Back to School Read Aloud Favorite

By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 09, 2024

Are you on the hunt for the perfect back to school read aloud? I have you covered! Do Unto Otters: A Book about Manners by Laurie Keller is everything a back to school read aloud should be – sweet, funny, and engaging. It also has a solid big idea for little learners to connect to.

I have used this book at the start of the school year for years. It continues to be a favorite with both me and my students.

The story talks all about kindness and manners – just the things you want to touch on at the start of the school year. It is a fantastic read aloud to help build classroom community!

For a complete, no prep unit to use along with this engaging story, click on the image or button below!

Interactive Back to School Read Aloud

I love using this sweet story as part of an interactive read aloud. In fact, it is typically the very first interactive read aloud I do with my students at the start of the school year.

As I discussed in a previous post, Interactive Read Alouds are highly beneficial for students. They can aid both teaching and learning in the following ways:

•Encourage classroom discussion.

•Allow for thinking time.

•Allow students to build off of each other’s ideas.

•Provide powerful language experiences.

•Help students grow background knowledge and understanding of universal concepts.

•Expand vocabulary.

•Provide practice with comprehension strategies.

•Enhance curiosity, imagination, memory, and creativity.

•Help students make connections to real life situations.

•Provides an opportunity for teachers to model fluency, and allow students to hear what proficient reading sounds like.

•Introduces students to new authors and genres.

•Fosters an enjoyment and love of reading, and increases student interest in independent reading.

•Encourages focus and reflection.

•Builds classroom community.

•Increases student attention spans and listening skills.

•Exposes students to worlds outside their immediate comfort zones.

With so many benefits, it is hard to find a reason to NOT do Interactive Read Alouds with your students! For more information on Interactive Read Alouds, you can check out some of my previous posts by clicking here or on the image at the bottom of this page.

Back to School Read Aloud Activities

While we read through the story as a class, we focus on answering targeted before, during, and after reading questions. This is a great opportunity, as the teacher, to stop and model your thinking with your students. It is also a great time to work some think-pair-share time into your classroom discussion.

Afterwards, we review some of the ways the rabbit hopes the otters in the story will show kindness and manners. In small groups, students brainstorm and record their ideas.

Later, we use the information we gathered in groups to help us create our own foldables. Under each flap, students write about ways they can show manners and kindness to others. When done, we pop these into our interactive reading notebooks.

Once he have solidified our ideas about showing manners and kindness to others, we choose our favorite and write about it in a bit more detail. We put our good copies together into a fun craftivity to hang up in the hallway – they make such cute displays!

For additional kindness related activities, check out of 30 ways for students to show kindness post!

And there we have it! I hope this helps bring you to an end of your hunt for the perfect back to school read aloud! Is this a book that you have used with your learners in the past? I would love to hear all about it in the comment section!

For more information on activities to do with your learners at the start of the school year, check out these first week of school activities!

Looking for the Do Unto Otters resources I used in this post?

You can grab my entire Do Unto Otters unit here, or by clicking on the image below. It contains all of the Do Unto Otters activities and resources discussed in this post, as well as several other fun activities!

Interested in seeing this resource in action? Check it out on YouTube by watching the video below!

Looking for some FREE resources to help you plan your next Interactive Read Aloud?

Click on the image below for a FREE download with information and free planning pages to help you set up your next Interactive Read Aloud!

Looking for more Interactive Read Aloud Resources?

Click on one of the images below to go directly to my Teachers Pay Teachers store – I have a wide variety of different Interactive Read Alouds available, to go along with some super engaging picture books!

Interested in reading more about Interactive Read Alouds?

Check out some of the previous posts in my ongoing series on Interactive Read Alouds by clicking on the links below!

Interactive Read Alouds: What are they?

What are the benefits of using Interactive Read Alouds in your classroom?

Interactive Read Alouds: Planning Tips and Focus Skills

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If you are interested in signing up for my email list, you can do so by clicking on the link below. I periodically send out emails with free resources, teaching tips, and exclusive deals. Signing up will also give you immediate access to some of my best selling Interactive Notebook resources – foldables, graphic organizers, and other fun activities.