2015 Focus: Keeping Kids Accountable

*I've been sharing since January about my goal to build a better independent reading time! You can check out all of the previous posts {here}

Even when things are going well, and kids seem engage, I think most teachers still wonder, "Are they really doing what they are supposed to?" I think we wonder that for a good reason, because there is always the kid or two that is not staying on track AND we want to make sure that the kids know that we are holding them accountable. 

I have thought about reading logs and reading response sheets etc, but at this point, I want to make sure my first graders are READING. I don't want the reading log or response sheets to overtake our reading time. I don't want them to get frustrated with trying to record a book that it takes away from the joys of reading. So how to hold them accountable?

Our reading coach passed along this tool to me from The Literacy Teacher's Playbook, Grades 3-6: Four Steps for Turning Assessment Data into Goal-Directed Instruction. 

About once a week I do some "kid watching" instead of conferencing. Every 4-5 minutes I mark up what I noticed the kids doing. You can easily create your own code and form to do some noticing about your kid's reading habits.

After one particular kid watching time, I had noticed that there was a lot of non-reading going on. While I do have some kids that still do some picture reading, I was seeing a lot of major page flipping, and reading books way to fast. I had seen a similar heading on pinterest, so at the end of our read to self time, we made this anchor chart together about Fake Reading vs. Real Reading. 

The kids were able to come up with good descriptors of both and it has been a good reminder about what our reading time should look like. 

On a side note, I love the debriefing time we have at the end of our independent reading. It is usually me just pointing out something good I noticed in the readers that day, but it really encourages the kids when I highlight them. They sit up a little taller. My mini lessons needs some work though, and debriefing could be more student led... maybe the next focus in our independent reading time? ;)

Five for Friday: Keeping Them Engaged!

The days are winding down to Spring Break and the kids definitely know spring is in the air! That means we work extra hard (even though we are exhausted too!) to keep learning fun and exciting! Here are some of the randomness that has been going on to keep us moving forward.

{one} 

This is from the The Literacy Teacher's Playbook, Grades 3-6: Four Steps for Turning Assessment Data into Goal-Directed Instruction. I have loved using this to kid watch during our Read to Self time! Thankfully the kiddos always stay engaged in their reading! :) Love it!

{two}

 Like my facebook page to get updates on free iPad apps! It's hard to find good apps for kids that are educational and free of ads, but when I find some fun/interesting ones for free I will share the info through my facebook page! 

{three}

Have you heard about Kahoot? Or am I the last one? ;) I heard about it on Wednesday and by Thursday we did it in class together! Tons of fun! check out my post here!

{four}

I have been handing these out to a couple kids every day. When I catch them doing something good I write a note about it to their parents on the back. There are a couple kids who need the extra encouragement and it has made a huge difference!
You can find the cards here. I print them four to a page. You can print them in color or in black and white on colored card stock!

{five}

Origami has become our other positive reward! I pulled it out one day when we came back from lunch pretty worked up. But, since it was so novel, they calmed down as they listened and followed along to make a cup, then the next day a dog puppet. Thursday afternoon during dismissal, we made the sonobe unit  to make the one with 12 pieces. Each kid made a piece and when I put it together they all were pointing out the one we made. We decided to keep making pieces until everyone can have one! Aren't they the sweetest! Not only is it fun, but they are learning how to listen to directions and building better spacial awareness, and starting to work on those first grade geometry standards (partitioning!) Plus, origami has always been one of my favorite past times! So we are all having a good time!

This year is really flying by! I can't believe we are nearing the end of March!
Linking up with Doodle Bug Teachings' Five for Friday! Be sure to see what other teachers are up to these days!

