My 5 Favorite Spring Read Alouds
Spring has arrived, and I am back with five picture books that are perfect for spring time! Whether you are looking for spring-themed picture books for your classroom, remote learning, homeschooling or your children at home, this post has just what you need. These spring read aloud books are perfect for students with autism and other ability levels, as well as preschool and kindergarten-aged students. You will also find quick augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tips and core vocabulary recommendations that will benefit all students in your class, regardless of ability level. Vocabulary words from each book are also highlighted. You can download my FREE spring vocabulary cards that correspond to the books in this post. The vocabulary cards are available with and without modifications for visual impairments, specifically cortical visual impairment. This download can be found at the end of the post.
What is my FAVORITE spring read aloud?
I See Spring By Charles Ghinga
After writing a post about books for each season, I had to complete this blog series by picking Charles Ginga’s book again! These seasonal books are my absolute favorite. The illustrations are bright and engaging. This book focuses on spring activities, as well as items that you see in spring. This book also includes repetitive text, “I see” statements, on each page. This “I see” statement is the only sentence on each page.
Some focus words for this picture book are: rain, robin, seeds, toad, crow, worms, sun, and bees.
The core words included in this winter read aloud are: see, down, in, up, on, go, and more.
AAC tip: Focus on the “I see” statements on each page. Students who are able will focus on expanding each “I see” statement by a single word. This can include colors, adjectives such as big, little, tall, short, etc, and numeral adjectives. Students just being introduced to the core words “I” and “see” will focus on this phrase or sentence.
Four of my other favorite spring picture books….
My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell
I have shared some other seasonal books by Anne Rockwell, and I love this one too! This story is about a little girl experiencing spring as she looks for a robin. Most of the illustrations in this spring read aloud are simple. In addition, the images clearly represent the object and relate to the text on the page. There are 1-3 simple sentences on each page.
Some words to focus on during this read aloud are: robin, spring, bee, tree, garden, toad, daffodils, rain and worm.
The core words included in this spring read aloud are: like, went (go), saw (see), in, behind, my, on, I, and up.
AAC tip: Most pages in this story focus on the things that the character sees when she is looking for the robin. While reading this book, you can focus on yes/no questions. For example, “did the girl find the flowers?” or “did the girl find the robin?”.
Garden Day! By Candice Ransom
This picture book is a “Ready to Read” picture book. I love these books because they include simple words, rhyme and rhythm, and picture clues. This book is about a brother and sister working in their garden. The illustrations are bright, and the words on the page correspond nicely to the images. There are 1-2 simple sentences on each page.
Notable vocabulary for this book includes: bunnies, robin, seeds, toad, crow, worm, sun, and bees.
The core words that can be targeted in this picture book are: good, we, go, eat, make, in, and you.
AAC tip: This book discusses the steps of gardening with the brother and sister. Students can use a fringe word page to identify the steps and materials needed to plant seeds. Some of the words to use for the fringe word boards are: weeds, dirt, dig, hoe, seeds, scarecrow, and water.
Worm Weather by Jean Taft
This book is about a brother and sister on a rainy day. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous in the story. In addition, each page in this story has 1-2 phrases on it. Core words are targeted in this story, however many actions are as well, including skip, hop, dash, wiggle, squirm, jump, stomp, crash, run, sing, swing, and fly.
Some of the vocabulary targeted in this spring read aloud are: worm, rain, boots, puddle, raincoat, cloud, sun, birds, rainbow, and mud.
AAC tip: Since there are only phrases on each page, I suggest working on expanding the phrases with students. Students could identify the pictures further by color or size. For example, instead of “boots jump,” students could help write or say “black boots jump.”
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
This spring read aloud walks the readers through the sights of spring. The illustrations are beautiful and bright. The images represent the text on the page. The text in this story is a little more complex, as it discusses cause and effect as it relates to winter and spring.
Some of the vocabulary within this book are: tree, flowers, bird, seeds, sun, rain, mud, puddles, garden, bees, boots, and worm.
This book also contains many core vocabulary words such as: you, make, and, will, come, like and not.
AAC tip: This book focuses on many of the things that happen before spring (in the winter) and after spring arrives. Students can focus on labeling or sorting events as happening “before” spring or “after” spring.
Since these books contain similar vocabulary words, I have included vocabulary cards for students to practice identification and generalization of this spring vocabulary. There are three versions of vocabulary cards included. The first set has a white background. The second set is high contrast for students with cortical visual impairment (CVI). The third set includes bubbled words on a black background. Again, these were designed for students with CVI. You can download my FREE Vocabulary Cards for picture books about spring below.
Interested in my other seasonal book lists and FREE vocabulary cards? Check them out below!
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