What I'm Reading to My Class - Wayside School

I am in the middle of reading the Wayside School trilogy to my second grade class. I love these books. Out of all the chapter books I have read aloud to second graders over my fourteen year teaching career, the Wayside School books are the most fun. This year, there is one boy in my class in particular who has not paid very much attention to the chapter books I have read, but I can hear him laughing at every outrageous event that happens at Wayside School. The three books in the series by Louis Sachar are:

• Wayside Stories from Wayside School
• Wayside School is Falling Down
• Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger

All three books are a riot, but Wayside School is Falling Down is my favorite. Chapters 6, 9, 10 and 26 are especially fun. Chapter 9 is incredibly fun to read to second graders. There is a surprise in it, a "mushroom surprise" that is so shocking (to second graders) and funny that by the end of the chapter they are laughing so hard that they can barely even hear me reading anymore. It's a great time, and I think gives kids a huge glimpse of how much fun books can be.

The Wayside School books are terrific read alouds that most any school-age child would enjoy. I would recommend them for parents to read to their children, but since the stories are set in a school and much of the plot revolves around the interaction between students, their teacher and other school staff, they are especially fun to be read aloud at school. For this reason, I am planning on holding off on reading these books to my daughters for a few years, in hopes that one of their teachers will treat their class with these hilarious books.

Never read 'em? You're missing out! Read 'em!