A blog for my classroom, providing information for my parents and extended curriculum for my students.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Reader's Notebook
The Reading Workshop approach in my classroom includes a healthy diet of devouring books at reading level. You might see your child come home with a Reading Notebook and I would like to take the time to explain the significance of each section and how it works so that you partner with your child in their education.
The Reader's Notebook is a binder that includes a spiral notebook, several different sections and a Duo-Tang folder.
A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.
I can't imagine running my Reading Workshop without having my students maintain a Reader's Notebook. It is in this notebook that students build their reading lives over the course of the year.
Once I did away with the basal many years ago and adopted the Reading Workshop approach in my classroom, I quickly realized that my students needed a place to organize their reading materials, keep track of the books they read, and record the thinking they do about their reading. After trying out a variety of different versions of a Reader's Notebook, including a spiral notebook and a Duo-Tang folder, I finally determined that a binder was the most user-friendly solution.
A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.
Once I did away with the basal many years ago and adopted the Reading Workshop approach in my classroom, I quickly realized that my students needed a place to organize their reading materials, keep track of the books they read, and record the thinking they do about their reading. After trying out a variety of different versions of a Reader's Notebook, including a spiral notebook and a Duo-Tang folder, I finally determined that a binder was the most user-friendly solution.
A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.
I selected this as the first section in the notebook because students need to access easily and often. When my students finish a book, they record the book's title and author, and the date they complete the book. the book's genre using a genre code. I find it necessary for my students to also include the book's color coded level and then determine if the book was E (easy), JR (just right), or C (challenging) after they have finished reading it.
As students record their comfort level they can instantly see their growth and be encouraged to continue in their literacy adventures. It's through the regular recording of their books that students realize when a color code is becoming easier for them as the year progresses. As they view their progress in an easy to read format they may decide to try out a book at a higher level. Students revisit their reading log often when making connections between books they are currently reading and books they have read previously.
The first resource in this section is the "Genre Overview" sheet. At the beginning of the year when students are still becoming familiar with the characteristics of each genre and the corresponding genre codes, I can direct them to this sheet without having to meet with students every time they're not sure of the genre of a particular book. I use the genre codes suggested by Fountas and Pinnell.
At the end of every unit of study, students count up the number of books they have read in each genre and record the number on the "What Genres Am I Reading?" sheet. They then use the information to create a genre graph that reflects their variety (or lack of variety) of reading. The graphs are often a wake-up call for students who get too comfortable reading a single genre, and they are a great way for me to get a quick overview of what each student is choosing to read. The results of the genre graphs often lead students to set genre-specific reading goals each month.
This is another important section on my Reader's Notebook because it is a place for students to really keep track of their growth as a reader throughout the year. This section is great for showing parents or referring to when completing report cards.
Word Attack & Fluency Goals
• Use more expression when I read.
• Use the strategy ______________ to decode unfamiliar words.
• Pay more attention to punctuation when I read (periods, quotation marks, commas, etc.).
• Read a minimum of ___ pages each day.
Genre Goals
• Read a book from the ________ genre this month.
• Read ___ books in the ___________ genre this month.
• Try reading a book from the __________ series this month because I haven’t tried this series before.
• Read ____ chapter books this month.
• Become an expert on _________ by reading books about this topic.
Thinking Goals
• Stop after every chapter and think about what I am reading.
• Use Post-it notes as stop signs to make myself “stop and think.”
• Reread when something doesn’t make sense.
Reading Behavior Goals
• Remember to record every book I read.
• Read without distracting others.
• Read only books that are just right for me.
• Always do the IDR task that is assigned.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Reader's Workshop
Each Reading Workshop session will begin with a mini lesson that lasts approximately 10-15 minutes. During each mini lesson, I will introduce a specific concept, also known as the teaching point. Most often the teaching point will focus on a reading strategy or skill. I will explicitly model or demonstrate the skill for the students.
This will jumpstart our time into 20-20-20. Since this is a sixty minute block the class is divided into three groups which will go to three different stations.
Station 1: Purposeful Practice: This is a twenty minute section where students get an opportunity to apply the mini-lesson concept within an individual, pair or group context.
Station 2: 20 Minute NIB: Nose in Book
During this twenty minute section, students are engaged in self-selected texts at their independent level. Students are reading in book nooks around the room while the teacher holds individual reading conferences or meets with small groups of students for guided reading, strategy lessons, or novel study groups.
20 Station 3: Minute: Novel Study Groups
This twenty minute section is dedicated to rotating novel study groups based on student intrest, ability, and theme. There will be times within the year as the novel study groups finish their books that the class as a whole will examine a novel. Group members will be able to explore the text in depth, build leadership skills, and collaborate on end of novel study book projects. During this time students might:
-Meet as a whole group to refer back to the mini-lesson and think further.
-Meet together to think about and respond to questions such as: What did you learn about reading today? What did you learn about yourself as a reader?
-Meet with reading partners to have a quick chat about how the reading is going.
This will jumpstart our time into 20-20-20. Since this is a sixty minute block the class is divided into three groups which will go to three different stations.
Station 1: Purposeful Practice: This is a twenty minute section where students get an opportunity to apply the mini-lesson concept within an individual, pair or group context.
Station 2: 20 Minute NIB: Nose in Book
During this twenty minute section, students are engaged in self-selected texts at their independent level. Students are reading in book nooks around the room while the teacher holds individual reading conferences or meets with small groups of students for guided reading, strategy lessons, or novel study groups.
20 Station 3: Minute: Novel Study Groups
This twenty minute section is dedicated to rotating novel study groups based on student intrest, ability, and theme. There will be times within the year as the novel study groups finish their books that the class as a whole will examine a novel. Group members will be able to explore the text in depth, build leadership skills, and collaborate on end of novel study book projects. During this time students might:
-Meet as a whole group to refer back to the mini-lesson and think further.
-Meet together to think about and respond to questions such as: What did you learn about reading today? What did you learn about yourself as a reader?
-Meet with reading partners to have a quick chat about how the reading is going.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Welcome
Welcome to Ms. Downing's classroom online. We are so excited that you have chosen to visit our class homepage! This website is designed so that we can share what's happening in our classroom with our family and friends in a fast and friendly manner. As you explore our site, you can find our daily schedule, read about special events and learning that is taking place, view cool projects, and even find supplemental education resources for your child to practice their academic skills at home. We hope that by visiting our classroom website, you will get a better idea of what we do each day. Enjoy your journey!
Purpose:
This is a blog for my classroom, providing information for my parents and extended curriculum for my students.
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