Reading Stamina Tip

Happy Sunday, friends!! Thanks for stopping by the Chalkboard today!!!

Lisa from Growing Firsties here, with a post about Reading Workshop for you...

But, before I start, did you see Katie's Primary Chalkboard post the other day about saving your sanity on Valentine's Day? Love her tips!!

Also, be forewarned...her post is also MUCH prettier than mine! (She has a seeeeerious talent for graphics!)

But...hope you'll still like mine, too! :)

My topic today is Reading Workshop - more specifically Private Reading.

Well..that's what we call it for our first graders...we liked that the title is pretty blatant that it's reading done PRI.vate.ly. And...since it's immediately followed up by Partner Reading, when the kiddos come across something they'd like to share from their reading, they are motivated to plan for what they'd like to discuss and read during Partner Reading. (They use sticky notes for this planning.)

It helps that they place their chairs back to back, too. :)


I digress...

This particular tip is helpful for those friends that have a hard time staying engaged during Private Reading.

Not that I E.V.E.R. have students with troubles like that.

I'm sharing this for a friend.

On the left (green) side, kiddos put all their book box books. As they read each one, it goes onto the right (red) side.

Once they finish, if there's still time, they move the pile from the red side to the green side and start again.

Please forgive the I-forgot-to-take-a-pic-of-it-at-school-with-classroom-library-books sample above...I quickly made one with the THREE books available to me downstairs in the kitchen while my own kids were sleeping.

But you get the idea, right?

It works nicely, too, for students who really love that sense of accomplishment that one gets from moving stuff from to-do to done! Sooo, I invite EVERYone to try it and privately really ENcourage a few friends in particular.

Right now, my firsties are reading for 35 mn during Private Reading while I confer and meet with small groups. Partner Reading remains at around 8 minutes.

If you'd like to check out a few more posts about Reading Workshop...head on over and check these posts out...

Book Box Organization

General Update on RW (includes a few freebies)

Smiles to you! Lisa