My favorite part of the day is read aloud time after lunch. Most of my favorite memories of school were of my teachers sharing their love of a good book with us during this time. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I cannot remember any read alouds from third grade. I don’t know if that’s because I didn’t connect with my teacher’s choices or if she just didn’t do it very often. I like to read all kinds of books with my students, both old and new, but I always try to incorporate the ones that were a favorite for me at that age. Perhaps I’m a little selfish in wanting to relive my own experiences, but I find those books are the ones my students have never heard of. I’ve been browsing ProTeacher forums (love that site!) and found a lot of lists for third grade read alouds. Most of them include Roald Dahl books (he’s my fav so I was already counting on those) and Kate DiCamillo’s stories. I just purchased some based on the recommendations and I can’t wait to read them myself to see if they’ll be a read aloud for my class this upcoming year. If not, they’ll still make great additions to my classroom library.
- The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith (never read it)
- The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards(never heard of it, let alone read it)
- Poppy by Avi (never read it)
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater (loved this as a kid, but I’m sure most of my kids will have seen the movie by now)
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brian (LOVED this movie as a kid, but have never read the book)
- The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson (picture book)
- The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (never read)
- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (never read)
- How to Be Cool in the Third Grade by Betsy Duffey (never read)
Anyone read these, either as a kid or as a read aloud? I’m interested to hear what you thought of them! If you have any other titles you consider to be “MUST READ” for third graders, please let me know!