Welcome back to my Inspiring All Readers with Books from A-Z blog post AND video series, where I will share with you a different story that begins with each letter of the alphabet. In each post, I will share with you some different reading strategies and skills that correlate with the story and discussion questions to ask your students after reading. I also have a FREE reading response journal AND FREE graphic organizers for you to use with each and every book A to Z…keep reading to snag your free copy!
For 26 days, one day for each letter of the alphabet, I will share with you 26 different multicultural books and authors that I recommend, which all have similar themes- each book promotes inclusion, diversity, justice, empathy, compassion, love.
Creating an inclusive classroom starts from day one of the school year and continues to the last day of school. So although these stories and lessons can certainly be used at any time of the year, I recommend that you start reading them on the first day of school, just like I will be with my own second graders! My goal in this books from A-Z series is to create a class community of engaged readers who love to read!
When choosing what books I wanted to read aloud in the first month of the school year, I wanted to make sure that I selected multicultural books that focused on building and establishing classroom routines but also creating an inclusive and welcoming classroom environment.
I have one special book to share with you today, which represents letter B in Inspiring All Readers with Books from A-Z series. But, before I get started, would you rather watch my video instead? If so, click below to watch my YouTube video, where I share all my fun ideas for this book that begins with the letter B!
Binny’s Diwali is the perfect story to read aloud to your students at the beginning of the school year. Not only does it help build an inclusive and welcoming classroom climate, but you can also use it to teach different reading skills and strategies.
The story begins with Binny waking up nervous but happy because today was her day to share about Dawali, the Festival of Lights. Her teacher asks each student to talk about their favorite holiday. Binny taught her classmates that Diwali is the Festival of Lights, a Hindu holiday that lasts five days and celebrates the victory of goodness and hope.
She tells her classmates about the fireworks, the sparklers her Dad lights, and her friends help her use glitter to decorate the streamers. Binny showed her classmates the clay lamps (Diyas) and use the color powder to write the message “Happy Diwali to all!”
I love how at the end of the book, the author writes The Diwali Story and then about the 5 days of Diwali. This provides great background knowledge for the teacher.
After reading the story, some discussion questions include:
- What is your favorite holiday? How do you celebrate this holiday with your family and friends?
This is also the perfect time to pass out the reading response journal, which is FREE for you, at the link at the bottom of this post!
After writing, students can share about their favorite holiday with the class during the morning meeting, or another time of the day, to get to know each other better.
One comprehension reading strategy that you can teach with this book is story structure.
Students can identify the main character, identify the problem and solution, and setting.
It is also important to note that Diwali is celebrated and observed on Thurday Nov. 4 2021. So you can revisit this story then! This would be a wonderful opportunity for those students celebrating the holiday to share their experiences with their classmates.
Like this blog post? Be sure to check back tomorrow! I have 25 more posts where I will share book ideas, free printables, and lesson plan ideas!
Don’t forget to download your free copy of the reading response journal and graphic organizers for each and every story in my Books from A-Z series! Look at the sign up form at the end of this blog post!
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