Back to school season is officially here! I have lots of fun planned for Wild About Books Wednesday! For the next five weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite books to use during the beginning of the year. If you’re new to my blog, each Wednesday I will be blogging about how to use a specific book to enhance speech/language skills. It’s a new school year and I’m excited to finally get this little blog series back on track!
Today, I’m talking about a classic! (aff. link) First Day Jitters by Julie Dannenberg! The first time I heard this book, my principal read it aloud during a professional development day. Ummm.. I really was shocked at the end. Gotta love a good twist! If you haven’t read the book, it’s the story of a girl who just doesn’t want to go to her new school. She moans. She whines. She reluctantly gets ready. At the end, we find out this girl is *gasp* a teacher!
To re-start this little blog series, I had to create a fun freebie to help save all my teacher friends and SLPs a little time! I know the beginning of the school year is tough.. In fact, I’m already feeling a tad anxious and stressed out. I have some first day jitters!
This is a great book for all ages. There are many language skills you can target: inferencing, sequencing, and comprehension just to name a few! What I love most of all about this book is that it is 100% relatable. We know that text-to-self connections are so important for comprehension and everyone can relate to not wanting to get out of bed on the first day!
I designed a few activities to get those connections connecting! haha.. Students can draw a self-portrait of their first day of school. This is a great way to discuss how students feel, are they nervous like Sarah Jane? Excited?
I'll be getting back into it in a few weeks!!!