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June 23, 2025 β€’ 11 mins

Ever found yourself frantically scanning your bookshelf minutes before a read aloud, grabbing any book you can find while hoping it somehow works for your lesson? You're not alone! In this episode, we dive into why even the most experienced teachers find themselves in this last-minute scramble and how it impacts both your confidence and your students' learning experience. I share my own embarrassing story of choosing the wrong book for a story elements lesson (spoiler: it didn't have any clear story elements!) and why the "I'll just come up with questions as I read" approach rarely delivers the meaningful instruction our students deserve.

Discover the simple organizational systems that transformed my own teaching and helped thousands of other elementary teachers break free from this cycle. I'll walk you through my game-changing sticky note method, subject binder system, and 15-minute weekly planning ritual that will help you reclaim the power of your read alouds without adding hours to your prep time. Whether you're a read aloud rookie or a veteran educator, these practical strategies will help you stop scrambling and start delivering confident, purposeful read alouds that make the most of your precious instructional time.

πŸŽ‰ Join the Organize Your Read Alouds Workshop for FREE!

🌟 50 Picture Books Every Classroom Needs

πŸ“ Show Notes

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Keep your teaching colorful,
Sara :)

The Colorful Apple

Full disclosure: Amazon links in my descriptions are usually affiliate links which means if you purchase through that link, I receive a very small percentage of the sale.

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