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Back to School & The Sisters!

August 19, 2012 by 2 Comments

Wow! It’s been a LONG and BUSY week! I had my first day of school last Monday and spent my week with 22 sweet, new students. We are all still settling into our new building and getting used to everything that is new. It has been sad to watch old Mableton being torn down right before our eyes. I looked out one day last week and saw the bright green walls of my old classroom… the next day it was gone. Very bittersweet. Our new building is beautiful and we are truly lucky to have it… Our students deserve only the best! I am working on putting the finishing touches on my new classroom and will post some pictures of it soon!

On another note… Teacher friends, look who I got to meet this weekend! THE SISTERS! They brought the Daily 5/Cafe Workshop to Atlanta and I have been SO EXCITED about going to this since February! I learned so much from them this weekend and can’t wait to post about how the implementation of Daily 5/Cafe works out in my classroom! Hope you all have a great week!

Me with the Sisters!

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Filed Under: Back to School, Cafe, Daily 5, First Grade
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Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 5

July 17, 2012 by 4 Comments

Chapter 5 was all about Read to Someone and Listen to Reading. **Please note that the following is only my opinion and thoughts on how I implement D5 in my classroom. These thoughts and ideas are not endorsed by the 2 sisters or their publisher Stenhouse.

I am learning so much from our book study! I have implemented D5 for two years in my classroom, however this year I want to follow the format exactly. I have had several DonorsChoose projects funded that aid my students in implementing the following portions of Daily 5.

The sisters begin this chapter by laying out the framework of lessons for Read to Someone. These lessons consist of:

  • EEKK, Voice, Check
  • I Read, You Read
  • How to choose books
  • Choosing your classroom spot
  • How to choose a partner
  • Coaching or Time

I love the idea of having the students use “check marks” for Check for Understanding. I have never had my students check for understanding before, but I can see the benefits. If we spend time teaching reading strategies to children, why not hold them accountable for using these strategies when reading independently or with a partner? I also love the idea of using a Coaching sheet with the students. I think this would hold each of them accountable for peer teaching and add meaning to the task of Read to Someone.

All of my students know their independent reading level, so they become very good at choosing “good fit” books. I have spent all summer organizing my books by level {A-Z}. I have a book bin for each level and each book has a sticker label on it so the students can easily return the book to it’s proper bin. I had these bins and books for levels A-J donated from a DonorsChoose project!


I’ll be adding the book bin labels and sticker labels to my TpT store soon! I hope to have them posted by this weekend!

I have always had a listening center in my classroom. There are several ways that I implement this and many of these items are projects that I’ve funded through DonorsChoose or by other classroom donors.

Listening Center for Books on Tape

My students listen to books on tape. I also have a CD player that my students use with headphones.

Starfall

ABCya!

Storyline Online

Cookie Games for Kids

Tumble Books for Kids

Many of these websites have books that will read stories aloud to the students. You can use these websites on computers or iPads!

Listen to Reading using Leapsters

My students also listen to reading on Leap Pads, Leapsters, and TAG Pens from LeapFrog.

Listen to Reading using TAG Pens

I can see how Listen to Reading is the part of D5 where students are easily engaged! When I first received my Leap Pads, I remember sitting in the floor of my classroom playing the games for at least 30 minutes! There are so many ways to incorporate this into any classroom! What are some things that you do?

Thank you to Melissa at Dilly Dabbles, Mechele at Barrow’s Hodgepodge, and Kelli at Castles and Crayons for hosting this chapter! Please leave a comment or link up with your thoughts on Chapter 5 below!

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Filed Under: Book Study, Classroom Materials, Daily 5, Reading, Teachers, TeachersPayTeachers {TPT}
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Daily 5 Book Study: Chapter 4

July 4, 2012 by 3 Comments

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day celebrating with friends and family! I woke up super early to go downtown Atlanta for the AJC Peachtree Road Race. A spot in the annual 10k is a coveted thing around Atlanta and I was SO excited to finally participate after living here for 5 years! Out of the 60,000 runners, my favorite was this sweet, elderly man whose T-shirt read: “I’m 91 years old! Eat my dust you slowpokes!” We’ll be going to the Braves game later tonight for the game and fireworks!

On to Daily 5! **Please note that the following is only my opinion and thoughts on how I implement D5 in my classroom. These thoughts and ideas are not endorsed by the 2 sisters or their publisher Stenhouse.

3 Ways to Read a Book

Chapter 4 was all about setting up Read to Self with the students. You begin with a lesson on the 3 ways to read a book. I always complete this lesson with my students, since upon entering 1st grade many students have not yet built up their confidence and do not know to refer to themselves as “readers.” I make sure that each student sees him/herself as a reader since many students are so quick to say “But, I can’t read!”

Here are the 3 ways to read a book:

  1. Read the words.
  2. Read the pictures.
  3. Retell a story you’ve already read.

I want to make an anchor chart similar to this one from Beg, Borrow, Steal with my class this year. I love how visual it is!

Read to Self

It is very important for the students to understand WHY we do Read to Self. I discuss with my class how this activity can help them become a better reader. We talk about how this practice time is important and they should not let anyone interrupt their learning. It is also important for the students to understand that the teacher also has a job during Read to Self. I love how the sisters suggest that when making the I-Chart for Read to Self, you list the job of the students AND the job of the teacher. Modeling is the key! The more the students can model the correct and incorrect behaviors of D5, the better their reading habits will become. Most importantly, students should READ THE WHOLE TIME!

Three Minute Start

I am really interested to see how long my future students will last during the first 3 minute start! With entering 1st graders during the first week of school, I can imagine that we’ll probably have a long way to go in order to build our stamina! I want to chart the progress of the students in order to motivate them and show them how far they’ve come. The students should describe, model, practice, and reflect daily to build their stamina. My goal for my class will be 30+ minutes.

I will begin the D5 lessons with my class during the first week of school. I want to give them a slow and steady start to Daily 5 so that they are sure to form good habits! Visit Surfin’ Through Second for a planning guide that outlines all of the lessons mentioned in this chapter. Be sure to check out her giveaway that she has going on while you’re there!

Thank you to Laura, Jennifer, and Tessa for hosting this chapter! Check back next week for Chapter 5: Read to Someone and Listening to Reading. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Leave a comment below and if you have a blog be sure to link up!

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Filed Under: Book Study, Daily 5, Holidays, Reading, Running, Teachers
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