The Perfect Back to School Read Aloud

Boost Reading Comprehension and JOY this School Year with Ramona Recommends

I teach 5th grade and truly believe using picture books to engage readers will create lifelong readers. Want to know how I engage students while boosting their reading comprehension EVERY DAY?

Meet, Pop! Like a Confetti Moment 

I believe in giving students “confetti moments” while learning. This is like the classic “lightbulb” moment typically talked about, but more fun! I named my picture book companions that way because your students are guaranteed to learn and grow with the information I provide to teach with and THAT is worth celebrating with confetti!

One of my favorite back to school picture books is Carla’s Sandwich which focuses on celebrating being unique and how to problem solve. 

I know sometimes it’s hard to know how to use picture books especially in upper grade. BUT! I am here to help you. Below I have outlined how I used Carla’s Sandwich to build community, focus on standards, and review old standards.

Here are the activities and resources inside Carla’s Sandwich POP, Like a Confetti Moment. You can see all of Carla’s elements in my reel here!

  • Morning Meeting Questions to get kids talking about themselves but on topic to the book. This starts building background knowledge of the topic and hooks them into the topic itself! (hellllllllo connections!)
  • Vocabulary Building (not in every POP!, but most!)
  • Several ways to show comprehension:
    • Talk About It Questions (verbal responses)
    • Write About it Questions (written responses)
    • 8 Comprehension Questions
    • A specific skill page: inference, character traits, summary, connections, theme, etc
  • Mentor sentence for grammar
  • Annotation Practice
  • Writing Practice
    • RACE Written Response
    • 5 Pen Pal Letter Ideas (and cute paper!)

Every picture book companion I make has detailed directions for how to implement and get the most bang for your buck in your classrooms. These are tried and true teaching strategies that I use all of the time in my own classroom.

I can promise you your kids will LOVE these. I do it every month in my classroom and we have a blast. In fact, I already have mapped out my fall calendar of POPs! I made it easier for you and threw these gems into one place

August- Carla’s Sandwich

September- The Crayon Man

October- I Need My Monster

November- Peyton’s Perfect Pie

Want more picture book recommendations for Back to School? You can see my list here. I also have a GREAT resource that outlines how I use all of my back to school picture books here.

This can be intimidating. That’s why I have created a FREE training using Carla’s Sandwich! Join me as I walk you through using the tools in the Pop! LIke a Confetti Moment resource – and get your own copy! Want to see what other POP, Like a Confetti Moment resources we have? You can find them right here.

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