3 Ways to Read a Book

I love the way the Daily 5 explains the 3 Ways to Read a Book. This is particularly useful for beginning readers who are dis-engaged because they can’t read the words. Teaching them to really study the picture is helpful. Studying the picture also builds comprehension and observation skills.

Puppet Reading-(simple yet brilliant)

One of best parts of my job is working in classrooms with teachers and students. Everywhere I go, I learn something new.

I recently visited a classroom where the teacher showed me her student’s reading puppets. Each student has a “puppet buddy” which is kept in their take home reading bags. The puppet goes home every night and comes back to school everyday.

The puppets were made from scrap material so no two were alike. The fronts and backs were not the same.(put out a call for left over material, find a friend who sews and whip them up on a weekend) The puppets are faceless which leaves creativity and imagination intact. Students are able to draw how the puppet is feeling or what it is wearing on paper and store it in the reading bag.

 

Students are given the option to read to the puppet-they hold it up and read aloud. The puppet listens carefully. This is particularly great for students who have nobody to read to at home and need to practice oral fluency.

The second option is to have the puppet help the student read. The puppet helps the student track the words and read along with them.

The students were very excited to show me their puppets and how they use them. What a great way to build engagement in reading 🙂

Thank you J.C. for inviting me into your classroom and sharing this creative idea.

Daily 5 Book Bins

It is so important that students are reading “Just Right ” books everyday. Not only do we, as teachers, have to provide our students with interesting books at their level, but we must teach them how to choose books that they can read. I find it so frustrating when students tell me what level they are , rather than being able to tell me what they are looking for ” I know most of  the words, I understand what it’s about…”is far more important. Children who perceive themselves as a “level” will not be able to choose books at home, at the library or at a bookstore.We must give them the confidence and skills to see themselves as readers not as a “level”.

In the classroom, storing a variety of “Just Right ” material is essential. The Two Sisters suggest magazine boxes. While some people really like them, I have not had a great deal of success with those. They always seem to fall over and all the books fall out. I prefer to see each child with a personal bag-cloth or the enormous durable, ziplock bags. I have also seen some great re-usable tubs from Target or the Dollar Store. Here are some photos  of Daily 5 storage for students that I have seen in classrooms I have visited recently. It doesn’t really matter what you choose, as long as they are easily accessible, easy to store and hold a variety of  just right texts.

Daily 5 Anchor Chart Read to Self

Thanks to Kori  for sharing this anchor chart from her classroom.

The first step in the Daily 5 is Read to Self.

On the thermometers Kori shows her students how their reading stamina is growing. She reinforces their job with the co-constructed criteria and they tell her what she should be able to do while they are reading. She also includes photos of what they should look like if they are doing their job (star) and an x if they are not.