Please visit this page to see updates on what is taking place in our Literacy Workshop! Literacy includes what we do in reading, writing, and spelling. Since we will be working with Mrs. Johnson this year to learn a different way of thinking about our reading and writing, we will have many exciting things to post! Mrs. Johnson teaches 3rd grade at Purdy Elementary, but she also is our District's Literacy Coach and works with many different teachers at Purdy, Barrie, and Rockwell Elementary schools.
I hope to include pictures, videos, and links to projects we do on this page! I hope you take the time to check it out!
Learning about our Classroom Library! September 13, 2012
As we continue to learn about what reading workshop will be like in fourth grade we need to make a journey into our classroom library. Classroom libraries are so important to every classroom. Like a school or public library they are full of rich books that increase student learning and open doors for reading enjoyment.
Unfortunately classroom libraries are often overlooked by students. They do not seem as excited to search for books as they are in the school library. For the past two years, I have been working to change that in my classroom. Each summer I spend hours going over the books in my room eliminating the books that students do not want to read and adding books purchased over the summer or at Book Fairs.
With the new Comprehensive Literacy Model we have adopted the need for a strong, exciting classroom library is key! To make our library essential to our learning we need to take the time to understand how our classroom library works.
First our library is the first area you encounter when you come into our classroom. It greets you at the door! Just like the Luther library is the first thing you see when you come through Luther Elementary's from doors, so is ours. It shows that books are important! It is colorful and comfortable! It is meant to be a place where students want to sit and read.
Second, books are organized into blue and grey bins. The grey bins contain our fiction books while the blue bins contain our nonfiction books. Each set of bins will also include labels detailing the specific genre (categories of literature) of text in each fiction or nonfiction bin. Students will work to figure out these genres after working with Ms. Maniaci to learn about genres of books found in libraries.
Today students searched through the bins writing down titles of books they are interested in reading. This was meant to build excitement for our library! Already they are talking about the books they can't wait to read! How awesome it is to hear their conversations!!
Giving students the opportunity to become familiar with the classroom library also means they can tell me what they feel is missing and would make the library better. I often search out these new titles to increase reading motivation and to make my students feel that the library is as much their's as it is last year's or next year's class.
Here are pictures of us searching through bins learning a bit about our library!
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| Book Bin anchor chart |
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| Genres we already know about...we'll learn more! |
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| Checking out the book bins! |
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| Reiana searching for a good book! |
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| Hey....check this one out! |
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| Oh! What about this one?! |
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| Looking for a "I Survived..." book I haven't read yet! |
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| Sarah searching for a few nonfiction titles to write down. |
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| Lauren and Kiarra looking at a book together...I bet it is a good one! |
Literacy is Important! September 11, 2012
Today continued to be a fantastic day of literacy! Students worked with Ms. Maniaci in Writing Workshop to define different types of ways we can write in writing workshop. We called these our Writing Genres! This year I want to challenge my students to write in ways they have never written before!
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| This anchor chart shows some of the genres or ways we can write during Writing Workshop! |
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| Here we created a chart about Writing Workshop! |
Understanding these behaviors creates the positive reading environment we need so we can be successful while participating in reading workshop. More importantly, these behaviors create the type of readers we want to become as adults.
The beginning of the school year is devoted to setting up successful writing and reading workshops. This includes teaching, modeling, and reviewing writing and reading behaviors. These behaviors may include how we use materials, how we work independently or with others, how we select topics or books, how we work with teachers, or we move around the classroom.
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| This chart defines what Reading Workshop is and why we participate in it! |
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| My favorite anchor chart so far ~ ~ ~ our "Read to Self" chart! Students defined why we read to self and their personal behaviors while reading! |
Continue to look for and read our updated in Literacy!
Beginning our Literacy Learning 9/10/12
Today we began our Literacy Learning. Our entire morning will be devoted to learning about literacy ~ having the ability to read, write, and spell. From 8-9 each morning we will concentrate on writing. 9:45-11:45 each day will be devoted to reading.
For the past two days we created anchor charts (charts that ground our learning) that define what we know about literacy. We wrote down what reading and writing workshop means, why we participate in them, and the tools we'll be expected to use to help us learn.
The students did a fantastic job coming up with great ideas! I will be posting pictures of their thinking soon!
Finally, we read a story titled Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. This is a beautiful story about the author as a young girl. She struggles to read and write even though she tries so hard! Reading and writing is extremely important in her family and she knows this. This adds to her fear, sadness, and frustration. Ask your student what happens in this great story and how it relates to our Literacy learning!
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