6 Valentine’s Day Books Perfect for Teaching Reading Strategies

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and there are so many great Valentine’s Day books to read aloud in your classroom. There are so many warm stories that teach about kindness and love. Let’s look at some favorite read alouds you can read in your classroom this February to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Why Should I Use Read Alouds in My Classroom?

You may be wondering, with all the Science of Reading research and curriculum, do I even have room for a read aloud anymore? Friend, the answer is YES! And you SHOULD!

Read Alouds have so many benefits for students. One of my favorite times of the day was gathering my students on our classroom rug and reading aloud to them. There is something so special about listening to a great story. You can model and teach your students how to stop and think and show them what fluent reading sounds like. You can find more read aloud strategies HERE in this post as you strive to make this time engaging.

6 Valentine’s Day Books You’ll Love

• Turkey’s Valentine Surprise– Turkey is a favorite because of his many disguises. In this book, Turkey tries to secretly deliver valentines to his farm friends. Your students will love Turkey and all of his disguises. This is a great one to use for making predictions! You can find a lesson that goes with this book HERE.

• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch– My favorite Valentine’s Day book! I learned about this book my first year of teaching from a sweet coworker, and it quickly became my favorite! Mr. Hatch receives a Valentine’s Day package with a note saying, “Somebody loves you”. This inspires Mr. Hatch to connect with his neighbors and community. I love using this book to teach character traits & feelings. Find the lesson ready to go for you HERE.

• Olive My Love– Olive is back! In this story, she tries to return a giant heart left on her doorstep. Will she succeed? You’ll have to read this with your readers to find out! This book is a perfect fit to teach synthesizing within your classroom!

• Love, Splat– Splat tries to share his feelings for his friend Kitten in a Valentine’s Day card. You can use this book to practice asking questions with your students.

• The Biggest Valentine Ever– One of my childhood favorites! Two mice work together to make a special Valentine’s card for their teacher. This is a great book to use to teach sequencing or retelling!

• Valentine’s Day Jitters– This was a new to me Valentine’s Day book this year, but a favorite! Mrs. Hartwell is trying to plan the perfect Valentine’s Day party for her class, but the party quickly turns into chaos. This is another great read aloud to use for making predictions and bringing lots of giggles to your classroom!  Grab this fun-loving lesson HERE.

Are you looking for lessons that go with these Valentine’s Day books? I have lessons that match these books HERE. They include vocabulary cards, differentiated reading response pages, easy to follow lesson plans, & teacher sticky notes to make the read aloud a breeze.

Are there any books you enjoy reading in your classroom to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!