2015 Focus: Moving Forward

Today I had another "ah-ha" moment as I work to bridge my independent reading time and small group time in an effective way. I was conferencing with one of my higher readers. She has no trouble decoding words, and her comprehension is pretty good, but as she read through some difficult words, we struck up a conversation about what some of those words meant. So in her reading journal, I made a column for words and what she thinks they mean so we could keep track. Another high flier was sitting nearby, heard our conversation, and wanted to do the same.  As in, I conference with him about something else and as I am leaving he brings up a word he is not sure about! So of course he got a chart in his journal too! ;)

Lately, I had been organizing my small group plans into two groups, comprehension and reading strategies, but conferencing with those two made me realize that my small group plans could be organized around CAFE, the under-utilized section of wall in my room. I have taken bits of pieces of CAFE and used them in my room, but I have never really used it to address the areas we are working on. I think I will do that more now! 

side note: I love the ideas in the Cafe book, but I think the pieces needed to come together in my own way for them to work. I can't follow one system on anything. I take bits and pieces of what I like to work for the needs in our room! :)

Now my little binder has the four headers in my different plans, instead of just the comprehension and reading strategy tabs. I pulled a couple of kids after independent reading today and we worked through how to figure out the meanings of words we were not sure about. (Expanding Vocabulary)

They went through their texts with highlighter tape and highlighted words they didn't know the meaning of. Then as I touched based with each other them and tried to figure out a word, they realized that they could read through and go back to figure out the meaning, use the pictures, or use headers and other clue to get a basic gist of the word. {I love seeing how reading can be full of inquiry too!}

My lesson template is simple, and I kind of wrote the vocab one as we did it, more to have as a reference for later and remember what we have done. You can find that here.

I have to say strategy groups have truly revitalized our reading time. I love that during independent reading I can see the kids using what we have practiced, and now I know exactly where I want to take them next. I love that the plan is centered around the reading needs of the students, not around a text. I feel like they apply the reading strategies and skills more because they realize it is helping them read their text better. They are using a text THEY CHOSE, instead of a book that they don't have a lot of connections too. It is so much more authentic then my reading time in the past.

The buzz of learning in my classroom today was beautiful! It's these kind of moments and realizations that make being a teacher so wonderful. :)

{to check out how far our independent reading time has come be sure to click on 2015 Focus under labels to read all the posts!}

2015 Focus: Book Talk!

Last week we started building book talk into our independent reading time! 

To get started, my literacy coach and I did a mini lesson together. We modeled what good book talk looked like and what not so great book talk looked like. The kids shared the things they noticed, what we were talking about, how we were talking etc. Then they got started! Our actual independent reading time was pretty short the first day. They were definitely enjoying the chance to get up and chat. So we met back together and discussed the good things I noticed and heard when they were getting together.

Each day we discuss the procedures. Things like: be sure to spend some time reading first, go to someone near to you, tell them you want to share some thing about your book, share, walk back. 

Can you tell some of the things we have been struggling with? ;)

And honestly, its mostly for this one sweet boy who takes tiny steps over to a friend, hides behind a book while he mumbles something and then slowly walks back. It is so precious. He wants to share but is almost too shy to do it! 

Day 3 we ended up making an anchor chart with some book talk starter sentences.

We had to talk about the fact that we are not getting together to read the page, but share something interesting, or something they learned. The sentence starters have helped with that some! 

There was lots of chatting the first week, because it was a novelty, but the kids quickly settled back into the routine. I of course have to remind one or two kids to get back to reading, but for the most part they have figured it out. Some share often, others don't. Some kids have their "go to" chat partner, while others like to visit 2-3 other people. Its interesting to see who they decide to talk with. I have been able to start conferencing again, which is nice. I spend a good week just wandering around and monitoring. 

So now it is on to my other goal of gathering good data in my conferences for our strategy groups! It's starting to come together now that mid year testing is over, but it has a ways to go! 

Another aspect that I have finally introduced is using post it notes to start recording our thinking. We did it whole group in our reading mini lesson the other day when we were practicing asking questions during a story. 

I want to do it a couple more times together before I let them take it to their independent reading time. I just loved the questions they asked with the book Hondo and Fabian, and then our follow up discussion the next day was so interesting and we searched for clues in the text and pictures! (and we ended up doing a lot of inferring!)

If you want to catch up on my Independent reading focus check the label 2015 focus for the old posts! :) 

Independent Reading: What Needs Some Work

Check out my other posts about why this is my focus {here} and what is going well {here}.

This past week I met with my literacy coach to chat about our independent reading time. We talked about some things that I liked about our time, and some areas that I wanted to keep making better. There are two main areas that I would like to see some changes and what I am going to start working on to make that happen!

