Hi Reader,

Can you believe it's almost back-to-school time already? Today is officially one week until I'm back at school. As I'm getting my own classroom ready (so much left to do), I'm trying to think beyond just the first week (I already have that planned!) and prep resources that I'll actually use all year long.

October Me will thank August Me, right? 🙃

I've also been pulling together some of my favorite parent resources that are perfect to have printed and ready for Meet the Teacher Night or Back to School Night.

Whether you're looking for engaging novel studies, picture book lessons, or resources that help build a strong home-school connection from day one, I hope you'll find something that makes your year just a little bit easier.

📝 Choosing Novels

⭐ Choosing Novel Studies: You can visit this post for novel selection tips and download a free checklist for future reference as you plan your read-aloud books and novel studies for the year.

⭐ Book Lists: To make finding appropriate and enriching books easier for you (and families!), I created a FREE GUIDE with the best upper elementary books. This is where I start when I'm trying to figure out which books to read with each of my grade levels!

You can use these book lists as a resource for yourself or share them with your students’ families. ✅ I always print them out and have them ready to go for important nights like parent-teacher conferences, back to school night, and open house. Instead of giving families the entire list all at once, you can also incorporate single sheets in your newsletters throughout the year.

There are 19 total book lists here!

🔖 Reading Response Bookmarks

I also took all my reading prompts and made them into bookmarks-- 24 different options! ✅ These free printable bookmarks with reading response questions promote higher-level thinking about a variety of texts. The convenient bookmark form makes it easy to keep the questions on hand as you read each book!

I also like to have these on hand for those times parents ask me for recommendations of how to support their students with reading!

💡 Novel Study Prep

Okay, so you've gone through all that work to prep your books for the year. But, a great novel deserves more than a packet full of comprehension questions. Give your students meaningful, standards-based activities that keep them engaged, hold them accountable for their reading, and encourage deeper thinking every step of the way.

⭐ Novel Study Activities

I created this bundle of novel study activities to work with ANY BOOK. That way, I can prep them now (or even better, have a parent volunteer prep them!) and be ready to go with every novel this year. I use a different flip book with every novel.

⭐ Reading Response Task Cards

One of my favorite things to prep before the school year starts is a set of reading response activities I can use again and again. These task cards are one of those resources I keep within arm's reach all year long!

With 96 thoughtful prompts for both fiction and informational text, they're perfect for independent reading, novel studies, literature circles, early finishers, or small groups. Each prompt encourages students to move beyond simply recalling what they read and instead analyze, infer, connect, and think more deeply about the text.

One of my favorite ways to use them is to assign each student a different card. They write their response, then share their thinking with the class. The conversations that come from hearing everyone's different perspectives are always some of the best!

⭐⭐ Even more Recommendations! ⭐⭐

You can also visit my blog posts here for even more book recommendations and related activities. ✅ Here are a few timely favorites!

• ​Fluency Picture Books​
• ​Back to School Reading Lesson​
• ​Back to School Read Alouds​
• ​Morning Meeting Read Alouds​
• ​Best Back to School Books​

✅ Here's to finding the BEST books for your readers all year long!

Mary