If you’re like me, you are getting ready to start a new school year. I have been teaching bilingual Kindergarten most of my teaching career. I think Kindergarten is the best grade to teach and teaching how to read in Spanish is one of my top pleasures in life.
In this post, I will tell you about my favorite Back-to-School read alouds in Spanish. I will also mention a few titles in English that I really enjoy and that I translate as I read because I don’t want my bilingual kiddos to miss out.
Here we go!
¡Qué nervios! El primer día de escuela
¡Qué nervios! El primer día de escuela by Julie Danneberg is my absolute favorite first day of school book.
I love it because, as I start reading, I can ask questions about how students feel before coming to my classroom for the first time.
I teach bilingual Kindergarten in a Title I school, which means some of my students have never been to school. Some don’t know how to talk, or how to hold a pencil. Some have never held a crayon to color in their lives.
My students may feel nervous and not want to come to school for the first time, but they don’t know how to identify this feeling or express it.
Throughout the book, the main character doesn’t want to go to school and students are led to believe that it’s someone just like them.
But there’s a twist in the end, and I usually have to explain the ending, the book reveals that the main character was the teacher.
I use this opportunity to let them know I’m human too. I was also nervous because I didn’t know them either before today. And I want to make it work, and I want to teach them, I want them to learn and care about each other.
I always find this to be a great revelation and to make students see me as a person instead of someone who is nothing like them. I believe connections are made after reading this book.
Nuestra clase es una familia
I haven’t owned this book for long. I first purchased and read the book aloud on the second day of school last year.
Nuestra clase es una familia by Shannon Olsen is a great addition to any classroom library, not just Kindergarten.
The book gives clear examples of how we are a family now. We must help each other in many ways because we are now a community.
I stopped several times to make connections between how it is with their families and how we will become a bit like that.
They have a hard time understanding that even though they will not become brothers and sisters, there will be a sense of community close to a family, but I still think it’s worth it to point it out and start building that classroom community with the help of this book.
Mi maestra es un monstruo
A teacher friend of mine recommended this book and I love it.
I read Mi maestra es un monstruo on the third day of school because, by then, students start to get comfortable and I can see a few behavior issues.
That means that I need to stop being the nice teacher I was on the first day, and I need to start using my teacher-voice when I remind the class of the rules and give consequences.
This book is about how, depending on student behavior, the teaching will be nice or will become a monster.
At first, students in the book truly believe the teacher is a monster, but then it clearly explains how, once you understand that the teacher is there to teach and not correct bad behavior, then she can be nice again.
When I read the book, I explain that, sometimes, I will look mean when I need to take care of disrupting behavior, but I don’t like it, and how I wish everyone could follow the rules so that I could always be nice and everyone can learn.
David va a la escuela
I like reading David va a la escuela by David Shannon on the fourth day of school.
I read this book the day after I read Mi maestra es un monstruo because it gives examples of student behavior. I use the opportunity to explain why these situations would require the teacher to stop the behavior, and that sometimes won’t look and sound nice, but the behavior must be stopped.
It also shows examples that most students will frown upon, letting others know that behaving like that is a no-no.
This book goes hand-in-hand with the social studies lesson on rules, too.
David Shannon’s David series is great to teach students about rules and consequences. You can also check out:
¡No, David!, David se mete en líos, ¡Llegó la navidad, David!
Schools Around the World (Escuelas alrededor del mundo)
I am lucky enough to have this book in Spanish in my classroom (Escuelas alrededor del mundo). Unfortunately, I did not find it in Spanish on Amazon.
There are several things I like about this book. For one, it isn’t a fiction book. After reading fiction books since day one, this book introduced non-fiction to the class.
This is the first time I can point out that instead of illustrations, there are photographs. And instead of being a made-up story, these are real places and real people.
We also learn about different schools instead of enjoying a story that mostly has feelings.
The second thing I like about this book is that the reading level is low. Each page has one sentence that is easy to read and understand. Mostly, I talk about the pictures and the students notice things as they talk to each other.
Lastly, I like this book because it allows me to talk about how lucky they are to be in a nice school like the one they are at. There are schools around the world with no A/C, no walls, no desks. Some kids don’t get to go to school because they can’t get there, and if they can, they have to walk long and difficult distances to get there.
The Pigeon Has to Go to School (La paloma TIENE que ir a la escuela)
I love Mo Willems. I am a fan of the Elephant and Piggy books (which I’m thankful are in Spanish—most of them, at least), and the Pigeon books.
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School is fairly new (published in 2019). It’s perhaps because of this that the Spanish version isn’t available. Hopefully, it’ll be available soon.
I love the Pigeon. This is usually the last book I read before starting to teach Story Elements and diving into teaching explicit comprehension much more.
In the book, the Pigeon doesn’t want to go to school because he thinks he already knows everything.
I like this book because it’s important for kids to know that you never stop learning and that every second in Kindergarten counts to build their knowledge as they grow up into becoming successful and helpful adults.
I hope you enjoyed my book. Here are other books that deserve an honorable mention even if some are in English:
Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School
Curious George First Day of School
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