30 Amazing Teachers ~ Sarah

Hi! My name is Sarah from A Rocky Top Teacher! I am a second grade teacher who recently finished up my first year in 5th grade. So...I feel as if I can officially call myself a fifth grade teacher! I am so honored to be celebrating Mrs. 3rd Grade! She is one of the sweetest ladies EVER! <3 

When I moved to fifth, I was in charge of teaching ELA and Social Studies. I have been so grateful for this opportunity because I am an avid book reader and history lover. This new grade level has been challenging because I have had to keep up-to-date on what kiddos love to read, how to ignite a passion for reading in ALL students, and being savvy on how to keep our classroom library stocked with ALL THE BOOKS!!

Seriously. #allthebooks

We know where my personal money goes to now in our classroom. Forget the flair pens and colored card stock. I rack up on books! 

So, I thought I would share some of my favorite MUST HAVE books for the upper elementary classroom.

Are you looking for new books to purchase for your classroom? Do you want to start books clubs with your kiddos? Do you need some new ideas for classroom read alouds?!

Here are some of my classroom book suggestions!

Wonder has been out for a few years, but it is a fabulous book club/literature circle text as well as read aloud. The story follows a young boy with a disability and his journey as he goes to public school and learns how to make friends and overcome obstacles. 

This was our second read aloud this year. I actually read it last summer and freaked out after I read it. The little dash of magic, somehow realistic and believable storyline, interesting characters, and

 and over-the-top story was perfect for a read aloud. 

I hate to admit it, BUT I had never read a comic or "graphic novel" before this school year. I am SERIOUS when I will do whatever it takes to find books that my kiddos love to read so when a few of them voiced interest in our classroom building up our graphic novel collection, I jumped all in! We have a ton of graphic novels now, but this one is dear to my heart because a kiddo read it then passed her copy on to me. Roller Girl is a great story about learning how to support friends, never giving up, and finding "yourself". 

I am a HUGE Liesl Shurtliff fan. RUMP and RED are classroom musts! These fractured fairytales are full of wit, adventure, and heart-pulling story lines. 

 The War that Saved My Life is a great historical fiction novel. This story follows two young children and their life as they move away from their mom and live with a stranger to escape the German bombs being dropped on London during WWII. 

 Honestly, this book could be a great book club/lit circle text OR a read aloud. It was the 2015 Global Read Aloud book, and my students participated in the GRA and LOVED it! I featured it as our read aloud and was so touched by the storyline! I don't want to give much a way other than to say..YOU NEED THIS! 

Honestly, I could go on and on and on and on...you get the idea! Be sure to follow me on Twitter or IG for the latest snapshots of our classroom book shenanigans!