End of the Year Reading Celebration

As the school year comes to an end tomorrow, I decided to use this afternoon to celebrate all of the reading we had done this school year. The afternoon began with a book swap. Students were allowed to bring in 1 or 2 books that they had already read and no longer wanted. Then, depending on how many books they brought in, they could pick from the selection of books that was on the table. Knowing some of my kids were forget their books, I brought in a few extras I had. It worked out good and everyone had a "new" book by the end of the swap.

Following our book swap, students cuddled up with their blankets and pillows to enjoy a good 45 minutes of uninterrupted SSR (silent sustained reading). This is their favorite part of each school day, so I was happy to see they settled in easily and were able to enjoy a few good books. On a side note, I've been reading The Book Whisper by Donalyn Miller, which has only reinforced the need to provided students an opportunity to read books of their choice during the school day.

Our reading celebration ended with two read alouds. One was the Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado. This is one of my favorite "Christian themed" books that allows students to see how each of us has a special purpose in this world. I then read the book Tuesday to them. It is a wordless picture book, which previously own the Caldecott Medal. The kids loved the pictures of floating frogs and flying pigs. I had begun our year together sharing this book with them and was surprised how they at first didn't remember the book. However, after seeing the floating frogs, their memories were quickly jogged and they once again enjoyed the book with great vigor. How do you celebrate reading with your students? What books do you find to be good read aloud books?