It's amazing how fast the year goes. We are already past the halfway mark!
Here's what we have been working on:
Vacation Reading Plans
As you know, students were asked to formulate a plan for how reading would (or would not) fit into their winter vacation plans. I have found over the years that this helps kids see reading as one part of their everyday lives. It also helps them take charge of their reading and learning. After vacation, students thought and wrote about how their plans worked out.
Book Count Updates
Periodically, we do a count of how many books each class has read. This helps them recognize their progress in relation to their past selves as well as to other kids. It usually results in students' making mental notes about how they want to change or challenge their reading habits moving forward.
Oral Fluency Project - The Joys of Winter
Hopefully, you saw and heard your reader practicing some oral reading before the winter vacation. We had fun browsing through a huge box of picture books and poems related to the joys of winter. The kids were really thoughtful in their choice of text, often choosing things that connected with their families or cultures. We then enjoyed hearing everyone read their passages out loud and everyone got feedback on things like pace, pauses, expression, and tone.
Books Read
For each book, students read mostly independently, taking notes to keep track of and show their thinking. They then explore one larger idea in writing. This is designed to help them extend the ideas communicated by the author beyond the text,
"Mama Miti" told us about a woman who worked on behalf of women and the environment in Kenya. We talked about the word erode and how it can mean different things in different contexts.
"Dreamfields" told us about an organization that helped spread excitement about soccer in South Africa. We practiced using the headings to guide our thinking and understanding. We talked about the word apartheid.
One day recently, we also had a very in depth conversation about WWII. This was not part of our plan for the day, but when students are asking questions, sharing knowledge, and exploring big ideas, I don't want to get in their way. I did link the conversation back to reading, however, reminding them that the more they know about the world, the more successful they will be as readers. And the more they read, the more they will know about the world!
