A read aloud is one of the most simple, effective ways to set the tone for just about anything in the classroom. And since setting the tone is a phrase that’s often associated with the beginning of the school year, it only makes sense to start the year off with back to school books that help do exactly that!
These 5 picture books are favorite must-haves for building classroom community and positive student relationships. As many teachers have put it, “They have become a staple in my classroom!”
Whether you’re familiar with some or all of these read alouds, or it’s your first introduction…here you can learn a bit about all 5 books, and get ideas for extension activities that can go with each one.
*All books and resources are linked throughout this blog post, but in case it’s helpful in saving you time (if there’s one thing I know about teaching, it’s how valuable your time is!) here’s a shortcut to links all in one spot:
Learn More about the Book:
- A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School
- Collaboration Station
- Our Class is a Family
- Our School is a Family
- A Letter From Your Teacher on the Last Day of School
Where to Purchase Books (& everything to go with them):
- “The Classroom Community Collection” Book Box Set
- All Book Activities, Gifts, & Classroom Decor in the Life Between Summers Shop
- All Book Activities on TPT
All of the books and activities that I’ll be sharing more about below are available individually, so you can pick and choose what you specifically need. Or if you plan on using more than one, you can grab them all together in one of the bundles to get the best savings!
Keep reading for a quick synopsis of all 5 titles, along with teaching ideas to go with each book:
1. A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School
This book helps to give students a warm welcome students on the very first day of school. It sends the message that you are someone they will get to form a special connection with. In hearing it read aloud, students will learn that their new teacher truly cares a lot about them, and is there to help them learn and grow in all kinds of ways.
Available in the Life Between Summers Shop and on Amazon.
First Day of School Book Activity
This back to school activity closely aligns with the book, and it is a GREAT way to get valuable insight about each of your students at the very beginning of the year. It’s is a booklet of writing prompts (or a “letter”) for students to write in response to their teacher after listening to the read aloud. The resource has multiple “get to know you” pages that connect with the text, with spaces for students to write and illustrate.
It also comes in a differentiated version for beginning writers (kindergarten, etc.) or students in any grade level who may need the modified writing support.
These resources for the first day of school are available separately, or bundled together in the Life Between Summers shop here on my website, and also on TPT. If you’d like more details about this activity, you can click the blue button below:
2. Collaboration Station
Teamwork is a big component when it comes to building classroom community. Do you have your students work together in partners and small groups throughout the year? Collaboration Station can be read aloud to help set a strong foundation for working as a team in the classroom! It’s a mentor text that not only addresses the common challenges that can arise when students work together, but can also help encourage kids to WANT to be a great teammate. Use this book as a springboard for valuable class discussions, especially when introducing your procedures for working in partners and small groups.
Available in the Life Between Summers Shop and on Amazon.
Collaboration Station: Activities and Resources
Here are a few resources that you can use together with this book, to help establish your collaborative learning community:
Slides with Discussion Questions – After the read aloud, use this slide deck to help spark student conversations about how to work as a team in the classroom.
Accountable Talk Stems – These bubbles with sentence frames (like the ones in the book illustrations) can be utilized as a visual reference for lessons or a bulletin board.
Student Pennant Flag Writing Craft – Have students make these pennant flags to help establish a class team mindset.
Student Job Role Cards – Use these job cards to help assign student roles when working in small groups.
Each of these Collaboration Station book companions are available individually or in discounted bundles, in the shop and on TPT.
3. Our Class is a Family
This is the original book in the series! It can be read aloud during back to school time (and reread any time of the year) for building classroom community. The book touches upon what it means to be a family at school- embracing similarities and differences, having a growth mindset, treating others with respect, and caring for one another. Its central message can help kids feel safe and supported, and experience an overall sense of belonging among their classmates.
Available in the Life Between Summers Shop and on Amazon.
Our Class is a Family: Gifts, Decor, & Extension Activities
There are tons of follow-up opportunities to use this read aloud as a foundation for building class community. Here are some ideas to go along with the book!
Welcome Bracelets for Back to School
Student gifts are never necessary of course. But if gift-giving is one of your love languages, these class family bracelets are a sweet way to show unity and welcome your new group of kids! They make for special back to school gifts on the the first day of school, or at a Meet the Teacher type of event.
Our Class is a Family Flag Banner
Classroom environment plays a part in creating a setting where you and your students enjoy being together each day! I love how these handmade wall hanging banners help give an extra cozy, welcoming feel to the classroom.
Personalized Schoolhouse Artwork
Here’s another type of classroom decor that goes with Our Class is a Family, and with a personal touch.
Schoolhouse art (just like the one in the book), but customized with your name or school. The artwork and personalization is done by the illustrator herself, Sandie Sonke!
Class Family Morning Meetings
This is a book companion you can start using during back to school time, and then continue to use for building classroom community all school year long! These are slide decks for weekly Morning Meetings that align with Our Class is a Family (and also A Letter From Your Teacher)!
