50 Great Read Alouds for Middle School StudentsKrystina Kelley & Jenny McCrackenBelle Valley School District, Belleville, IL

Why do read alouds?

• Motivates kids to read • Increases comprehension• Improves listening skills• Demonstrates fluency• Builds vocabulary• Provides a spring board for

discussion in a safe atmosphere• Breaks up the monotony• Builds lifetime readers• FUN!

What make a good read aloud?

• Fast-paced• Can't be too long• Lots of action• Not too much dialog (unless you

are really good at doing voices!) • High interest topics• Challenging material

Bibliography• Cunningham, Pat (2005). Struggling Readers: If

they don't read much, how they ever gonna get good?. The Reading Teacher. 59, 88-90.

• Layne, Steven (2009). Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers. Portland: Stenhouse.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Falling In by Frances O’Roark Dowell

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The River Between Us by Richard Peck

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Mick Hart was Here by Barbara Park

Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes (illustrated by E.B. Lewis)

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

The Scary Stories Treasury collected from folklore and retold by Alvin Schwartz