I L-O-V-E reading lots of picture books during the first few days of school!! They ease everyone’s fears and worries about the new school year, teach valuable lessons and are just plain FUN! Plus, they’re super easy to grab when you have an extra 10 minutes to fill!
Here are my tried and true, go-to first day of school books!!
Build Classroom Community
Building a positive, accepting and welcoming classroom community begins on day one!
The Sandwich Swap
This is a great first-day-of-school book to read before your students go to lunch.
I’ve found that this book is a great way to begin a discussion about celebrating our differences as well as what to do when someone likes/does/eats something that you’re not familiar with!
Leo the Late Bloomer
Another important lesson in my classroom that I always try to emphasize is that not everyone learns things at the same speed or in the same way. I might not read this next book on the first day of school, but I for sure read it within the first few days!! It’s especially important as my students start to take those beginning-of-the-year assessments!
I want my students to know that it’s okay to not be good at something right away and that it’s okay for others to not be good at something right away… We all bloom in our own time!! #growthmindset
Introduce Class Rules
As boring as they are to talk about sometimes, we all know that classroom rules are a NECESSITY!
I believe that the kids should participate in the rule-making process. This helps them take ownership of the class rules and helps them understand why we have them in the first place.
Officer Buckle and Gloria
I use the following book to begin my discussion about why we need rules. It’s a fun first-day-of-school book because it’s silly and always makes the kids smile. But it’s also a great segue into brainstorming rules we should have in our classroom!
Library Lion
This next book is another great one for discussing classroom rules!! Although the ultimate lesson of the book is that sometimes rules need to be broken (like in an emergency), it’s still a great way to begin talking about the importance of having rules!
Ease Your Students’ Nerves
First Day Jitters
This first book is PERFECT to read at the very beginning of the day on the first day of school! The surprise ending is always fun too!! (Spoiler alert… The teacher is the one with the jitters!)
The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School
I love reading this next book before taking the class on a tour of the school… Just like the gingerbread man! It’s important for the kiddos to know right from the start where the closest bathrooms are, the nurse’s office, etc. Sure, many of your students will probably already know where those are. But you may have some new kids who don’t.
Making sure everyone knows where the important locations are can really ease some nerves and help everyone feel welcome!
FREEBIE ALERT! Want an editable template that you can use to create a fun scavenger hunt around your school that’s inspired by the Gingerbread Man?? Click the picture below to sign up for my FREEBIE Library where you can download the scavenger hunt activity for free!!
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What are some of your favorite books for the first day of school?? Let me know in the comments below!!
Don’t forget to save this post on Pinterest so you can reference each school year!!