Meaningful Peer Conversations

If adults love talking about books and what they are reading, we can probably assume that kids will want to as well! I want my kids to be able to share with someone an interesting find, comment about something new they learned, express surprise or frustration over an ending, AND then, get back to reading. Oh, and without distracting the whole class too.That is no small task for first graders! I think that being able to share with a partner something they noticed in a book will help deepen their comprehension. The goal is just to make sure they are staying focused on meaningful conversations. I think the key to this is LOTS of modeling, set procedures, and some guided practice of what it looks like and what it doesn't.

Conferencing and the "What Next"

Since we have been working mostly on decoding strategies, it is pretty easy to listen to my kids read a bit, then talk about the strategies they used really well and give them one to work on until we meet the next time. But as we move into comprehension, it is not so clear cut or easy to give a take away in a short amount of time. I don't want to leave my kids with a tip that only scratches the surface.

In the middle of my conversation with our literacy coach I also mentioned that guided reading was not working so great this year, for a variety of reasons. I can' pull groups, but am not always able to give them my undivided attention, the planning sometimes gets overwhelming, and it doesn't always feel purposeful. Then she mentioned STRATEGY GROUPS to me, and the light bulb went on! Its not that its so different then guided reading, it was just a new way of looking at it. It also helps the instruction between independent reading and small group time become more purposeful because the groups would be based on the decoding strategy or comprehension skill the students need, instead of just their reading level. They can practice the strategy using the books in their bag of books. And the groups will be really flexible because as I conference with kids I can create the groups. Is guided reading leaving my room? No, but for the needs in my room right now, I think that this flexible grouping will benefit us all a lot more, and help me to feel like we are more productive with the time we have.

I made this document to help me plan for strategy groups! Feel free to use it. :)

Give me a couple weeks to get things up and running and I will let you know how things are going!

Independent Reading: What's working...

My principal stopped by this morning during our Independent Reading time and commented on how engaged the kids where in their reading. Its true. It's my one absolutely beautiful time in the day. For the most part, the kids are actively engaged in the reading process. Sometimes, they might just be looking at their books, and there are the one or two who get up to go get water even though we review EVERY time, that we stay put in our spots, but its one of those times that I can look around and feel satisfied. 

What makes me love Independent Reading? Here are a couple of my favorite things that make it run smoothly in my class.

Consistent Time

We do our independent reading (or Read to Self time, I may use those words interchangeably) first thing in the morning after our Morning Meeting. It is a good transition into our day, their brains are still warming up and this give them time to wake up for what's ahead. I like it too because it can never get pushed to the side if we do it first thing. We can't run out of time, get caught up in something else.

Bags of Books

I've learned to tell the kids to pull out a "just right" book to read to me. I love giving them choice, but in effort to make sure they are also picking books they can read, I do have them choose books from my leveled baskets. They often end up reading their free choice books more, but there are a lot in the library that are on their reading levels, and if it is too hard, they usually choose a book they can read to read with me. 

I love the Hefty 2.5 gallon bags. I usually switch them out midway through the year, but haven't gotten around to it yet. This one is pretty destroyed, but as long as it holds books, we are good! I use a letter sticker on the front to help them remember which leveled book basket to choose from.

I was curious when I pulled out the books in this bag to see if any would actually be from his basket, and there were 3! (He actually has moved up a level or two, we just haven't changed the sticker). He also has 4 free choice books, and 2 guided reading books in there. We keep our fluency folders, and reading journals in there too. We keep all of our poems in our fluency folder and I tell them to practice the words we have in the interactive phonics portion of their reading log.

We make new book choices about once a week during the read to someone time. We only read during this time. I wish I could say they remember what baskets they get their books out of, but hopefully by the end of the year we will figure that out! ;)

Spread-out Spots

I assign spots for my kids to sit in all over the room. We will be changing it up soon, but the kids have for the most part done well where they are. A couple have had to move back to the table, but I think that they should be able to get comfy reading. It's the only time of the day they can spread out however they choose. I have lots of cushions and pillows that the ones who are on the hard floor. The kids move pretty quickly to their spots and it doesn't take us long to settle in to reading. I usually move around to them at their spots when I conference with them.

Conferencing/Keeping Up With Notes

This is the first year I feel like I have been consistent in conferencing with the kids AND figured out a system to keep track of it! Its kind of a mesh of the organizational system from The Cafe Book, and once that I have seen other people use.

