Reading

Throughout the week the students shared some of their holiday reading.

We also had a restart with our reading workshop.
1.
We started with mini-lessons. This week we focused on visualization as the reading strategy. Readers visualize in different ways. Some create illustrations or photographs in their head, some let the story run in their mind as a movie and some become part of the story. Visualization is what captivates us and helps us to get lost in the book.
We read The Owl Moon and pictured ourselves in a cold snowy forest and then we read The Seashore Book which took us to a sunny beach.

2.
The we had reading and conference time.
While the students were reading their books I sat next to one and listened to their reading and thinking. I noticed what they were doing as readers, chose what might help them further with their reading development and made that teaching point.

As a teacher I enjoy these reading conferences. I love listening to the students read to me. I have learned about new books from them and their thinking has often given new perspectives on the books I know. The best part is to see how the students grow as readers - their reading ability and comprehension.


We formed new Literature Circle groups.

I am in a group that reads Horrible Harry and the Green Slime.
In our group we will start taking turns being the discussion leader, so the students can practice asking questions, seeing that everyone gets to share their thinking, encourage people to listen, share and build on different ideas.