I teach 5th grade. I did the reality’s with only my book with 3 blocks of ELA I teach. I honestly didn’t have any issues with them listening to me read. I will say that we had Ann Braden come to our school prior to reading all of the book. The kids were fully engaged when I read it. I had them sit on the carpet and not at their seats. It’s all in how you present the book. They wrote their predictions through the book.
