There are so many concepts that we are simultaneously teaching our young readers in their primary school years, that we sometimes might forget to nurture an organic love of reading itself.
We love phonics decodable texts for the way they help teach reading through sight words and sound-based words. But for teachers looking to teach a love of reading through their favorite themes, sometimes we are at a loss finding the right book for the right child, to help build a life-long love of reading.
I created a 40-book themed reader resource that will support teachers and young students looking for the right-fit book that will keep them engaged while naturally supporting their growth as readers.
The Value of Thematic Readers in the Classroom
Thematic readers encourage inclusion and involvement of students based on topics that are relevant and interesting to them. These kinds of readers help children of all abilities build their prior knowledge and build their critical thinking skills.
Teaching with thematic readers also gives teachers an opportunity to teach flexibly to different learning styles and needs in their own classroom. When we teach through themed readers, children build a love of learning through topics that interest them and that helps build a broader vocabulary, a higher confidence with reading and learning in general, and even helps build social emotional skills.
A 20-Themed Reader Resource for Primary Teachers and Students
If you are looking to get started with reading through themes, this fairly large resource includes 40 books to help you focus on engaging children to read through their favorite themes such as seasons, animals, habitats, etc…
These books are differentiated in two ways. We start with 20 themes. There are 20 easy readers and 20 more complex readers- meaning each easy reader will have a more complex reader with the same theme.
These readers build off of their easy reader counterparts. For example: a Farm Animals easy reader with 6 pages, 3-5 vocabulary words and 1 sentence per page will have a coordinating harder reader with the same theme, but will include more sentences and vocabulary words.
Every easy reader will have a more complex reader with the same theme so students can build measurable growth and enhance their love of reading through themes they already know and enjoy.
What this Themed Reader Resource Includes
Check out how each reader set builds on learning through the same theme using more complex text and skill builders.
20 Themed Easy Readers Have:
- 6 pages of text
- 1-2 sentences per page
- Patterned and/or repetitive text
- 3-5 themed vocabulary words
- 1 page of fluency drill to include the themed vocabulary words
20 Themed Harder Readers Have
- 6 pages of text
- 2-3 sentences of text per page
- 7-9 themed vocabulary words
- 1 page of fluency drill to include the themed vocabulary words
There is a “fluency drill” on the last page of each reader. All readers follow the same template so they will build recognition and ease of use over time for little learners who need and enjoy that predictability and structure in their day. The main goals with this resource are to use small books to help teach kids vocabulary, to motivate a natural love of reading with themes, and to simply enjoy reading books!
If you’re looking to equip your classroom with accessible readers for your Reading Workshop, Centers, Small Group Time, Independent Reading Time, Fluency and Vocabulary Work, or you simply want to provide more reading options for your group of students this year, check out this new resource in my TPT store and make sure to rate and review once you have used it to help other teachers recognize and access this enriching tool to help build a love of reading with their students too!
