I read The Book Whisperer from the library and now have my own copy to write in. I always promise my second graders that they will become World Class Readers during our year together in second grade :-) I remind all that the challenge for me is to find the just right book for them to read. Then I scurry to the shelves in my room and begin the selecting. Just the other night as I met a young girl for my new group, I remet her dad, a former student of mine. I reminded him that he had become a reader during his year in fourth grade with me. He smiled, and his wife said "And he hasn't stopped since." I was so tickled to hear that statement. I had always thought that if kids could not read by fourth grade, that there wasn't much hope. Well twenty-seven years later I know differently. Never give up. There is always hope.
My students read and log on a page with space for ten titles (second grade). I put ten pages in their AR folder at the start of the year. About March or April, we need to start adding more pages into their folders. Kids are amazed when they turn to the second page and then awe struck when they need more pages. During the course of the year I am constantly bringing out more genres and authors, enticing them to try new authors or styles of books. When they find the Ricky Ricotta books, they travel through the room like a wild fire. Even the lower readers become so excited because they can successfully read these thicker books. Set goals with kids and then guide them to achieve. They will feel empowered through the process. Kim On 9/4/09, Martha E. Hitzel <[email protected]> wrote: > I have not told them they need to read any number of books. Completing the > bingo is just one part of their reading grade. Their grade is their only > reward, but this is the second year I used the bingo sheet and the students > seem to enjoy it. They will often come to me and ask for help picking out a > book of a certain genre or ask me to make recommendations. Then, students > start recommending books of different genres to each other. > > It takes 4 books of at least 100 pages to complete the bingo, but we are > only four weeks into school and I don't think any of my students are going > to have a problem making an A. > > I have the students keep a log of their reading at school and at home. Each > time they read, they enter the page they started on and the page they ended > on. I can tell when I conference with them, based on how much they are > reading if they are using their reading time wisely. Of course, the number > of pages read varies according to reading ability and the level of the book > they are reading. > > Letting my students choose their own texts and giving them lots of time to > read seem to be motivation enough. > > Maybe instead of setting a goal of a certain number of books, you could have > them keep track of how many they read the first quarter and then see if they > can beat that the second quarter. I think it's important to not only stress > quantity of texts read, but comprehension and enjoyment, too. > > Martha/4/AZ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
