5 Fresh Ways to Use Virginia Readers' Choice Books In Your Lessons

It's summer time, and I don't know about you, but I spend a ton of time reading. Mostly for my own enjoyment, but I also take the time to catch up on the Virginia Readers' Choice books for the next year. This year's books don't disappoint!
Using picture books in your classroom makes learning so much fun! These Virginia Readers' Choice selections make it fun for everyone with easy ways to incorporate them into your lessons.

But how can you use them once we go back to school? I have 5 easy ways to use the picture books with your students, starting the first day of school.
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Read Alouds

This is a no-brainer. All of the books featured in the Virginia Readers' Choice lists make great read-alouds. From picture books to chapter books, you can incorporate these into your daily read aloud time.

This is a Ball will have kids laughing and getting frustrated with the reader of the book. It gives the listener a fun way to see that what we think isn't always the truth.
 
What If is a beautiful book that helps every reader see the potential he or she can become through the works of art and ideas in the book. What if things happened and had to be created for use in different ways?
And who can't resist a penguin and a lollipop? In Little Penguin and the Lollipop, kids will enjoy interacting with Little Penguin's big problem. Find out more about Little Penguin and the Lollipop in this post.

Building Background Knowledge

Some books are great for learning about the world around us. There are always some great books to help students learn more about the world around them.

Dazzle Ships gives amazing information about large ships in World War I and how they were used during that time. You can read more about the book in this post.
 
Boo Boos That Changed the World is another fun book that tells about how Band-aids were invented. The book is written in a fun way that engages the reader in different ways. Children of all ages will remember the way that Band-aids came to be.
 
Also written in a fun and engaging way, Her Right Foot tells more about how The Statue of Liberty came to the United States. Most of all, it reminds readers of what she stands for and how she helps us all remember how we came to be as a nation.

Life Lessons

So many times we can use books to help our students with important life lessons. Sometimes children connect to various characters, which helps them to get through tough situations. These books are great for helping children learn important life lessons.

Ever seen a kid scared of jumping in the pool? Jabari Jumps will help children of all ages overcome fears they may have. Read more about the book in this post.
Sing, Don't Cry makes it easy for families and children to understand what it's like to live through tough times. Angela Dominguez uses her own life experiences to help children understand that though life can be tough, there are ways to begin to make it better. Find out more about the story in this post.
Waiting for a birthday can be tough for children of any age. The book When's My Birthday? can help children see that other kids ask about and dream about their birthdays too.

Mentor Texts

Need help with a comprehension strategy or skill? The picture books are great for helping you teach some of those tricky strategies or skills.

Give Me Back My Book helps children better understand the parts of a book in the fun book that shows two characters, Redd and Bloo, fighting over who the book belongs to. They are constantly referring to parts of a book, which will help many kindergarten students with this standard.
And Alfie: (The Turtle Who Disappeared) helps children see different perspectives of characters as the young girl, Nia, and Alfie the turtle search for each other. Check out a perfect lesson for this book on my blog This Literacy Life in this post.
 
Or what about writing skills? It's always helpful to have a book ready to help students with tricky writing skills.

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings is great for helping students write letters. Check out this post, which gives a clear idea for helping students with letter writing.

Book Brackets

Voting is the main reason teachers and students share and read the books. Once students read the books, they can vote on their favorites via the VSRA website.  Voting closes in April, so you want to be sure you get those votes in!

Melissa from Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late created this amazing book brackets display, which is always a hit with her students. She has some of the best ideas she showcases on Instagram!
Using picture books in your classroom makes learning so much fun! These Virginia Readers' Choice selections make it fun for everyone with easy ways to incorporate them into your lessons.
What are some other ways you can use these amazing picture books with your students? Giving them tools to succeed through books always makes it more fun for learning!

Want to know more about the elementary chapter books? Head over to this post to find out about them!
Using picture books in your classroom makes learning so much fun! These Virginia Readers' Choice selections make it fun for everyone with easy ways to incorporate them into your lessons.

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