Read Across America Skype

Take a look at the project below and let me know if interested :)

Daily 5 Series: Listen to Reading

"The fluent reader sounds good, is easy to listen to, and reads with enough expression to help the listener understand and enjoy the material." -Charles Clark, "Building Fluency: Do It Right and Do It Well!" Listen to Reading is probably the MOST popular of the Daily 5 Choices.  If I didn't give my students guidelines about how many choices they need to make each day, they would choose L2R every time...Since it's so popular I make sure that I have a variety of tools for this choice and that enough students can get to it each day while still making other choices.  Along with a variety of tools, students know the correct way to use L2R.  Here are the tools used in my classroom: L2R Tools & Resources *Netbooks*   I have 4 Netbooks for students to sign up at.  Students have clothespins with their student numbers on them and this is how they sign up for all the Listening Stations.  When one student is finished, they remove their clip, slide the next student's up and also taps them on the shoulder letting them know it is their turn.   While students are on the netbooks, they choose stories from our Symbaloo Page: (http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/reading2ndgrade)   They know to choose books on the left side of the page because those have the words along with the story for them to Read Along with :)  We review quite often about how reading along with the story is what will help them become more fluent readers.   *Walkmans* Walkmans w/sign up sheets CD's/Tapes for Listening Stations So, yes I am going back in time and using some old school Walkmans!  I had so many books on TAPE, and my students just did not think they were "cool."  Sooo, the Walkmans made them cool again.  They can bring them to their reading nooks and they just LOVE it.  It was a bit challenging teaching them this old technology, but they got the hang of it :)  I found them on Amazon for $7 in case you were wondering ;)  *Discman* *CD/Tape Player* Students get to sit in Rocking Chair while using the CD/Tape Player   Thanks for reading and I hope this gives you some ideas/tips for your own L2R.  Please comment on what resources you use for L2R as I am ALWAYS looking for updates/additions to my own system.  Happy President's Day!

Daily 5 Series: Work on Writing

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”


Writing can be a daunting task for some students, so my job is to make it fun, interesting, and new.  I try to give my students a new Writing Prompt every other week so there is time to go through the writing process, and also have time to choose what they want to write about.  I do Writer's Workshop at another time of the day, but Daily 5 time gives them "extra" time work work on current pieces.  

I always have a checklist with student names for the Writing Pieces that we currently are working on, but most importantly, I have a list of Free Choices they can make if they finish the required pieces.  This ranges from books containing Writing Prompts to technology links which students can use our classroom netbooks for.  Either way, they always have PLENTY of Writing options to choose from.


During Daily 5, students write in their Writer's Notebook.  This is a notebook of their choice which contains all of their rough drafts from the year.  

Some great links to get your students "pumped" about Writing are:


PicLits
Scholastic Story Starter
Word Tamer
StoryMaker
StoryBird

If you have inspiration to share with young writers please comment below!  Happy Writing :)

Daily 5 Series: Read 2 Self

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!" This series is going to be more of just pictures and little tidbits about what they are.  Once you read the Daily 5 book, you will see how this all fits in.   Read 2 Self is the first step into Daily 5 and the one you really want your students to treasure.  Therefore, you want to add some fun twists to it, to make it really enjoyable for the students and you!   We would review this list every day for the first 2 weeks and every now and then refer back to it and review.  This is posted all year (until I start my CAFE board). This poster is SO important for my students and I refer back to it ALL THE TIME.  This stresses to them the importance of really looking into a book before choosing it.  "Don't judge a book by it's cover."...so they say... This is an example of a student's book bin.  The blue sticky note is for them to keep and refer back to so they know what lettered bins are "just right" for them.  It also lists their AR grade choices for our school library. As you may notice, this student has a stuffed frog reading with him.  I have a bin full of stuffed animals that students can sign up for "Reading Buddies."  When they Read 2 Self, they have a Reading Buddy with them to build their confidence :)  It also adds a little spice to this Daily 5 Choice! Students do their book choices once a week and can have up to 5 books in their bin at a time.  This number seems to work well.  A magazine is also included as a "book."  I stress the importance of "spicing up" your book bin so they don't get bored with the same thing all the time.  It all depends on the mood you are in! Another twist I add for the winter is an alternative to the Neave Bouncing Balls from the previous post.  I put in my Fireplace DVD which is up all Readers Workshop :)  It's so cozy in the room! What fun twists do you add to your Read 2 Self choice??

Daily 5 Series: Introduction

"There is a quiet and calm hum to the room.  Some children are lying on the floor with Book Boxes full of 'Good Fit" Books sitting next to them.  As they read to themselves, a child nearby reads the pictures in a book, giggling at a funny part...Some children are curled up in a corner on pillows with partners, reading a particularly animated section from a Junie B. Jones book...Other students are scattered about at tables, heads bent, pens moving methodically across the pages of their journals, crafting tantalizing tall tales, silly songs, or a tearful retelling of a pet goldfish succumbing to old age at home last night...others are sitting on the floor or at a table, tongues between their lips as they focus intently on building some of the word families and sight words using Wikki Stix or...play dough.  Over on a couch two students are wearing headphones, books in laps, as they listen to tapes of the books, turning the pages and following along with the voice on tape...Where are the Teachers?  There we are sitting on the floor with a group of four students.  We are having an animated discussion about our favorite strategies to help us comprehend the story in front of us...the rest of the children in the class are working by themselves, completely independent."   -Gail Boushey and Joan Moser


I am in my second "Official"  year of implementing Daily 5 in my classroom, and like most users of the program, I LOVE IT!  I will be doing a Daily 5 series of blogs to give my take on how I use Daily 5 in my classroom and hopefully offer some ideas to some of you!  Now, where to begin?......


Let's start with the basics.  There are a few "essentials" which I use in my classroom to make Daily 5 run smoothly.  Much of Daily 5's success depends on organization and passion in the program.  If YOU look forward to Readers' Workshop, chances are that your students feel that passion and they too anticipate the next RW session :)  Here is my list of essential Daily 5 Materials/Tools which I have collected from the Daily 5 book, blogs, and tweetpeeps I follow!

Bins

I purchased these from Dollar Tree.  I have each labeled with a student number.  Inside they have a book envelope for odds and ends like bookmarks, Coaching Sheet, etc.  I also gave each student a clothespin which they use to sign up for Listening Centers.

Reading Nooks

I chose 28 "nooks"  in my classroom and posted them as you see here.  Each nook has a clothespin with a student number clipped to it.  This is that student's nook for the week.  These nooks are "earned" based upon responsibility during Daily 5 based on their completed Checklists which are turned in at the end of each week.  Therefore, these rotate on a weekly basis.

Daily 5 Checklists

Students have these with them all week during RW.  If they complete the grey boxes by Friday, they have earned their Reading Nook for the following week.

Noise Monitoring

Bouncy Balls- Neave Interactive 

(I keep this up for most of RW and the students really take this seriously!)

I look forward to hearing from you about Daily 5 and stay tuned for more of my Daily 5 series!