With spring comes so many of my favorite things: warmer weather, sunnier days, and some of my favorite read alouds! Here’s a round-up of my favorite spring read alouds for kindergarten. Be sure to download all of these activities below!
Spring Read Alouds for Kindergarten:
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Old Bear is one of my all-time favorite books. I’m a huge fan of Kevin Henkes in general. The text and the illustrations are simply beautiful. It’s great to read aloud just for fun, but it also can lead to discussions about seasons and animals that hibernate. I made this “What Can Old Bear See?” writing page to help students recall what Old Bear could see once he woke up in the spring.
There are three versions of the page so you can pick which is most appropriate for your students’ needs.
Clifford’s Spring Clean-Up by Norman Bridwell
Clifford is well-loved by many children and if you don’t already have it in your classroom library, Clifford’s Spring Clean-Up is a great addition. You can tie it into discussions about Earth Day or just how we can keep things clean in general. After reading this book, students can brainstorm ways they can clean up and then use those ideas in a mini book.
Egg by Kevin Henkes
Since you can never have too much Kevin Henkes in your life, I want to talk about the book Egg. I didn’t read it for the first time until recently and it is so much fun. It is a great book for talking about animals that lay eggs, but it can even lead to discussions about feelings, being a good friend, and inclusion.
I thought it would be fun to have students create their own hidden egg. In this activity, students can draw whatever they like on the egg – an animal, an object, food, etc. Then they’ll write three clues about it. They will color and cut out an egg shape to glue over the egg on the page, then lift it up like a flap. These would make such a fun bulletin board!
What Can You See in Spring? by Sian Smith
As a read-aloud, What Can You See in Spring? isn’t an obvious choice at first. However, it’s definitely a good and simple read-aloud and is great for discussions about non-fiction text features to interactive writing.
I made this quick but fun scrambled sentence activity that goes along great with the book. You can brainstorm as a class beforehand or do an interactive writing activity with the sentence, “You can see ____.” Then students will complete the page as an independent writing activity.
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
No book roundup would be complete without Eric Carle. There are several of his books that would work for spring. I love The Tiny Seed because it’s full of rich text and discusses topics that aren’t commonly found in other books, such as the fact that not all seeds have the chance to grow. I also love that it covers the life cycle of the plant in a thorough manner.
I made this retelling craftivity and it would be a fun spring bulletin board. It also makes a great informal assessment tool for retelling. I cut strips of green 12×18 paper for the stems.
Plants in Spring by Martha E. H. Rustad
Plants in Spring is full of exciting and colorful photographs and I think it’s a great example of non-fiction text for kindergarten and first grade. I also love that the text is simple enough for students so they can grasp the concepts, but it is full of vocabulary.
I made a fun sorting activity that can first be done in a pocket chart as a whole-class activity. Then students can complete the activity page independently.
Just for Fun Spring Read Alouds:
Here are a few more of my favorite spring read-alouds!
Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson is just as much fun as Tap the Magic Tree. If you haven’t read either of them, they are extremely interactive in some of the simplest ways. This book would work for a whole-class read-aloud, but be sure to read it with just one or a few children as well. I love reading this book to my own kids!
Worm Weather by Jean Taft is full of fun words and great illustrations. Kids seem to be attracted to anything about worms and this book is one of our favorites!
The Thing About Spring by Daniel Kirk is such a fun book. The illustrations are great and the story is really creative. You can discuss the changing of the seasons and what animals do in different seasons. Also, you can compare and contract the characters’ feelings about different seasons.
All of these spring read aloud activities are available for free! Just enter your information below and the activities will be sent straight to your inbox.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of my favorite spring read alouds for kindergarten! Let me know if you use these activities!
Happy reading!