Author: Alexandra Penfold
Illustrator: Suzanne Kaufman
Themes: belonging, inclusion, diversity, classroom community, kindness, school routines
Age range: PreK – 2
Table of Contents
All Are Welcome Summary
All Are Welcome follows a group of children through a school day. They arrive at school, learn together, play, share food, celebrate differences, and return to their families at the end of the day.
The book shows children and families from different backgrounds, cultures, routines, clothing, food, languages, and family structures.
Why Use All Are Welcome at the Start of the Year
All Are Welcome works well at the start of the year because the book gives students a familiar structure: arrival, learning time, lunch, play, and going home.
The main teaching path is simple: school event → classroom routine → connection → belonging
Students can point to the illustrations, name what they notice, and connect one part of the book to their own school day.
What This Looks Like During a Read-Aloud
Early in the book, I’d pause when the children arrive at school and ask: “What do you notice about how the school day begins?”
Students might say:
- “They are walking into school.”
- “Some children are with grown-ups.”
- “They look ready for school.”
- “Everyone is coming from different places.”
Then I’d follow with: “What is the same or different from how you start your school day?”
That gets students making connections without pushing them into anything too personal.
Later, when the book shows classroom activities, lunch, play, and celebrations, I’d ask:
“Which part of the school day have you done before?”
Students might point to:
- sitting together
- eating lunch
- playing outside
- reading
- drawing
- saying hello
- working with a partner
Key Teaching Themes
Belonging: The repeated message is that everyone has a place. Students can look for small moments that show belonging, like being greeted, sitting together, playing together, or sharing space.
Diversity and Inclusion: The illustrations show different families, clothing, food, languages, traditions, and family structures. Keep the focus on noticing the book, not asking students to explain their own background.
School Routines and Classroom Community: The book follows a school day from arrival to home time. Students can connect the story to routines they are learning: lining up, eating together, reading, playing, and saying goodbye.
Before, During, and After Reading Questions
You don’t need to use all of these questions in one read-aloud. I’d choose 2 or 3, depending on whether you want to focus on school routines, making connections, or belonging.
Before Reading
- What do you notice on the cover?
- What do you notice about the children and families?
- What might make someone feel welcome at school?
During Reading
Pause when the children arrive at school and ask:
- What do you notice about how the school day begins?
- What looks the same or different from your school day?
When the children are learning, eating, playing, or celebrating, ask:
- What part of the school day do you notice here?
- What are the children doing to help each other feel welcome?
- What do the illustrations show that the words don’t say?
After Reading
- Which part of the book reminded you of school?
- What helped the children feel like they belonged?
- What’s one thing a class can do to help everyone feel welcome?
Simple Activity After Reading
Making Connections: The Book and My Life
After reading, students complete a simple two-column organizer with the headings The Book and My Life
Students draw or write one moment from All Are Welcome and connect it to something from their own school day or home life.
For example:
The Book: The children eat lunch together.
My Life: I eat lunch with my friends.
The Book: The children come into school with their families.
My Life: My mum walks me to school.
For younger students, they can draw and explain their connection to a partner or adult.
For older students, add a sentence stem: This connects to my life because ___.
If students get stuck, ask:
- What part of the book looked familiar?
- What do you do at school that the children also do?
- What helps you feel welcome in class?
- What routine from the book reminds you of our classroom?
Free All Are Welcome “Making Connections” Activity
The free All Are Welcome making connections page gives students one simple follow-up after the read-aloud.
Students choose one moment from the book, connect it to their own school or home experience, and explain how the two moments are alike. It works well when you want a quick response that stays focused on the story, not a full lesson.
All Are Welcome Literacy Activities
If you want the follow-up planned for you, the full All Are Welcome activity pack gives students ready-to-use pages for making connections, sequencing the school day, and responding to the book’s message of belonging.
It’s a good fit when you want students to move from “I liked this part” to “This part connects to my school day because…”
All Are Welcome Activities and Graphic Organizers
$3.25
Differentiation Suggestions
Younger Students: Let students draw one picture from the book and one picture from their life. They can tell a partner what’s the same.
Older Students: Ask students to add a sentence explaining the connection: In the book, ___. In my life, ___.
Students Who Need More Support: Use picture choices from the school day: arrival, reading, lunch, play, art, home time. Students can choose one picture and match it to their own experience.
Multilingual Learners: Use the illustrations as the starting point. Let students name school routines in their home language if they want to. Give simple sentence stems:
- I see ___.
- I do this when ___.
- This reminds me of ___.
Sensitivity Note: Keep personal sharing optional. Some students may have different family routines, school experiences, languages, housing situations, or feelings about school. Students should not have to explain their family or background to the class.
Optional Extension: Build a Welcome Wall
After students complete the making connections page, create a simple class display.
Add the heading: All Are Welcome Here
Students can add:
- a drawing of something that helps them feel welcome
- a word that means welcome
- a classroom routine that helps them feel safe
- a kind action they can do for someone else
Keep it small, so it stays a quick classroom community display, not a week-long project.
FAQs About All Are Welcome Activities
- What activities can I do after reading All Are Welcome? Students can complete a making connections organizer, sequence parts of the school day, draw something that helps them feel welcome, or talk about how classmates can include one another.
- How can I use All Are Welcome to teach belonging? Ask students to notice what the children do together and what makes the classroom feel welcoming. Then have students connect one moment from the book to something that helps them feel welcome at school.
- How can I teach All Are Welcome without putting students on the spot? Keep sharing optional and text-based. Ask what they notice in the book first. Then let students choose whether to make a school connection, home connection, or general connection.
Ideas of What to Read Next
- Back-to-School Hub: Use this if you’re planning several first-week read-alouds around routines, feelings, and classroom community.
- Classroom Routines Books: Use this if you want more read-alouds for arrival, transitions, class expectations, and shared spaces.
- Belonging Books: Go here if you want more books that help students talk about inclusion and feeling part of a group.
Final Thoughts
All Are Welcome works best when the lesson stays simple. Ask students to notice one part of the school day, talk from the illustrations, and make one clear connection to belonging in the classroom.
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