Student writing and reading are intrinsically linked. As teachers, it’s not just our responsibility to teach our students the mechanics of writing and reading. Rather, we must work to ignite a passion for both! That connection between reading and writing is key to unlocking our students hidden potential as strong writers. We can use rich literature as mentor text (read more about why mentor texts matter) read-alouds to inspire our students. Sometimes, all it takes to bring out their inner writer is the right book. So, how do we find those perfect books to help our students grow as writers? Luckily, Steps to Literacy has already compiled collections of Read-Aloud Writing Connectors that you and your students will love!
I want to thank Steps to Literacy for sponsoring this post. I received compensation for this post, but all opinions, ideas, and thoughts are mine.I only share about resources, products, and companies that I use and believe in and I believe will be beneficial to you as well!
What Are Read-Aloud Writing Connectors?
We already know that reading and writing are so closely intertwined. It’s so important to share rich, engaging books with our students to help spark their imagination. Read-Aloud Writing Connectors are books that do just that. Steps to Literacy has gathered grade level collections for K-5 books that include engaging and exciting story lines to ignite student writing. These books are designed to inspire, but not overwhelm. With their clean, easy-to-follow text with high-quality illustrations, students will fall in love with these stories and feel inspired to create their own narrative, persuasive, opinion, and creative writing pieces! Each grade level collection includes 10 titles that you and your students will absolutely love! Most of the books in these collections are hard cover and large formats- perfect for whole-class read-alouds and durable since your students will want to see these up close!
See each grade level collection here: Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade
Inspiring Students to Write Through Read-Alouds
There are a few things that I absolutely love about these Read Aloud Writing Connectors. I know you’ll love them as well. First, I absolutely love the Writing Prompt Guide that is included with each set. This one page guide is such a handy tool as you’re planning your writing lessons! The Writing Prompt Guide includes a thought provoking writing connection for each title included in the set. This allows you to easily develop a writing lesson around each book!
I also love the simple story lines paired with vivid illustrations in each kindergarten title that I received. My kindergarten students will absolutely love each of these. I plan to use them after Spring Break as we move into writing simple stories!
I especially love Planet Kindergarten because it will definitely capture the attention of Kindergartners with the beautiful and engaging illustrations along with the silly but relatable story.
Lastly, I love that each set focuses on various forms of writing, so you can really utilize the writing connectors throughout the school year. Many of the books also lend themselves to a variety of writing types. This allows you to use them more than once. This repetition is perfect because multiple exposures to a text allow children to delve deeper each time!
And speaking of digging deeper, I’ve also created some Dig Deeper Quick Cards that will pair perfectly with the Read-Aloud Writing Connectors. These cards are great to keep with your Writing Prompt Guide. The include suggestions to help your students add details and dig deeper as they write their pieces inspired by these amazing read alouds!
Click the picture below to download the Dig Deeper Quick Cards.
If you are in need of new, rick texts to inspire your student writers, be sure to check out these amazing Read-Aloud Writing Connectors from Steps to Literacy!
See each grade level collection here: Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade
Want to see more of my favorite resources from Steps to Literacy? Check out the posts below.
Listening Libraries Diverse Chapter Books NGSS Science Book Collections Back to School Favorites White Board Tips Tactile Letters Christmas Crafts Small Group Organization STEM Tools Brain Breaks Calm Down Kit Ideas
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