The end of the school year is such a special time in the classroom. Your students have grown SO much—academically, socially, emotionally—and now it’s time to start wrapping up your time together in a fun and meaningful way.One of the best ways to do that? With great end of year read alouds!
These favorite end of year read alouds are perfect for celebrating your classroom community, reflecting on the year, and helping your students start thinking ahead to what’s next. Plus, they lend themselves beautifully to the same reading comprehension strategies you’ve been working on all year long—so you can keep the learning going while making sweet end-of-year memories.
Here are 4 of my favorite end of year read alouds for Kindergarten and 1st grade, along with a reading strategy each one pairs well with!
Reading Strategy: Point of View
Your students will giggle all the way through this silly story about what teachers really do after the school day ends. Spoiler alert: it’s everything from riding scooters to sliding down the hallway in socks!
This book is such a fun way to practice identifying point of view. You can model your thinking out loud with lines like: “They munch on cold pizza left over form lunch…” and “They wear plastic goggles, fill beakers with goop…” readers are able to reflect on the pronouns being used. Often times the pronouns give us clues about who is telling the story.
Writing Extension: It’s also a great springboard for writing—have your students write or draw what they think their teacher does after school!
You can find a ready-to-go read aloud lesson that includes comprehension questions and a writing craft inside The Read Aloud Library or here in my shop. It’s a must-add to your end of year read alouds.
Reading Strategy: Making Connections
This book is well-loved for your end of year read alouds for a reason! It captures the bittersweet feeling of the last day of school—when everyone’s excited for summer, but a little sad to say goodbye. Julie has truly done it again after First Day Jitters and Valentine’s Day Jitters.
Use this book to practice making text-to-self connections. Ask questions like:
Your students will see themselves in the story, and you’ll likely find yourself getting a little misty-eyed right along with them.
Writing Extension: This one also makes a great class book activity—have everyone contribute a page about their favorite memory from the year.
Reading Strategy: Visualizing
Let imaginations run wild with this high-energy, rhyming book about a boy who dreams up his ideal school—complete with hover desks and flying buses! It’s a student favorite to add to your end of year read alouds!
Use this book to practice visualizing. The descriptive language and whimsical illustrations make it perfect for helping students “see” the story in their minds.
Pause and ask:
“What would your dream classroom look like? What sounds would you hear?”
Writing Extension: Then, invite students to draw and label their own dream school or write a few sentences to describe it. You’ll get everything from donut snack machines to underwater libraries!
The read aloud lesson inside The Read Aloud Library includes everything you need to stop and discuss visualizing with this fun, creative story.
Reading Strategy: Making Connections
From the creators of Rosie Revere and Iggy Peck comes this sweet and heartwarming story about a shy teacher named Lila Greer. Your students will love seeing how she overcomes her fears and discovers the impact she has on her students.
This is a great book for practicing making connections and discussing emotions and feelings. You can also use this story to open up a beautiful conversation about what makes a great teacher—and what your students have learned this year.
Find the lesson and add it to your end of year read alouds from The Read Aloud Library or HERE in my shop.
Want something that’s just right for your Kinder or 1st grade readers to read on their own? My End-of-Year Decodable Reader is the perfect way to wrap up your phonics instruction with a text your students can read on their own. It’s simple, engaging, and lets students feel like confident readers as the year comes to a close.
And the best part? It’s only $1.25!
Click here to grab the End-of-Year Decodable Reader for $1.25
All of the lessons mentioned in this post (and so many more!) are part of The Read Aloud Library—a growing collection of done-for-you read aloud lessons designed to teach reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, and more through engaging picture books.
When you join, you’ll get:
Whether you want to end the year strong or get a head start on next year, The Read Aloud Library has everything you need to bring read aloud time to life.
Click here to join the Read Aloud Library today!
These end of year read alouds are a fun, meaningful way to wrap up your year while continuing to support your students’ growth as readers and thinkers. I hope you and your students love them as much as I do!
Let me know in the comments—what’s your favorite read aloud to share during the last week of school?
Want to use the latest research to boost your readers during small groups? This FREE guide is packed with engaging ideas to help them grow!
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