Each child has their own tab and behind it I keep my notes, data, etc.

These data pages are a free download in my TPT store. You can check them out here!

I have another set of Reading Conference questions and data collection that you can find here.

Our conferencing has been mostly based on the reading strategies right now. I have the kids read a bit and I note what strategies they are using well and then one that I think they need to work on. Lately I leave with them a picture of the strategy (from my reading strategies pack found here) to use as a bookmark and keep it in their mind. As more kids are becoming fluent readers I will need to build in more time for comprehension chats, but right now we are focusing mostly on decoding.

Anyways, conferencing is one of the areas I want to work on the most. That "now what" piece really needs some work when I meet with the kids to challenge them to the next level. I met today with our literacy coach and have LOTS of new ideas to help in some areas of our Independent Reading that need to improve! But that is for another time! Check back soon for more details on that! 

(Click the picture for part 1!)

2015 Focus: Inquiring Our way through Independent Reading

Every year, one area of teaching comes out in the forefront as the area that I want to work on that year. It is usually that time of day that I feel most unsettled, like I am teaching but it is not meshing the way I want it too or I don't feel like I am maximizing my time with the kids to meet their needs most effectively.
Of course the area of reading has come up a lot through my seven years teaching. It started when I was teaching a group of advanced kids in my second year and I didn't feel like the curriculum was meeting their needs. They needed more time to build comprehension and I didn't feel like I had all the tools to meet that challenge. Then I read Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning. (Click on all of the book pictures if you want to get more info about them!)

That book helped me see the need for independent reading and since then it has been an important part of my day. A coworker and I followed her model pretty closely, but I did feel like there were other parts of the reading process that I didn't cover as well or that my kids didn't get enough practice time.  I wanted my kids to have those thoughtful conversations as she mentioned, but I just couldn't get them that far. But, I was still a fairly new teacher and there were still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

I think it was also in my second year that I took a class through my district that really opened my eyes to teaching reading too. My teacher introduced us to the bag of books concept, which is also a staple in my room now. My kids always got some free choice but I made them choose some books that were on their reading level as well. I believe it was through this teacher that I was introduced to Debbie Diller. We had to read Making the Most of Small Groups for the class.

WOW! What a book. My understanding of effectively using that small group time grew leaps and bounds while reading that book. {all those things they don't really teach you in college!}

Over the summer I got her book on workstations:

I LOVED it! It put together so many missing pieces for me and it was a system that was authentic and worked with my teaching style. I used this model for quite a few years and it allowed me to pull groups and watch all the rest of my kids work with their partners independently.

Then. I had one of those years. That kind of year where basic is better and, although I love giving kids choice, sometimes they just can't handle it, and I knew it was time to change up the system a bit. I was a little late in reading Daily 5 and the CAFE book, but they are such excellent books I definitely recommend them!

I have to admit though, my reading workshop never completely followed one model exactly. And I don't think any of us should follow a model so exactly that we lose sight of the things that are important to us. Mostly the needs of my kids.

Okay, So back to now. I know that was a terribly long background, but I'm realizing how all of these pieces have shaped me to be the reading teacher I am today. And so as I progress with my focus for the year, those all need to come into play again! :)

Then there is this year. Small groups are just not working. I have some needs in my classroom that prevent me from being able to really go deep with the kids at my table, so I feel like I have been doing "fluffy" things that allow me to keep eyes on what is going on. I don't think it is that workshop is working, because most of the kids do a great job at it, but I just need a method of instruction that is going to allow my presence to be felt all over the classroom.

In the last couple months I have noticed that my most productive differentiation and teaching comes from my short reading and writing conferences with my kids. We don't spend as much time in workshop has we have in the past, but my independent reading time is a solid, 20 minute, productive time each day. So I need to use that time to make the most out of reaching the needs of my kids. Thankfully, that is the focus our Reading Coach has developed for us too, so I am excited to use her to help me develop this time to be as productive as possible!

So if you made it through this incredibly long post, I hope that you will join me on this inquiry of Independent reading! In the coming weeks and months til the end of school I hope to share what is working, what needs to change/be added, and how this time has benefited my students!