If you might already do daily Morning Meetings, this can be a sort of “special edition” for your class to look forward to once a week. And if you don’t currently do Morning Meetings regularly and find it challenging to work them into your daily schedule, this is a manageable way to still make time for community building on a consistent basis.
You could call it either “Class Family Friday” (if you have your class use this on Fridays) or “Class Family Fun Day” (if you choose a different day of the week than Friday).
Grab it now in my shop or on TPT, or click below for more details:
Our Class is a Family Album
Here is another back to school activity that you can continue to get use out of throughout the whole school year. This class family album is a fun way for students to learn more about each other, and to document their class family memories.
It works wonderfully as a writing center, and you could put the album in your classroom library as a choice for students to read during independent reading time.
This one’s also in my shop and on TPT, or you can click below for more details:
Our Class is a Family Bookmarks
This is a FREE template to print your own bookmarks! Give them out as student gifts during back to school time (or any time)! Many teachers like to have the kids sign their names on the back of each other’s bookmarks, making them an extra-special keepsake.
Class Family Memory Books
This book companion can be saved for the end of the school year. It’s a booklet for students to reflect back on all of their special memories with their class family. You could have students make their memory books during the last few days or weeks of school, especially after re-reading Our Class is a Family. The message of the book tends to take on a whole new meaning at the end of the year!
This memory book for the end of the year is available in both my shop and on TPT.
4. Our School is a Family
The next book builds upon Our Class is a Family, reaching to the larger school-wide community. The idea is that students have an extended family to help support them at school, even beyond their own classroom. Everyone from staff members (such as administrators, librarians, school counselors, etc.) to parent volunteers. Our School is a Family also helps get students thinking of ways that they can be helpful members of their school community too. And if you happen to teach about community helpers in your language arts or social studies curriculum, this book also works well as a mentor text for that!
Available in the Life Between Summers Shop and on Amazon.
School Family book activities
This book extension activity is ideal for back to school time, school staff appreciation days, or any time of year! It’s a “School Family Directory” to familiarize students with the various staff members at your school. It can help students with learning their names and their specific roles. The booklet also allows students to think of ways they can support school staff members in return, and show them appreciation.
There’s also a version of this book companion that may be more well suited for kindergarten, other primary classes, or students who need modified writing supports. It has options for letter-tracing and fill in the blank instead of the writing prompts.
Grab either version individually, or together in a bundle in the shop or on TPT.
5. A Letter From Your Teacher on the Last Day of School
This final title in the collection helps to bring everything full circle at the end of the school year. It’s a read aloud to celebrate and reflect back on the memories you’ve made all year as a classroom family. You can use it to help express the sentiments and best wishes you’d like to leave your students with before they walk out the door on the last day. Everything from how proud you are of them, to inviting them to come back and see you in the future.
Available in the Life Between Summers Shop and on Amazon.
Last Day Book Activity
This supplemental book activity can be done over the last few days or weeks of the school year. Have students decorate one of these paper mailboxes pictured below (they can color and cut them out, and simply glue them onto a paper lunch bag or other container of choice).
Each student also gets a class set of postcards. They can write a short message on the back to each classmate, with a similar sentiment to what they might write when signing a yearbook. There are different postcard template options (including ones with fill-in-the-blank sentence frames) to help meet the needs of various students.
Have everyone pass out their cards to put in each other’s mailboxes on the last day of school. You could choose to include a teacher letter from you to put in their mailboxes too, if you’d like. When saying good-bye on the last day, students can take home their mailbox with all the cards from their class family as a keepsake!
You can find this activity here in the shop or here on TPT. Visit the link below to hear more about this resource for last day of school:
Book Box Set
If you might like to have a hardcover copy of all five books for your classroom library, you can get special savings with this brand new Classroom Community Collection box set (available now for preorder):
Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but my own favorite part of this box set is actually the spine. I love how bright and cheery the pencil looks on a bookshelf!
When ordering the box set through the shop here on my website, you save 20% off of what it would be to get each book individually (making it so that you essentially end up getting one of the books for free)!
Book Activity Bundles for Building Classroom Community
And if you might want to use more than one of the extension activities to go with all of the books, you get a discount when ordering them all together in either of these activity bundles. The first one here is the original book companion bundle:
And this one below is a MEGA bundle. It includes all resources from the original bundle, plus the year-long Class Family Morning Meetings resource.
Creating a Class Community YOU Love
Taking the time to build classroom community not only benefits the academic and personal growth of your students, but it also makes an invaluable impact on your own day-to-day life, as their teacher.
Simply put, teaching is just so much more effective (and enjoyable!) when students have a positive relationship with you and with each other. It leads to better behavior choices on their part, and higher motivation to want to learn and to work together. Those connections are what make your class a type of family that students love being a part of, and one that you genuinely enjoy being a part of too.
And creating that type of learning environment isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Teachers have all kinds of challenges being thrown their way all the time, and deserve every kind of support they can receive. My hope is that these books and activities can serve as helpful tools for you, as you work to establish and nurture your class community throughout the school year!
