Using children's literature to engage students

I love to read children's literature! I have found that books are the perfect way to engage students. Even with my own children, I have more success getting them to follow the advice of the protagonist in a book than to follow my own. For this reason, among others, I read aloud to my children as much as I can.

Reading to my kids gives me the opportunity to review books that I want to use in the classroom as well. Reading a book before introducing it in class is very important. A teacher can capitalize on many teaching opportunities if they read a book prior to using it in class. I like to keep a log of all the books I've read and note key topics, content areas addressed, and any ideas the book sparks. I also underline all of the vocabulary words that children are likely to need defined (in my own copies, of course!).

In order to use books as a teaching resource, I buy my books at places like Goodwill or Deseret Industries. You can find excellent titles in used books for a few dollars this way. Doing this gives me the freedom to pencil in notes and lesson ideas as well as note vocabulary words. I have found my own children ask me what words mean when they see them underlined. This is important because children get more out of their reading when they understand the meaning of all of the words.

I've included some of my favorite books at the bottom of this blog to guide selection for lesson plans. I also recommend the site Worldcat.org for finding book information and citations.  It's a wonderful resource for teachers and students alike.