My Favorite Books!
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE books! Especially books that have awesome lessons to be learned from them. When I read a book to a class, I always have an activity planned afterwards. It may be a discussion, worksheet, sorting activity, craft, scenario cards...anything that I think would be a good fit for the students of the class(es) and the grade. Usually the book itself offers ideas (explicitly or implicitly) that guide the activity to follow. All of these books have been purchased from Amazon.
Living in the present/mindfulness. I like following this book with mindfulness exercises!
Kindness examples. I highlight the importance that kindness can be really simple and how it is important to be kind to yourself.
Consequences and effects of lying. Mostly used for 1:1 or with a small group of students.
A FANTASTIC rendition of "Beautiful Oops". Every page has something different to "flip" or "unfold". Students really love this and I follow this book with the "Beautiful Oops" activity mentioned on my Favorite Lessons page. There are so many different activities that can be done to follow this book.
This is quite a funny book. I recommend this for upper elementary students as it requires a bit more maturity than most lower elementary students would have. This is a very ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) type of book where it teaches how to accept unpleasant things that may happen to you and it highlights the choices you have after something unpleasant happens to you (you can either choose to react in a helpful way or unhelpful way).
This is a great book for 1:1 or a small group of students. It is very helpful for explaining taking things without asking (or stealing).
A great book about the importance of not judging others for upper elementary students (grade 3-5). I bring this book out one or two times a year as it is very helpful when talking about accepting everyone for who they are.
Working with a child who is experiencing grief, loss, or is missing someone? The invisible string is my go-to book to try and help students understand that they will always be connected.
This is a great resource for elementary students who are trying to cope with grief from divorce. The illustrations are hand drawn and illustrated by children. I use various parts of this book when I am working with students who are learning strategies on how to handle familial changes like divorce.
This book goes GREAT with the resiliency lessons I do. It emphasizes the importance of adding "YET" to the end of a unhelpful sentence or thought. Through the use of the little girl imagining herself as an adult, "YET" becomes a very important word.
We all know this story...this is the continuation of it based on resiliency! It is a great read and relatable for students.