Chapter+5

﻿**__Getting Ready: Behind-the-Scenes Work__**

#1. The classroom library is an extremely important component in a reading workshop classroom. We all have different ways to organize the numerous kinds of reading material we have in it. How do you organize the different genres, the leveled library, and read-alouds available to your students? What system do you use for book shopping for their just-right books? Explain book shopping in your classroom. // As the question states, the classroom library is probably the most importantcomponent of the reading workshop. Without books, it would be extremelydifficult for the workshop to take place as described in the book. It makes iteven more difficult for the teacher to decide the many facets of the library,how to section off the books, use genre or author, alphabetically. It could goon forever and ever! Book shopping was meant to occur on a certain day,Fridays, in my classroom last year. However, it got out of hand because therewere so many students and not enough time to reshelf all the books! This year,I will probably have different groups shop for books on assigned days. Thiswill cut down on the amount of time spent looking for books and allow enoughtime for the librarians to reshelf books. // // In regards to organizing the different genres, I first must split the books intofiction and nonfiction. I know this may sound fairly basic, but I have tried somany different ways to separate my books that this has been put to the wayside.After separating the fiction and nonfiction books, I'll be able to then separatethose into different genres. For example, the genres can be even being separatedinto more specific groups like sports, fish, math, etc. However, this may takea major library overhaul, especially because I have so many books. I do havethe multicultural books separated already. But the rest need to be done also. // // Cara1212 // // This year I'm getting the books off the shelves. I moved to third grade last year. I moved into the room of a teacher who retired. The classroom library was set up as leveled material. Needless to say the levels became a shelf of books with no rhyme or reason. This year before school starts I'm inviting parents to a Book Bee. I want my library to be accessible to my students. The books will be organized by genre, leveled readers and read-alouds around the room. Book Shopping will be on Mondays. This will be part of my reading workshop. I will have minilessons to teach the children how this center will work. Each lesson will develop the children's ability to chose books that are a good fit. // // Margaret Fox ﻿ // //﻿// Chapter 5 from Bobbi Friend #1 The classroom library is a key factor in a successful reader’s workshop. Without a variety of books, in a variety of genres, at a variety of levels, the workshop cannot independent. Because our books must match our readers, we need to be able to provide hundreds of choices. Currently my library is organized on bookshelves that are grouped in interest categories as well as levels. I also have groups on nonfiction text in one area, series books in another area, books by the same author in another area, and books that are related in subject matter in another area. My read alouds and shared reading texts are not as accessible to the students because I need them to be available for me when I need to have them. I have students shop on Monday so that they have new books for the week. Ultimately there are students who need new books before the weekend, but I try to have them choose enough books that they can make it through the week before shopping again. Students are also able to shop for books at the school library during our regularly scheduled weekly library time, and they can visit the library at other times when necessary as well.
 * Respond Here: I organize the books by genres and then I also have a thematic or seasonal book shelf. I use another spot for favorite author books and all the leveled readers and the specific book series are in separate baskets. I have always let kids shop on everyday. Big mistake I am now learning as I am reading this book and reading all the comments. So, I am going to follow what Kathy says and have them shop on Mondays for their independent reading level books ( just right books) and then let them take a separate ziplock bag and let them check out in a few books for their "private reading" books, which are books that they want based on their interests. I liked the idea of having book sleeves so to speak. I am going to try to find some inexpensive cardboard magazine holders and have one for every child where they can keep their reading workshop books in it including their private reading ones in there but separate as I said in a ziplock bag. I will let each learning club shop on the same day Monday mornings while we are doing our AM business and morning work. I will need to do a good job with telling and showing them how to find enough appropriate books for the week . I have 30 kids this year, so there will be 6 tables of 5 that need to shop on Monday am. Those kids that are waiting can read the basal stories or start our new basal story for the week until it is their turn if they are done with all work. I also want to let them out shop for the new books on Friday afternoons if at all possible or at least have them out away the books that they are done with on Friday pm, so we can just focus on getting fresh ones for the week on Monday! Stephanie gaunt **

My classroom library is organized into levels, series, popular authors, and various non-fiction topics. I had my previous class help me sort my non-fiction books as we packed my classroom, I still need to level these and print labels for the books and bins, but am excited to finally have my classroom library the way I envisioned it. Like Bobbi, I do not have a specific box for my read alouds. I will often leave them on the whiteboard ledge for a week or two. Students know they are welcome to borrow them from this area, but that I need them returned when they finish.

I found a great way to handle book shopping in my classroom last year. Each day, certain student numbers were allowed to shop in the library whenever they had free time. This meant only 4-5 students were using the library so it was not chaotic. We talked often about making sure students chose enough reading material to last them until their next shopping day. If students did somehow finish all of their reading before their day, they were welcome to shop during our 10 minute school wide snack break or stay in at recess.

