• Home
  • Online Courses
    • Simple Self-Contained Setup 101®
      • Success Stories
    • Simple Centers System
    • Course Member Sign In
  • Shop Now
    • Shop Now
    • Free Resources
    • Gift Cards
    • Cart
    • Purchase Orders
    • School Licenses
    • My Account
  • Free Webinars
  • Blog
    • Academics
      • Adapted Books
      • Comprehension
      • Cooking
      • Crafts
      • ELA
      • ESY
      • Fine Motor
      • Life Skills
      • Math
      • Occupational Therapy
      • Science
      • Sensory Bins
      • Social Emotional Learning
      • Social Skills
      • Social Studies
      • Speech Therapy
      • Task Boxes
      • Vocabulary
      • Writing
    • At Home Learning
      • Digital
      • Remote Learning
    • Behavior
      • ABA
      • Communication
        • AAC
      • Data
      • Schedules
      • Visuals
    • Simple Classroom
      • Back to School
      • Book Recommendations
      • Classroom Setup
      • Freebies
      • IEP
      • Inclusion
      • Inspiration
      • Organization
      • Paraprofessional
      • Remote Learning
      • Seasonal
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Spring
        • Summer
    • Tot School
  • Classroom Tours
    • Self-Contained
    • Speech
    • Preschool
    • Elementary Autistic Support
    • K-2
    • K-2 (Socially Distanced)
    • K-4 (Tiny Room)
    • 1-4 (Life Skills)
    • 2-3 (ABA)
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • High School (Life Skills)
    • Multiple Disabilities
  • New Teachers
    • Join My Online Course
    • First Year
    • Interviews
    • Job Search
  • Grade Level
    • Preschool
    • Primary
    • Elementary
    • Middle School
    • High School
  • More…
    • Meet Alyssa
    • Meet Our Bloggers
    • Collaborate
    • Guest Blogging
    • Contact Me
    • Disclosures
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Simply Special Ed

Resource Downloads & Teaching Advice

Blog Book Recommendations ESY Seasonal Simple Classroom Summer

The Best Book Companions for Summer

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with a read aloud picture book! When I was teaching I had a lot of difficulty finding leveled book companions that would meet the needs of students in my self-contained classroom, so I made my own. Here’s a look inside the best book companions for special education classrooms (SUMMER themed!)

((This blog post contains affiliate links for your convenience. You don’t pay any more by clicking my link (and I actually find the best prices for you!) but I make a small commission off of sales. This helps me to test out more materials and bring you more quality content. Thanks for supporting my little blog!))

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

WHAT ARE BOOK COMPANIONS?

Book companions are a set of effective extension activities that go along with a published book. Book companions are a SUPPLEMENT to the book and do not contain any text from the book. You must have access to the book to use the book companion (you can get access by purchasing the book on amazon, finding the book at your library, or listening to a read aloud on youtube.)

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

HOW DO YOU USE BOOK COMPANIONS?

First, the teacher would read the book aloud in a whole group setting. Then the students would break apart into independent work and small group to use the companion materials at their own level.

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

MY BOOK COMPANIONS INCLUDE:

Leveled Comprehension Quizzes

– Level 1: Picture Comprehension

– Level 2: Written Response

– Level 3: Blank Response

Visuals

– Craft (with real picture visuals)

– Whole Group

Vocabulary

– Clips Cards

– Matching Cards

Worksheets

– Craft Sequencing

– Sequencing

– Story Map

Teacher Planning Guide

– Suggested Schedule

– Suggested Materials

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

WHY ARE SIMPLY SPECIAL ED’S BOOK COMPANIONS DIFFERENT?

My book companions are specifically created with special education and self-contained classrooms in mind. What does that mean? My book companions include leveled materials that will meet the needs of every student in your classroom. This makes the planning easier on the teacher. I also select the books with special education classrooms in mind.

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

WHAT BOOKS ARE INCLUDED FOR THE SUMMER SET?

The SUMMER Set of Book Companions includes the following picture books (affiliate links below):

Ready to try Summer Book Companions?

Grab Summer Book Companions on TPT here.

Grab Summer Book Companions on SSE here.

((This blog post contains affiliate links for your convenience. You don’t pay any more by clicking my link (and I actually find the best prices for you!) but I make a small commission off of sales. This helps me to test out more materials and bring you more quality content. Thanks for supporting my little blog!))

Book companions are a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with books! Check out my favorite books for summer!

You can try a free summer book companion here.

Related Posts:

  • Simple-File-Motor-Centers-Summer-12
    Ideas for Summer Fine Motor Practice
  • Cano-Class-1
    5 Things You Can Prep During Summer Break
  • ESY - Planning Guide 7
    Make ESY Easy – Enjoy Your Summer While I Take Care…
Share
Pin


« 5 Kid-Friendly Books to Celebrate Pride!
4 Activities for Jabari Jumps »
Hi amazing teachers!
I'm Alyssa Shanahan -- a former Elementary Special Ed & Life Skills teacher. My classroom focus was always to keep things simple, increase communication, and build independence. Simply Special Ed's goal is to help teachers and students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom!

Sign up to receive exclusive tips,
free resources, and more!

Recent Posts

FBA's in Special Education

FBA’s in Special Education: What Are They and How Do You Do Them? (A Guide for Special Education Teachers)

10 Transition Tips for Special Education Classrooms

How to create a calm corner that actually get used

Setting Up Centers for Your High School Classroom

Visual Tools for Self-Contained High School

A Course that Changed the Way I Setup my Classroom

Copyright © Simply Special Ed 2026 · Design by Fancy Girl Design Studio

Copyright © 2026 · Simply Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in