The day you begin

Read aloud the mentor text The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson on the first day of school to your first second third fourth fifth grade or homeschool students and use this Clutter Free Classroom standards-based digital and printable book companion resource packed with writing prompts and activities for kids. You’ll love teaching writing using picture books! Learn more about how to use this quick and easy literacy activity packet this new school year here!

The Day You Begin is a wonderful picture book to read aloud in your classroom. Learn how to use these book activities to help you celebrate diversity in the classroom. Check out The Day You Begin lesson plan with discussion questions to engage all your students.

When you look across your classroom, what do you see? Are your students from similar backgrounds and cultures and do they have similar experiences? Or do you see a diverse group of kids who come from

Check out my list of 9 great back to school read alouds all about diversity, conquering fear, and mastering communication and behavior in the classroom.

Keep students engaged with Novel Effect activities before, during, and after your read-aloud of Jacqueline Woodson’s The Day You Begin.

Find out why teachers should be using icebreaker activities for small groups all year long and not just at the beginning of the school year.

To have a good relationship with your students from the very beginning of the year, it’s important to build trust, understanding, and acceptance. To help you do this and get your new school year kicked off right, check out these 27 different read-alouds to get your new students setting goals, building relationships, having positive attitudes, and just being excited about being back in school!

Perfect craft activity to accompany the children's book, "The Day You Begin" by Jacqueline Woodson: a back to school reading adventure about being proud of who you are and bold enough to share your story. Great for Reading Centers! Read aloud the story "The Day You Begin" or watch MaiStoryBook's FREE interactive read aloud video, and then encourage students to create their own Welcome Doors crafts to record they're own stories and share who they are with their peers. YouTube: MaiStoryBook

The beginning of the year is an exciting time but it can some big feelings for students. The Day You Begin is a beautiful story that you need to add to your collection of read aloud books. It opens the door to so many different discussions about creating a positive classroom community, building relationships, diversity, inclusion, and so much more! In this post, I’m sharing the reasons why I love this story and activities that you can use with this fantastic beginning of the year read aloud!

Does the first week of Kindergarten have you shaking in your boots? You are not alone! I've been at this for a little while now so you would think it would get easier with time but I am here to tell you it does not! I still get anxious right before school starts. What will they be like? Will I remember what to do at line up time? What if I don't set things up right and I mess up the whole rest of the year? (sounds dramatic but that is really what goes through my head!) I sat down as soon as…