Read Alouds for Teaching the Six Traits

I don't even remember where I got this list to reference it, and I think I've also added to it.  I use it every year that I teach writing though and love so many of the books on it!

Ideas and Content

• Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard & James Marshall

Suspense

• Everybody Needs a Rock by Bryd Baylor

• The Best Town in the World by Bryd Baylor

• The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown

• Take Time to Relax by Nancy Carlson

• The Armadillo from Amarillo  *

• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney  *

• Goldilocks Returns by Lisa Campbell Ernst

• Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

• Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox*

• On the Day You Were Born

• When Jesse Came Across the Sea

• Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story by Ai Ling Louie

• The Three Javelinas by Susan Lowell

• Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

• Kafi and his Magic by Maya Angelou

• Verdi by Janell Cannon

Research to story writing connection

• I Hate to Read!  By Rita Marshall

• A Drop of Water by Walter Wick*

• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

• All the Places to Live

• Amelia’s Notebook  *

• The Other Way to Listen

• A Chair for My Mother  *

• If You Were a Writer

focus

• I’ll Always Love You

• Fireflies!  *

• Smoky Night  *

moment in time

• The Great Kapok Tree*

• The Beach Before Breakfast

moment in time

• The Paperboy

moment in time

• When I Was Young in the Mountains

moment in time

• I’m in Charge of Celebrations *

• Aunt Flossie’s Hats  *

Memory

• Owl Moon  *

 moment in time

• The Pain and the Great One

everyday experiences

• A Sweet Sound Basket

• The Story of Ruby Bridges

• Home Place

• Lightning

Expository

• Letters from Felix

• Grasper

Methaphors, writing + geopgraphy

• Go Home, River!

Own personal journey

• Benito’s Dream Bottle

Stretch imaginations through language

• Mississippi Beau

Use of research & info to inform and tell a story at same time

• A Street Called Home

• Panther Dream- wc

• Nurse Lughton’s Curtain

• My Mama Had a Dancing Heart

• Pink and Say- Patricia Polacco

• Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky

• The Relatives Came - Cynthia Rylant

• The Squiggle- Carole Lexa Schafer

• Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak

• Sheep Out to Eat- Nancy Shaw

• Pete’s a Pizza- William Steig

• Say Something- Mary Stoltz

• Jumanji- Chris Van Allsburg

• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick- Chris Van Allsburg

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone- J.K. Rowling

• Dear Mr. Blueberry- James Simon

• Whoever You Are- Mem Fox

• Fables- Arnold Lobel

• Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions- Selby Beeler

• A Drop of Water- Walter Wick

• Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobob- Barbara Bash

• The New Way Things Work- David Macaulay

• Magic School Bus at Waterworks- Joanna Cole

• It’s Disgusting and We Ate it- James Solheim

• Sweet Words So Brave- Barbara Curry

• Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems- selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

• The Disappearing Alphabet- Richard Wilbur

• Motel of Mysteries- David Macaulay

• The Secret Knowledge of Grown Ups- David Wisniewski

• The Story of Ruby Bridges- Robert Coles

• Snowflake Bentley- Jacqueline Briggs Martin

• The Flag We Love- Pam Munoz Ryan

• My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother- Patricia Polacco

• Twister- Darleen Bailey Beard

• Messages in the Mailbox- Loreen Leady

• A Porcupine Named Fluffy- Helen Lester

• Officer Buckle and Gloria- Peggy Rathmann

• Today is Your Birthday- P.K. Hallinan

• Rotten Teeth- Laura Simms

• David Goes to School- David Shannon

Organization

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day- Judith Viorst

ABC Structure

• Old Black Fly- Jim Aylesworth

• Alphabet City- Stephen Johnson

• Q is for Duck- Mary Etling & Michael Folsom

• Tomorrow’s Alphabet- George Shannon

Back and Forth Structure

·            Meanwhile Back at the Ranch- Trinka Hakes Noble

• When I Was Little- Jamie Lee Curtis

·            Fortunately- Remy Charlip

Circle Stories

·            If You Give a Moose a Muffin- Laura Numeroff

·            If You Give a Pig a Pancake- Laura Numeroff

Cumulative Structures

• Hey!  Get Off Our Train- John Birmingham

·            There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Series of Snapshots

