Books that I love to use in the fifth grade classroom!
Read Alouds:
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleishmen
- Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher
- Word Eater by Mary Amato
- The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
- When I Was Your Age Edited by Amy Ehrlich
- Guys Write For Guys Read Edited by Jon Scieszka
- Chicken Soup for the Soul books
- Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant
- The Vangogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant
- Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little
- The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
- 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy
- The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
- A Nation’s Hope by Matt De La Pena
- Wonder by RJ Palacio
Poetry Books:
- Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
- Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
- Honey, I Love by Eloise Greenfield
- Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman
- Big Talk by Paul Fleichman
- Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
- The Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
- Pizza, Pigs & Poetry: How to Write a Poem by Jack Prelutsky
- A Pizza the Size of the Sun by Jack Prelutsky
- A Writing Type of Day: Poems for Young Poets by Ralph Fletcher
Book Club Books:
- Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
- The Report Card by Andrew Clements
- Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
- My Name is Keoko by Linda Sue Park
- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
- Al Capone Does My Shirts by Genifer Choldenko
- Loser by Jerry Spinelli
- Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- Rules by Cynthia Lord
- Skellig by David Almond
- Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
- The Fighting Ground by Avi
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis
Mentor Texts:
- Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
- I Have a Dream Speech (excerpt) by Martin Luther King Jr.
- House of Mango Street (short stories) by Sandra Cisneros
- Maniac Magee (excerpts) by Jerri Spinelli
- Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
- Fireflies by Julie Brinkoe
- Shortcut by Donald Crews
- The Paperboy by Dav Pilky
- Those Shoes by Maribeth Bolts
- Shark Attack by Cathy East Dubowski
- A Writer’s Notebook by Ralph Fletcher
- Live Writing by Ralph Fletcher
- How to Write Your Life Story by Ralph Fletcher
- How Writers Work by Ralph Fletcher
- Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto
- Fox by Margaret Wild
Professional Books I Can Read Over and Over Again!
- Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
- Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire by Rafe Esquith
- Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones
Reading & Writing Workshop:
- The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins
- In the Middle by Nancie Atwell
- Awakening the Heart by Georgia Heard
- When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers
- Hidden Gems by Katherine Bomer
- Words Their Way by Donald Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templetone & Francine Johnston
- The Power of Grammar by Mary Ehrenworth & Vicki Vinton
- Day by Day by Ruth Ayers & Stacey Shubitz
- Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher & Joann Portalupi
- Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey
- How’s It Going? by Carl Anderson
- Reading in Small Groups by Jennifer Serravallo
- Notebook Connections by Aimee Buckner
- Independent Writing by Colleen Cruz
Wow, I love this book list. I’ve taught 2nd-8th grades, and so many of these books are familiar. I’ve seen other titles on your list I want to read, especially your professional books you can read over and over. Thanks for posting this list! Denise
I’m glad you like the list Denise!
Thanks for the follow on twitter. This is a great list.
I’m a teacher too, in California, and you and I have read many of the same books! I am a huge fan of Lucy Calkins and Nancie Atwell and others. I teach writing to home schoolers (a strange job, but I stumbled upon it) and I use many of those books about to teach writing. I am excited to look up some of those books that I have not heard of! Thanks for a great blog! I stumbled across your blog when I was searching for the text of “Your Name in Gold.” I lost my printout of the story, which I use in my classes, and thought I’d google it and found the text in your blog. Thank you!