we are readers

This week we launched our Reading Workshop. Of course, children have been reading in different ways since our first day of school. Reading is finding your name to sign in, talking about the books at your table during the early morning, and engaging with our morning message. What is important about launching our workshop is for the children to learn about the workshop model; I will do a little teaching (a mini lesson), they will read on their own or with a partner, and then we come together for a share. The children also become familiar with having our workshop at the same time every day. It is predictable.

This week, they practiced private (independent) reading as well as partner reading. We talked about what private reading looks like and sounds like. I modeled partner reading and the children eagerly sat close to their reading partner, sharing one non-fiction book. Our first unit is about celebrating that all of the children are readers. As part of this, I celebrated that they are reading in different ways all of the time. Below are photographs that are up in our classroom under the title; We Are Readers!

Reagan leads our choral read of the morning message. 

 

Children read the alphabet, naming letters and producing sounds. We practice following specific lines to print the letter t. 

Clayton pointed to each t on his paper, read the name of the letter and printed the letter. To follow the specific lines on his paper, he had to point to and read each line.

Readers engage in private reading with teaching books! We have had many conversations about teaching books (non-fiction) and story books - teaching books teach you about real things and usually have photographs.

 

 

 

Readers share what they've learned with their peers. Bodhi shares what he's learned about dogs - dogs run, some dogs like to just sit, and some dogs have jobs.

Children turn and talk with a partner in response to specific prompts. Our turn and talks encourage students to think deeply about the books that we're reading and talk about their thinking with a peer - these are all things that readers do!

 

Readers sit elbow-to-elbow and knee-to-knee to read with a partner.