What’s your class reading?

My class absolutely LOVES read aloud time.  (They can’t sit still through it, but they love it.)  So, I thought I would post to let you know what we’re reading every once in awhile, and maybe some of you could post a list of what your class is reading, to share the love of books around to all of our classes.

Here’s what my class just finished reading:

The Muslim Child by Rukshana Khan is a great book for talking about the Muslim faith and Muslim holidays, which is part of my social studies curriculum.  (We use AERO standards for social studies, which allow you to tailor your standards to the country you teach in.)  This book has great stories about Ramdan, Hajj, and Eid al Fitr that are written from a kid’s point of view.  It was a great supplement to our Muslim Holidays unit.  (Get a FREE center packet on Muslim Holidays here.) 

Here’s what my class is currently reading:

The Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durell is our newest book (we’re still in the first chapter.)  This is one of my personal FAVORITE books!  It’s a story about a girl and her two brothers who get to spend the year traveling the world in a hot air balloon with their uncle.  While they are traveling (searching for another uncle who has gone “missing”), they use “science magic” to be able to talk to the animals they meet along the way.  It’s a great way to talk about maps and the places around the world, as well as different animals.  My class just finished learning about animal characteristics, (you can find my animal characteristics center packet here), and so it’s a great follow up for us.  Plus, it has some of the best illustrations I’ve ever seen, which is perfect for my English Language Learners (see my post on using graphics with ELL Leaners for more details).

Here’s what’s I’m reading to my class next:

I have promised my kids to start the Magic Tree House series with them when we finish The Fantastic Flying Journey.  We will start with Magic Tree House book # 1 – Dinosaurs Before Dark.  I have 13 boys in my class – and a book about going to the time of the dinosaurs has already captured their imagination.  I plan to do the first 4 Magic Tree House books, including: Knight before Dawn, Mummies in the Morning and Pirates Past Noon.  I started the idea of reading the Magic Tree House books because we learn about Ancient Egypt in our Social Studies curriculum, and Mummies in the Morning takes place during Ancient Egypt, but now that I’ve talked about it with my students, the kids are my motivating factor.  Any book that gets kids’ interested in learning is a good book in my mind.

So, what is your class reading these days?