Booksource’s 2022 Literacy Takeaways

Booksource Banter Blog helps educators select the best classroom library books for their students, manage their classroom libraries and foster engaged reading. Here’s a roundup of the best literacy takeaways of this year!

1. The Lifelong Benefits of Reading

While strong reading skills support academic success, engaged reading benefits students long after they leave the […]

A Letter to You, From Mr. Schu

Popular children’s book author John Schu, aka Mr. Schu, sent us a letter, and it’s addressed to you! Read his thoughts on the benefits of read alouds and sharing stories in the classroom and learn more about his recent books.

Dear Colleague,  

I am writing you this message on October 11, 2022, from 32,000 feet […]

How Trade Books Make Learning Phonics Fun

While decodables are an excellent opportunity for in-context phonics practice, these books can become repetitive when they are not paired with more engaging texts. That’s why trade books are the perfect supplement! They give students a chance to practice letters and sounds while experiencing books they enjoy.

Fun Ways Educators Can Use Books in […]

12 Books About Environmentalism and Climate Change

Kids are the future, and the quality of their lives depends on the state of our planet! Although your students may think they are too young to make a change, these timely books about environmentalism say otherwise. Encourage readers of all ages to get involved in saving the Earth when you share books about climate […]

10 Ways to Engage Readers for Long-term Success

While we know literacy impacts success across all subject areas, there are many factors that affect why students may struggle with or dislike reading. Luckily, there are also many reliable ways to engage readers and help them achieve long-term success!

1. Choose books across various topics and genres.

If a student is not excited to […]

9 At-Home Reading Strategies to Share with Parents & Families

If your school or district is receiving CARES Act funding, you can use it to meet your students’ literacy needs. Because your students still need books, we are working with educators across the country to create custom solutions that capitalize on their CARES funding and ensure book access and choice for students. 

As teachers, you know that reading together supports children’s literacy development, specifically […]

8 Tips to Make Read Alouds More Engaging

Reading aloud helps to develop a
child’s love of literature, increases their vocabulary and exposes them to a
wider variety of books. It is also an essential part of building crucial
literacy skills from preschool all the way to middle school. In addition,
reading to your students is a fun and effective way to connect with them.

So, what can you do […]

By |May 27th, 2020|Read Alouds|0 Comments

Our Top 10 Favorite Read Alouds for Any Age

Reading aloud to children is one of the most important things adults can do. It builds foundational language skills, introduces vocabulary, provides a model of fluent, expressive reading and helps children recognize what reading for pleasure is all about. 

Next time you’re looking for a great book to read aloud, try one of our favorites, from gentle picture books for little ones to poetry to […]

By |April 14th, 2020|Read Alouds|1 Comment

3 Reasons Wonder Makes a Wonderful Classroom Read Aloud

WONDER-ing what to read next…?

It’s nearly time for Auggie Pullman to grace the silver screen, and in the spirit of “the movie’s coming out so hurry up and read the book,” here are a few of my favorite things about Wonder that I hope will compel you to pick up a copy, and perhaps read it […]

By |October 26th, 2017|Read Alouds|0 Comments

How to Electrify Learning with Informational Read Alouds

Reading aloud to young children has always been a delight, but I must plead guilty to spending too many years focusing on fiction-based read alouds. I was afraid that informational selections couldn’t possibly hold the attention of my ever-so-wiggly elementary students. But how wrong I was!

Once I began to experiment with informational read alouds from […]

By |November 22nd, 2016|Read Alouds|0 Comments