Reading Workshop

It has been wonderful to get back to "normal" this week after all the testing!  It was especially nice to start new units of study in Reading and Writing Workshop.  In Reading Workshop, we are working through a unit titled "Reading With Meaning."  During this unit, we are focusing on the many good reading behaviors that should be sustained throughout the rest of the school year.

One habit students have already developed is recording their independent reading on a reading log.  Students do this every day during Reading Workshop and for homework reading at home.  The log helps us look back at what we've accomplished, analyze certain authors or types of books we enjoy, check whether we are reading too fast or too slow, and monitor our average pace for finishing a book at our "just right" level.  It also adds an element of accountability for the students.

Another element of Reading Workshop is working through what we call "Stick With It" books.  We are developing stamina in reading for a long period of time, but also sticking with a book from beginning to end.  This will help a lot as we get into units of study that require looking at change in characters over time or plot development.  Each student's Stick With It book should be a book at their just right level.  This level was determined by the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Reading Assessment, which will be shared in more detail at Parent-Teacher Conferences. Our goal is to read a book for one hour, independently, at our just-right level each day (between school and home reading).  Research shows this gives children the optimal level of growth as readers.  

This week, we also learned how to be aware of our thinking as readers, and then make it visible by noting our thoughts on "Track Your Thinking" pages in the response section of our Reading Notebook binders.  At this point, we are getting into the habit of writing down our thoughts.  We will continue working to improve and deepen the thoughts we share as the year goes on.

This week, we also began preparing for our first visit with our kindergarten Reading Buddies, Mrs. Phillips' class.  The main objective of this activity is to provide both the kindergarteners and third graders with a positive reading experience.  In addition, the third graders gain a lot of oral reading fluency practice as they repeatedly read a picture book in order to share the book with their reading buddy.  We spent time discussing the elements of good reading fluency (pace, expression, phrasing, and smoothness). They are excited to be models of good oral reading for the kindergarteners!

We started by reading a picture book silently to gain exposure to the story and words.  Then, we read our book out loud to the wall (the wall loves to listen to stories and it doesn't judge if you stumble over a few words!).  Next week, we'll pair up with our reading partners to practice reading out loud to another person before visiting Mrs. Phillips' class on Tuesday.