Lazy guilt and Daily 5 book study

Well bloggies, it is day 4 of the rain here in lovely, hot and humid Houston TX.  I gotta tell you I am a happy camper.  I'll let you in on a little secret...I love the rain.  I'd be happy if I was in a cold, rainy place just about every day.  I'd live in Forks no problem (especially if there was a lovely Edward lurking around).  Seriously, I really like it.  Weird, huh?  I know, I know...something about the sounds and smells...I just enjoy it.  Plus, today around 11 am it was 75 DEGREES!!!!!!  I couldn't believe it and it hasn't even been out of the 80s.  (Imagine a chiming sound...DING) HEAVENLY!!!  But...it does tend to bring out my lazy side.  I mean, the curtains are pulled so the house is dark...and cool...and quiet (for the most part)...so I usually sit in my chair and blog stalk or work on school stuff or read.  None of which helps the situation of disarray that my house is in.  :( So after writing this post I am going to force myself to get to cleaning and do something worthy for my house.  That's my plan and I'm stickin' to it!  But for now...on to the

Daily 5 book study

Chapter 5

Read to someone/Listen to reading

Read to Someone

There weren’t really any study questions or anything for this chapter that I know of so I am just going to reflect about how this worked in my class.  Again, the most important aspect to making these components work is teach, model, practice and check in!  So, so, so, so important!!! Read to self is one of my students favorite sessions because, hey…who doesn’t like reading a book and sharing/discussing what happens!  How many of us are in book clubs?  This is kinda like a mini book club each day!!!  I’ll share with you though that you MUST teach kids “how” to read to someone.  It doesn’t just happen.  If you don’t follow the explicit instructions this time will end up being a play time and most of all it will not be as powerful of a tool as you mean for it to be.  With that in mind:

·        Although I did teach (or at least I thought I did) Check for understanding, I read you read, and read two books, my kiddos fell apart after being let loose on their own with it.  I didn’t model correct and incorrect ways enough and I didn’t really teach the vocabulary and the kinds of things that they should say to each other.  A big lesson learned was MAKE AN ANCHOR CHART***SEE BELOW.

·        MODEL, MODEL, MODEL (that word gets used a lot doesn’t it…important!!) Kids need to practice and see picking a good spot, how to decide on which book to read and how to read to someone in action.  It pays off…you gotta do it the way they suggest.   

Also stay true to the reading coach lesson…I didn’t and I am really sad about it.  But that’s what self-reflection is all about right? Peer reading coaching can be such a powerful tool…wow if we can get our kids to thinking about their reading and thinking about how to help their partner imagine what kinds of things are gonna happen in our rooms!  Talk about a powerful tool!!!  My kids were on board at first but like the rest (and because I didn’t really follow through) it all stopped.  Read to someone became just that, reading to someone.  And to me that is missing most of what is supposed to be happening during this time.  Here’s what I’m going to do this year to help with reading coaching

·        I am going to focus on how we can help each other to be the best readers we can be.  As we teach what reading coaching is and what it looks like I am going to build an anchor chart for them to refer to.  And we are going to MODEL, MODEL, MODEL what this looks like.

·        I am also going to teach each of the strategies they can use to help their partner in my mini lessons.  They will be able to practice these afterwards hopefully securing the strategies in their mind.  I’ll relate it to what they’ve learned about reading in the past.  “Remember in 1^st grade when you learned how to use the picture to help you with a word…well today we’re gonna review how to do that and how we can use that to help a friend if they get stuck!”  Something along those lines. 

·        I’m also going to make a coaching checklist that has the strategies they can use to help.  I’m thinking about a half sheet or maybe book mark format.  I’ll laminate them to make them stronger.  Hopefully these changes will make this a more successful session for my kiddos.

Listen to Reading

I am happy to say that listening to reading was super successful in my room.  The kids LOVED this!  I didn’t have to spend as much time on this session as I did the others. I didn’t really have to build stamina in this area, maybe because they have been listening to books since Kinder…I don’t know.  I am really fortunate because I wrote and received a grant that bought 10 portable cd players along with the headphones.  So I have enough for lots of kids to choose this during their rounds.  What I did do though is on the launch day, I made sure that every kid had the chance to practice listening to reading.  It took about 3 or 4 rounds for everyone to get a chance.  The others practiced either RtoS or RtoSO during this time.  An area that I need to revisit is procedures. I do need to focus on the setup of the equipment and the cleanup procedures.  I had lots of kids just leave the CD in the player and then put everything up without putting all the materials back in the correct bag.  So we are going to have an anchor chart and lots of modeling on correct and incorrect ways to setup and tear down. I think that will alleviate that problem. 

I also want to find different ways to listen to reading like tumble books or other computer sites and maybe MP3 players……….. 

·        One thing I am going to do differently this year is ask for earphone donations.  You can get them at the $ stores now.  On parent night I’m going to include those on my parent help poster.  Hopefully I’ll get enough that each kiddo will have their own and they will keep them in their book boxes.  That way if they use the computer, MP3 player or CD players they won’t have to worry with headphones!

Anchor Charts

These are completely me and what I do in my room…not word for word from the book although the sisters do talk about using them.  They are different from the I chart that tells the kids how each session works.  They are just charts that we build together as a class.  If you do it on your own and hang it up, they won’t pay attention to them (can anyone say word walls???)  Build them together and let them watch you hang them.  Refer to them often.  Then the kids will use them.  Just for RtoSO and LtoR I make the following charts:

1.      How to pick a good spot

2.     How to pick a book with a partner

a.      Let’s Make a Deal

b.     Read two different books

c.      Rock, paper, scissors

3.     Ways to read to someone

a.      EEKK

b.     Check for understanding

c.      I read You read

d.     Read two books

4.      How to choose a partner

5.     How to be a reading coach

OK…there you have it.  My take on reading to someone and listening to reading.  I am anxious to see what everyone else does for this… 

Here’s my question for today.  For all of you that use WBT do you find these two things kinda in conflict with one another or do you find that they bid well together?  I was thinking about the quietness and calmness of D5 and the loud, clapping and yelling of WBT.  Elbow buddies are important in D5.  I know they are in WBT too.  But it just looks really different on the videos I’ve been watching.  I ask this because I am intrigued by WBT…It seems right up my alley but it also seems kinda chaotic…any thoughts?  Anyone…anyone…anyone…Beuller…Beuller ;0)  jk

I am looking forward to next Wednesday!  I really need help on Working on Writing.

So that's it for me today!  I am working on beginning of school this week. Focusing on building relationships in the classroom.  That's what the next blog will be about.  So check back on Friday.  Also pics of my beautiful Big C and her roll as Tiptim (did I spell that right?) in the King and I.  She is the huge theater girl in our family.  We all love theater but she is the one with the longing and talent to actually get on stage and do it!  I will be bragging for sure on Friday!  I look forward to summer because of her plays!  Have a great day ya'll!

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Rene'

"Later on the sun began to fade, Then the clouds rolled over our heads And it began to rain"