Reading books is the best way for students to build up their vocabulary. The books listed here are great at introducing new words to students, or they're just plain awesome. Actually, they're all pretty great. If you have any books that you think are great, let us know in the contact section.
Madeline by Ludwig BemelmansMadeline is a good book to use for Rounding Up The Rhymes, especially with the upper years. It doesn't feel quite so babyish as Dr. Seuss, but still gives students lots of opportunities to find words with the same rime.
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Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! by Mo WilliamsThis book is great for introducing persuasive writing and gets students talking about the ways they would try and persuade someone. You can have students talking about the strong words they would use in pairs before brainstorming them together. Put yourself in the Pigeon's shoes: how could you have persuaded the driver?
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Hop On Pop by Dr. SeussAnother good book for Rounding Up The Rhymes. It's best for the middle years and is a good starting point for moving students on to thinking about the onset and rime of words.
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A Bad Case of Stripes by David ShannonA Bad Case of Stripes tells the story of Camilla Cream, who LOVES lima beans. She never eats them though because she doesn't want the other kids to think she's weird. This is a great book for encouraging kids to just be themselves, no matter what anyone else thinks. It is also really good for introducing new vocabulary, especially in the upper years (never discount a picture story book just because you are teaching 5/6s!).
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Chrysanthemum by Kevin HenkesKevin Henkes writes some beautiful stories about mice (Lily's Purple Plastic Purse is another favourite). This one, about Chrysanthemum and her first few days at school, is lovely for prompting students to think about descriptive words.
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Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra FrasierThis is a great story for getting students to discover more complicated words. In the video below the author, Debra Frasier, talks about the Vocabulary Parade at the end of the story, and how students from all across America have been dressing up as words in their own parades. It would be a really fun and interesting day to have kids come dressed as really cool words.
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Stellaluna by Janell CannonStellaluna is a gorgeous story that is really wonderful for when you are working on adjectives. It is also another great book for introducing interesting vocabulary to students. Words like clambering, sultry and swooped make it an enjoyable read.
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The Wonky Donky by Craig Smith and Katz CowleyThis is such a fun and musical way to get children excited about words. There are so many activities you could do with this book, from onset and rime activities to having students come up with their own interesting creature, complete with adjectives.
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My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald and Freya BlackwoodThis is a beautiful story about what it is like to come to a new country. You can read the illustrators description of the story on her blog (plus view some of the pictures!). Cartwheel slowly learns a new language with the help of a friend in the park. This book is wonderful for getting students to think about how hard it must be for someone new to our country and also about how powerful just one friend is.
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There are just so many amazing books out there to use in helping to develop students' vocabulary! If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out the downloads section for a bunch of free printables that you can use in your classroom and let us know in the contact section about any books you love to use.