Books are a required part of HISD’s reading curriculum.
In kindergarten and first grade, students use every day decodable books, read-aloud texts, and big books every day. In grades 3-11, students engage in three novel studies a year.
HISD’s approach is built on the Science of Reading—more than 50 years of research showing that reading skill doesn’t develop just by exposure to text.
Our teachers aren’t just reading to students. They’re teaching them how to read. That means focusing on phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension—the foundations every child needs to become a confident and lifelong reader, because students who can’t read don’t enjoy reading.
Proficiency in reading in HISD has improved for two years in a row, with NES campuses showing some of the strongest gains districtwide.
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In the HISD Curriculum, Kindergarten students listen to 125 book titles read aloud by the teacher and read 61 decodable books that help them practice reading across 177 school days.
Read Alouds:
Roses are Red
Ring Around the Roses
Rain Rain Go Away
It's Raining, It's Pouring
Jack Be Nimble
Little Jack Horner
Jack and Jill
Little Miss Muffet
This Little Pig Went to the Market
One Two Buckle My Shoe
Star Light Star Birght
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Hickory Dickory Dock
Diddle Diddle Dumpling
Little Bo Peep
Little Boy Blue
Baa, Baa Black Sheep
Humpty Dumpty
The Lion and the Mouse
The Dog and his Reflection
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Five Senses
The Sense of Sight
The Sense of Hearing
The Sense of Smell
The Sense of Taste
The Sense of Touch
Ray Charles
Hellen Keller
Chicken Little
Three Little Pigs
Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Wolf and the Seven the Little Kids
Momotaro, Peach Boy
The Story of Jumping Mouse, Part 1
The Story of Jumping Mouse, Part II
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Little Red Riding Hood (HMH)
The Bremen Town Musicians
Introduction to Plants
Plant Parts
The Life Cycle of a Plant
The Gigantic Turnip
Polly the Honeybee's Flower Tour
The Fruits of Polly's Labor
Johnny Appleseed
Deciduous Trees
Evergreen Trees
Plants and People
George Washington Carver
What Comes from Plants
Plants and People
Old McDonald Had a Farm
With A Moo, Moo Here
And a Cluck, Cluck There
Here an Oink, There an Oink
Everywhere a Baa, Baa
All Kinds of Crops
The Little Red Hen
The Seasons of Farming
From Farm to Market
Introduction to Native Americans
The Laxota Sioux and the Buffalo
Where's Winona
Little Bear Goes Hunting
Bear Gull and Crow
The Lenape: The People of the Seasons
A Native American Alphabet
A time that you lost something
Feelings when losing something
How do you think you would feel?
The Three Little Pigs
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Little Red Riding Hood
What are Kings and Queens?
The Royal Family
King Midas
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Princess and the Pea
Cinderella
Prince Lang Lieu and His Delicious Dream
Princess Yennenga:
A Warrior with a Dream
What's the Weather Like?
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
The Grasshopper and the Ants
Safety in Storms
Meteorology
A Country Family
A Trip Town
The Bread Makers: Millers and Bakers
The Cloth Makers: Spinners and Weavers
Dressmakers, Tailors, Hatters, and Cobblers
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The House Builders: Bricklayers, Masons, and Carpenters
