Crash: The Read-Aloud Everyone Needs
I honestly call this book my magical read aloud. Every time there has been a dip in morale or a lull in the curriculum, I have read this book aloud to my students. And every time, it’s brought laughter, compassion, and community to my classroom. It’s kind of like the pair of jeans in The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants . .. magical.
But when I reflect on the times I’ve been inspired to read this book, I realize it was serving as a pick-me-up for not just my students, but for me as well. I really loved hearing them excitedly beg me to read “just one more chapter!” I mean, let’s be real. It’s not often you hear middle school students beg you to do anything other than let them go to the bathroom.
This year, the book is coming to the rescue, yet again, but for a very different reason. With my school’s closure due to COVID-19, I am left without any students at all, and it feels . . . empty. I miss them, and I worry for them. I mean, will they even READ?
And while I know that is probably the least of anyone’s concerns right now, it is a big one for me, because, frankly, there’s not much else for kids to do right now. I cringe at the thought of students spending hours on end watching TikToks and texting. Because our school closure was rushed and unplanned, I was unable to load each child’s backpack with a stack of titles.
So instead, I am going to read aloud to them. Yes, I will use my voice to record each chapter of the novel and share it with my students via Google Classroom. I will read a chapter each day and leave questions for them to ponder. Connecting with students through reading is my passion. It lights me up, and I love to watch it light up my classroom. So I’m putting my magical read-aloud to work again and hope to see sparks fly through the internet.
Crash, an oldie but goodie by Jerry Spinelli, is a book that will engage every single child in your class. Even when I have feared that my “too cool for school” kids would scoff at this read-aloud, they were instantly hooked by the protagonist, Crash, who is “too cool” himself. He’s mean and he’s a bully, but he also learns from his mistakes and, in particular, from a neighborhood friend named Penn Webb.
Penn owns only two possessions beyond clothing, he is unconcerned with the opinions of others, and he never, ever gets angry, no matter what terrible thing Crash does to bully him. As the novel progresses, Crash begins to envy what Penn has--positivity, deep relationships, and unabashed joy.
Students learn alongside the characters in this novel, and they also begin to alter their perspective on what happiness truly is. Plus, they laugh and laugh. They begin class needing assurance that we will, in fact, have time to read “just one more chapter.” They find a common ground in this story, and all these things put together create a community in the room.
Time and time again, I have seen friction, tension, stress, and boredom be remedied by this novel, and now in this unnerving time, I am hoping to see the magic happen again.
Try it out for yourself using this read aloud guide (created after many years of using this book!) and let me know what you think!
Maturity: 1/4
This novel is ideal for students age 10+. It has no mature content.
Pages: 176
Lexile: HL560L
HL stands for “high level,” meaning that this novel’s content is more mature than the reading level indicates.
Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.
If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!
Happy Reading!
♥ Kara & Riley
Xo,
Kara