Sterling's Snippets: Student Engagement

I wanted to share a bit about a huge component of our day, Daily 5 Reading. In our classroom, I teach reading for about 45 minutes to the class as whole group, broken into smaller segments. This is a time when I can cover key concepts, model fluency and phrasing, and engage students in meaningful, comprehension conversations and discussions about literature. It is during this time that we also enjoy some great stories. This is not the only time, however, that I teach the students the skills they need to decode and comprehend stories. I do this, during my small group reading block which totals 60 minutes, broken into 3, 20 minute chunks. During these "rounds" I am able to see three guided reading groups per day. There are 3-5 students in each group, so you are probably wondering, "What is the rest of the class doing?"

The students have worked so hard all year on their Stamina, or ability to work independently while engaging in meaningful literacy activities. They must be fully engaged and purposeful in their work, and they must have choice and ownership on what they are working on. The students choose if they would like to dive into a good book, many are exploring chapter books at this point of the year, during Read to Self time. Other students may choose Word Work where they can use magnets, salt tubs, beads, whiteboard, etc. to practice the weekly sight words. In Work on Writing, which we call WOW, students can write in their journal, a short story, letter, list, or card for a friend or family member. Students love two different technology centers: Listen to Reading and Computers, where they get to listen to stories electronically to hear a fluent reader. Soon I will be introducing Read to Someone where students will get to share a story with a friend in the classroom. I think they are ready for it as their stamina is really strong! Check out some photos of the kiddos in action during Daily 5!

Ella practice her spelling words at the Chart Paper Word Work Station. David searches for new words with Boggle.

Aiden, Coby and Colton are cozy while they Read to Self.

Nico, Chace and Isaac are using Tumblebooks to Listen to Reading.

Carter uses magnets to build and then a marker to write his sight words during Word Work.

Speaking of reading...have you checked out this months Book Orders? Wow, there are some great titles listed this month! I encourage you to check out some of the chapter books specifically for 1st graders! The students are always eager to read chapter books at this point in the year! Some great series for our growing readers are:

Freckleface Strawberry

The Princess in Black (We read the first one in class and they loved it!)

Chicken Squad (A bit harder, but a fun series)

The Owl Diaries (We read the first one in class of this one too! It is a cute comic style.)

Fly Guy

Flat Stanley

Junie B. Jones

Princess Posey

Magic Treehouse

Remember, you can order online or with the flyer that was sent home. Book orders are due on Tuesday.

We celebrated a 1/2 Birthday on Friday for Chace! Happy 1/2 Birthday, Chace! You will be enjoying the sunshine on your actual birthday in August, but we hope that you enjoyed your special day in February!