Picture Book Brain

Picture book lesson plans and activities for busy teachers

20 Best Biography Picture Books For Hispanic Heritage Month

There are so many great picture books for Hispanic Heritage Month. Recently especially a flurry of books from both Spanish-speaking Latino authors and English-speaking authors alike have come out that you may not be aware of. Here I'm talking about the best picture books for Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 through October 15. These books can also be great for other occasions throughout the year to teach about famous Latinos, Chicanos, and all Hispanic cultures throughout the world. As with any occasion there are hundreds and thousands of fun activities to teach with. The best, though, in my opinion, is through stories. And no stories are better to teach with by being able to get through a beginning, middle and end in one lesson than picture books! If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and ... read more

How to Engage Families in Reading

For many years I've said that our biggest untapped resource for really improving student literacy is to engage families in reading. I've tried many different strategies throughout the years with mixed results. Recently, though, I dug into the research and found the start to some answers that i believe may be helpful. Summary of Strategies Home Reading Survey Book in a Bag Reading AloudLanguage StrategiesCollaborative Assignments Home Reading Survey Home reading surveys help you find out where families are currently at with reading at home. Research shows that the way to engage families in reading at home is by making what you teach them fit as closely to what they already do. I'll say that again: if you want families to do something at home, they will be more likely to do it if it's close to something that they already do. So if you want parents to read with their kids ... read more

How to Use Google in Your Read Aloud Lesson Plans

Generally read alouds and technology have never really meshed. With the advent of distance learning or virtual learning as my district calls it, we've learned that they do indeed mesh. You read aloud a book. Maybe it's an e-book that you might play on BookFlix or Youtube or the like. Or even more scarce in our increasingly more digital classroom environments: one of those old analog devices made from tree pulp - a BOOK. However, today I'm going to show you how you can use Google in your read alouds whether you are teaching a traditional classroom or distance learning. There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. This site also uses cookies. Lesson Plan With Google Docs Are you one of those teachers with beautiful, cute organized ... read more

Weekly Dictado Schedule

Are you trying to get into a routine for your Spanish dictado? Here I explain quickly what my weekly dictado schedule is like. It's fast and easy, and your kids will be keeping you accountable for that schedule in no time. This schedule along with my other tips and tricks are what make my dictado so successful in my classroom! Before I even begin, I use a planning sheet that I've made. You can sign up to get it below. It allows you to plan the dictation, predict possible student noticings and potential teaching points. Check it out, and don't forget to sign up to get it FREE below! You'll notice on the planning sheet that I base the dictado on a known context. In contrast, I find the fault with many dictados is they turn into a spelling list of discrete words or just nonsensical sentences with lots of words that follow the teaching point you are trying to ... read more

Tips for Dictado in Elementary

Just about anyone you talk to in bilingual education whether it's bilingual, dual language, dual immersion, etc., agree that dictado is a powerful way of teaching Spanish language. It can teach language structures, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and can be used to contrast with English. It can be tricky to do in the younger grades. Dictado in elementary, though, is just as important as dictado in upper grades. How should your dictado look? What works? What doesn't work? I'm not an expert, but I have made a lot of mistakes over the years with my dictado. And I've found that mistakes are the best teacher. 1. Less is More For dictado in primary, less is more. I made the mistake in the beginning of writing these marathon long dictados and then couldn't understand why my kids couldn't complete the daily work in 20 minutes or less. My first grade dictados were 4 sentences ... read more

How to Plan a Read Aloud – Part 2

I have had a lot of people ask me, since I have over 300 interactive read aloud lesson plans in my TPT store, how to plan a read aloud. I'm not going to lie, it's a process. Planning one interactive read aloud takes me about 2.5 hours with Netflix on or 2 hours without Netflix ;) The best part about the process, though, is that you have a read aloud lesson plan that will last you forever. In another blog post, I talked about how to choose the best book that will get you the biggest bang for your buck. Today I'm going to show you how I plan the first reading and what things I avoid. There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. The First Read Each time I am planning the first read of a read aloud book, I am thinking about 3 ... read more

26 Best New and Noteworthy Books for Back to School Read Alouds

Supercharge your back to school routine with some awesome interactive read alouds and activities. Choosing the best books to read aloud in the beginning of the school year can save a lot of time and make getting to know your students and setting up your routines both fun and engaging. These books are sure to engage your students and help you set the classroom culture. These books are sure to get your students discussing literature while also keeping that focus on rules, routines, and getting to know you. These fun books will get even your quietest of students talking and help you get to know them. Best of all, you can align all of these to the Common Core standards to start teaching literature standards. I have a week of lesson plans and activities for each book. Click here if you want to see how I plan my read alouds! (There are affiliate links in many of the posts on ... read more

How to Plan Interactive Read Alouds Part 1

I have had lot of people ask me, since I have over 400 interactive read aloud lesson plans in my TPT store, how to plan interactive read alouds. I'm not going to lie, it's a process. Planning one interactive read aloud takes me about 2.5 hours with Netflix on or 2 hours without Netflix ;) The best part about the process, though, is that you have a plan that will last you forever. Today I'm going to start walking you through my process that I go through when planning each of my interactive read alouds. Finding the Perfect Book 1. Determine what you need to teach Having an extensive book knowledge is one thing, but not very many people have read that many books. How do you find the right book when you've just changed grade levels or you're a new teacher or you're new to teaching literacy? Where do you start? Questions to ask yourself: What standards do I need to ... read more

What Are The Best Earth Day Books For Elementary?

It's always a good day to teach your students about environmental awareness, not just Earth Day. There are SO MANY great books out there to teach your students about conservation and protecting our planet. When I first started teaching, it seemed like every teacher knew really good books to read for every holiday, while I was left asking around everywhere. After years of talking to librarians, teachers and kids, here are my favorite read alouds for Earth Day! If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and activity for these books! Just click on the Lesson Plans button! If you’re not a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust, you can join for as little as $1 for 30 days to get unlimited access! Click here to join! Outside In by Deborah Underwood The outside is always there but even when we're outside, ... read more

3 Reasons Why You Should Be Teaching With Picture Books

Picture books have gotten a bad rap over the years. Teachers, parents and students alike think that picture books are what you should be reading to your students until they can read by themselves and then they should be reading chapter books. THEY ARE DEAD WRONG! I'm here to tell you though: you should be teaching with picture books NOT chapter books with your students. Say "NO" to Chapter Books Chapter books. When I was a first grade teacher, all of my students had this goal of reading "chapter books." Really they were easy readers they were talking about, but I never told them that. Why that was the goal I never knew why. I never read chapter books or easy readers to them. I only ever read picture books to them. Wait one second there, Josh! So you're saying that I should be telling my kids to not read chapter books or easy readers? NO WAY! Definitely get your ... read more