First Read Aloud!

My first Read Aloud with my kindergarten class went really well!  At least, in my head I think it went well.  I read "Sheila Rae, The Brave" by Kevin Henkes, and it's about a little girl who thinks she's brave and gets lost, taking a long route home.  My co-teacher gave it to me, and it was the first time I'd ever heard of the book.  So I quickly scanned through the book, and thought the story was very cute and that many kids would be able to comprehend the story.  I also felt confident enough to lead an introduction with "who knows what it means to be brave?"  I think it was a good lead-in because the kids responded well.  At least half of the kids raised their hands to give examples of someone they knew who was brave.

I also feel good about reading the story with "silly" character voices and other varying voices to make the story livelier.  I'm slowly letting myself be silly, and I can see that the kids respond better when I am silly and energetic.

So.  There are also areas that I need to work on for next time.  One big mistake I made was that I didn't thoroughly read the book.  I didn't even notice that Sheila Rae's little sister was hiding and following her on the way home.  A couple of kids yelled out, "I see a tail!"  I had no idea why they said that!  Turns out, it was the sister's tail and she was hiding.  I also feel like I could have asked more questions to assess their understanding, like ask for predictions and if they understood vocabulary.

Overall, I am glad with the experience, and I am looking forward to my next Read Aloud.