle from seeds to plants in the back of the book which students will love to refer back to!
2. And Then It’s Spring
After a winter filled with snow, a boy and his dog decide to build a garden. After digging and planting, they finally see that spring might be right around the corner. My students appreciate the use of the illustrations depicting not only the change of season but also being patient and waiting for things to grow.
3. Busy Spring
In this spring book, follow a family as they explore the many ways nature changes from winter to spring. My students love that they can find the same examples in their own backyard and at school!
4. Spring Is Here: A Bear and Mole Story
Mole can already smell that it is spring and does everything he can think of to wake up Bear. However, Bear keeps sleeping. This book is perfect for focusing on seasonal changes, specifically, winter into spring.
5. Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring
When a boy and his dog take a walk outside, they observe all of the beautiful changes that come with spring. The beautiful and detailed illustrations emphasize the seasonal transitions well. I especially love that this book is written as a conversation between the boy and nature.
6. Up In the Garden and Down In the Dirt
This book dives into the world of a garden (both above and below ground). While chickens scratch and seeds are planted, bugs and worms are thriving below. I especially love that while this book originates in the early spring season, it explores the changes in the garden throughout the entire year.
7. The Wonder of Thunder
This spring book is full of whimsical rhymes that focus on the positive aspects of thunderstorms. My students LOVE Sally Storm and the bright and colorful pictures!
8. On the Same Day In March
On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World’s Weather focuses on the concept of very different weather happening around the world on the same day. My students are fascinated by this concept and the use of vivid illustrations and poetic language.
9. Bently & Egg
During Bently’s time “egg-sitting” for his friend, he decides to paint the shell. When the egg is mistaken for a painted Easter Egg, Bently realizes that he needs to somehow get it back. Kids LOVE the silly adventure this artistic frog embarks to return the egg back to the nest.
10. When Spring Comes
This final spring book has simple and soft illustrations that are perfect for introducing the concept of seasonal change. This joyful book focuses on plants and animals in nature during the transformation of winter to spring.
Another ELA Spring Idea for Elementary Classrooms
If you are looking for other ELA spring activities to do with your students, try these spring word ladders!
Word Ladder activities involve changing one word into another word by altering a single letter at a time. Word ladders promote phonemic awareness, critical thinking, and vocabulary expansion.
This extra-helpful, high-interest resource includes several activities for teaching decoding, phonics, spelling, and vocabulary skills– including mini-word study/vocabulary lessons!
Use these as a whole class activity or for groups, pairs, or individual work. Grab your own Rainbow Word Ladder FREEBIE to try this activity out!
Your students are sure to enjoy these fun spring books and you’ll be happy to know their working hard on their comprehension skills at the same time! Happy Spring!
Let me know if you have any questions about anything you see here. Don’t forget to pin this post to refer to it later!
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Diane Romo
Thank you for being here! I love sharing ideas with other teachers! If you are looking to enhance your teaching and build a positive classroom community, you have come to the right place!