• It Looked Like Spilled Milk- Charles Shaw

• Look!  Look!  Look!- Tana Hoban

• Animals Black and White- Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

Voice

• I’ll Fix Anthony- Judith Viorst

• I Am the Dog I am the Cat- Donald Hall

• Whoever You Are- Mem Fox

• Rain- Manya Stojic

• The Night I Followed the Dog- Nina Laden

• Peach and Blue- Sarah Kilborne

• The Tenth Good Thing About Barney- Judith Viorst

Word Choice

• Sports Page- Arnold Adoff

poetry & sentence fluency

• Yeh-Shen, Cinderella Story

• My Mama Had a Dancing Heart

• Dancing in the Kitchen

• Night in the Country

• Brave Irene

verbs, vibrant images

• The Polar Express

descriptive language

• Owl Moon

descriptive language

• Stellaluna

descriptive language

• Teammates

• In November

Sensory details, to carefully observe the world around them

• Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World

• Crow Boy- Taro Yashima

Character’s coming to life

• Hey World, Here I Am

Character’s coming to life

• James and the Giant Peach (chap. book)

• Maniac Magee (chap. book)

• The BFG (chap. book)

• Wrinkle in Time (chap. book)

• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter

• A Wonderful Day to be a Cow

descriptive language

•  
• Sarah Plain and Tall

Figurative language

• Old Devil Wind- Bill Martin Jr.

• Top Cat- Lois Elhert

• Peace at Last- Jill Murphy

• A My Name is Alice- Jane Bayer

• Tough Boris- Mem Fox

• The Ghost-Eye Tree- Bill Martin Jr.

• Quick as a Cricket- Audrey Wood

• I Love You the Purplest- Barbara Joosse

• Night Noises- Mem Fox

• Things That are Most in the World- Judi Barrett

• The Magic Fan- Keith Baker

• My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch- Graeme Base

intriguing words

• Double Trouble in Walla Walla- Andrew Clements

• Today I Feel Silly and Other That Make My Day- Jamie Lee Curtis

• Some Smug Slug- Pamela Duncan Edwards

• Feathers and Fools- Mem Fox

• The Lotus Seed- Sherry Garland

• Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse- Kevin Henkes

• Antics!- Catherine Hepworth

• Bug Off!- Catherine Hepworth

• Amber on the Mountain- Tony Johnston

• The Giant Jam Sandwich- John Vernon Lord

• Swine Lake- James Marshall

• Edward and the Pirates- David McPhail

• Hallo-Weiner- Dav Pilkey

• Kat Kong- Dav Pilkey

• The Whales- Cynthia Rylant

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs- Jon Scieszka

• Where the Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak

• Caleb and Kate- William Steig

• Shrek!- William Steig

clever phrasing, vivid details

• Solomon:  The Rusty Nail- William Steig

• Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia- Peggy Parish

• A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket (chap. book)

• Voices of the Heart- Ed Young

• A Cache of Jewels- Ruth Heller

• Many Luscious Lollipops- Ruth Heller

adjectives, word choice, creative

• Hoops!- Robert Burleigh

• Up, Up, and Away! A Book About Adverbs- Ruth Heller

• Insectlopedia- by Douglas Florian

• Jazz- Morgan Monceaux

Crafted phrasing, wonderful choice of details on every page

• Duke Ellington- Andrea Davis Pinkney

• Possum Magic- Mem Fox

Rhyme, some alliteration, engaging rhythm

• Ashanti to Zulu- Margaret Musgrove
• Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma

Sentence Fluency

• Crocodile Beat- Gail Jorgenson

• Possum Came a Knockin’

• Nocturne- Jane Yolen

• Night in the Country- Cynthia Rylant

• Fireflies, Fireflies, Light My Way- Jonathon London

Conventions (this trait can be modeled with all books)

• Yo! Yes?- Chris Raschka

Teacher Resource

• Teaching the Youngest Writer- Marcia Freeman

     Maupin House (800) 524-0634

Cinderella Stories

·            Yeh-Shen