WHY DO READ ALOUDS?
Don’t have time to facilitate an entire class novel to practice Literature and Informational Text standards? Try a read aloud with your students using a short children’s book! It’s amazing how many standards you can hit using a children’s book especially when you choose the RIGHT one no matter what grade level you teach.
Read alouds have so many benefits; most notably, establishing reading fluency in younger students. With Earth Day right around the corner, it’s a perfect opportunity to plan a lesson or activity using a read aloud!
EARTH DAY READ ALOUDS
When I began researching Earth Day books, I was actually overwhelmed by the amount of amazing nonfiction, fiction, and combination children’s books available. Narrowing down the list was actually difficult, but the stories I chose were selected due to many factors - entertainment, beautiful illustrations, poetic wording, and strong nature and life lessons. In a few cases, a book contained all of those features.
Each of the Earth Day books is wonderful in its own way and sparks lessons, activities, and project ideas. No matter which you choose, these books will make your students want to spring into action!
And great news! Each Earth Day book that I chose has a FREE and AVAILABLE prerecorded read aloud (thank you to forced remote learning 2020), so you don’t have to buy the book if you don’t want to!
All links for Earth Day read aloud suggestions can be found at the bottom of the page.
#1 Earth Day Read Aloud
Compost Stew A-Z by Mary McKenna Sikddals
Audience: Lower Elementary PK-2
Summary: Compost Stew is a creative rhyming story book that teaches students what composting is and how to do it all set to the alphabet in a rhyming format.
Possible follow up Earth Day activities:
For a set number of days have students write down various items at their houses that are thrown away each day that could actually be composted. Have them bring in their lists and share with the class.
Students can cut out photos of compostable items from recycled newspapers, magazines, and ads and create a visual compost project.
For a bigger project (with admin permission), create a class or school compost pile!
#2 Earth Day Read Aloud
Seeds by Carmen Lemniscates
Audience: PK-2
Summary: This adorable story about seeds combines learning about seeds with learning about friendship in a very quick easy read for young students attention spans.
Possible follow up Earth Day activity:
This book nearly “plants the seed” in your students minds to go plant seeds, so yes, that’s my suggestion - Plant seeds with your students, love them, water them, watch them grow, and turn it into a daily scientific observation but also a conversation for “watering” and taking care of a friendship. The little ones will learn so much from start to finish, and you’ll beautify your school or classroom while you’re at it!
#3 Earth Day Read Aloud
The Digger and the Flower by Joseph Kuefler
Audience: PK-2
Summary: This sweet story of the Digger and his flower friend will warm your heart. With unique main characters, this story can open up wonderful dialogue with your students due to its promise of hope and perseverance despite a difficult situation.
Possible follow up Earth Day activity: The perfect follow up to this Earth Day book is planting flowers with the students and taking care of them throughout the rest of the school year.
A local teacher had each of her students plant a flower and then they uprooted them in May and gave them to their moms for Mother’s Day.
#4 Earth Day Read Aloud
My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan
Audience: PK-2
Summary: This beautifully written and illustrated story makes for a wonderful experience all around as it walks the reader (or listener) through several different animals and their habitats as well as various weather patterns.
Possible follow up Earth Day activity: Take the students outside on a nature hunt. Try to find as many animals as possible and discuss our climate and habitat. To make it extra fun, get some cheap Magnifying Glasses so they can search for bugs!
#5 Earth Day Read Aloud
Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved our Planet by Elizabeth Rusch
Audience: Grades 3-6
Summary: Based on a true story, but written as a children’s story, this awesome Earth Day book explains the scientific journey of Mario Molino, a Mexican American Chemist, his love of science and his discovery of the chemical that was attacking the ozone layer. You’ll find so many exciting opportunities for learning throughout this book from the scientific experiments cited within its pages to the conversations about science careers and more.
Possible follow up Earth Day activity:
This is a great opportunity to work with a science teacher on a cross curricular activity! Experiment, research, and collaborate with your science teachers!
Have students research all of the careers associated with science degrees. Your school counselor can help with this since his/hers standards deal with career exploration.
#6 Earth Day Read Aloud
Audience: Grades 3-6
Summary: If you’ve never heard of the Garbage Barge event of 1987, this is a must read TRUE story. You and your students will never believe the journey that this barge of garbage made around the United States in an attempt to find a “home”.
Possible follow up Earth Day activity:
Students can research where our trash goes and how it’s dealt with in the United States or even in your local area. Can you say FIELD TRIP???
Students can clean up trash around the outside of the school on Earth Day.
WHAT EARTH DAY ACTIVITY CAN I DO IF I’M SHORT ON TIME (OR ENERGY….OR MONEY)?
There are so many avenues that you could take for an Earth Day activity or lesson. Any one of these books could activate huge project ideas in your students minds, and while big projects are always a fun option, they are not always feasible for various reasons.
Reading one of the Earth Day books followed by a small lesson geared directly toward your ELA standards is always a good option. The wonderful thing about children’s books is they mimic a novel in the formatting, theme development, character building, poetic language, and more BUT they don’t take weeks to finish!
Try pairing one of the Earth Day books with a lesson on finding textual evidence or sign up to receive my pack of free graphic organizers to help students complete a literary analysis.
Click the link to my store to find even more Earth Day Activities to incorporate into your daily lessons.
LINKS TO READ ALOUDS
Links to More Earth Day Activities
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