Comment to Stephanie Gaunt: I found my book boxes at WalMart last year when they marked down all of their college back to school items. They are plastic caddies with two handles and ended up being $3 each. I asked parents for donations and received some to help offset the cost. I labeled each with the students number and they held up really well.

Stephanie Cooper I organize my classroom library by level range, some authors, some genre, various topics like holidays,friendship, and by certain science and social study curricular focuses. I have some “off-limit books” which are usually my chapter book read aloud books or future read aloud picture books. The picture books I’m currently using for read aloud I have on the white board ledge which students can borrow but put back when finished just like the way Stephanie Cooper has explained. The students each have a book bin that holds all their leveled books that they have chosen (and I have checked) to be Just Right books. I teach the IPICK method to the students for self-selecting Just Right leveled books. I learned about the IPICK method reading The Daily 5 by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. Student use IPICK once a week and try to find several Just Right books from the classroom library that cycle into their book bins. The Just Right books in their book bins are the books they use during RW. I also try to find some time each week for students to have explore time where they can look at books from the classroom library without having to worry about reading levels. Each student also has a folder in their book bins were I have them put copies of weekly poems and shared reading passages. I send out baggie book(s) on Mondays and Thursdays. The book(s) in these bags I select to be close to the student’s reading level. I insist that the students spend sometime each night reading and rereading their Baggie Book(s). I have them keep their baggie books for several days so they can reread these books and practice fluency skills. Garth


 * My classroom library is the favorite part of my room, for both myself and I think many of my students. I really enjoy the time I spend organizing my library at the start of the year, and as I make changes throughout the year. Obviously, it is the most important component in my classroom in order for students to be able to do any significant amount of independent reading. **
 * Most of my library is organized by level. This is to make book shopping go quickly when it is time to do so. I do not have fiction and non-fiction books separated. We work on being able to tell the difference between the 2 genres over time, mostly just by looking at the cover of the book. After a short while, students know whether they are choosing a fiction or nonfiction book. In addition to leveled baskets, I also have special baskets of different genres, authors, or topics, and these are always changing throughout the year. Usually there will be a special baskets based on topics in our curriculum we are studying in science or social studies. There may also be a basket of seasonal/holiday books. If we are doing an author study, there would be a basket of books for this author. The best baskets or tubs I have found to use come from the dollar stores (usually Dollar Tree). They have some wide, boat-shaped tubs for picture books or just bigger books in general. Then I also buy the square cube plastic bins for chapter books. These are just the right size to keep them contained and held together snugly. I'm not sure the number of books, but my entire library takes up about 7 four foot long shelves. Because I teach upper el, always with some severely struggling readers, I have books from A-Z, with the biggest bulk of them being in letters K-T. **
 * For book shopping, students are assigned a day of the week when they are allowed to shop, and they know they will be choosing books to last them until the same day next week. Because I had 27 students, I needed to have 5 or 6 kids choose books each day. We did this during our independent reading time (30 minutes) while the kids were reading and I was conferring. The list was posted by the bookshelf for assigned shopping days. 2 kids were allowed to go to the shelves at a time, put back their old books, and choose new ones. They knew they only had about 3-4 minutes to choose, before I would let them know they needed to move on. Then 2 more students would choose. Kids chose 5-6 books for the week, with at least 4 of them being from the leveled baskets and 1 or 2 from the special baskets. **
 * I mostly keep books for Read Alouds separate from the rest of the library until after I read them. I have a basket near my desk with these books, and kids know what they are for. After I have used the book in a read aloud, I will add it to the library, and of course it is now a very special book to the kids because its one I read. Not to say that I won't pull it from the library again to use, but after the first time, it's available to all. **
 * --Kristy Weberg-- **

My library is separated into fiction and non-fiction: Fiction separated into realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction / Nonfiction: informational (separated then into topics),memoir, biography, autobiography. Then I level them. I use baskets for my picture books, and part bins for my paperback (I am able to store them with the cover out, and students are able to take a bin to a table to look through it.) I redo my library every year. This allows me to get misplaced books back in its right place, add new books, and refresh my memory what books I have on the shelf. One year I read a book that we should allow the students to "organize" our library - never again. Our lower elementary has a system that all the teachers use. It is great for the teachers, students and the interventionists to have this structure. What I have not done and now see the importance is allowing the students to pick one or two books from anywhere in the room. Allowing the me to see another side of the students by observing what books they are choosing. Fran Olesen

My classroom library is in a state of change. Last year, I had books grouped by author and genre and most of my booksets leveled. My plan for this year is to continue leveling my books and sorting more of the library into the levels along with having author groups and non-fiction sets. I have not had a specific system for book shopping and plan on starting one this year. I will have one day for each group to find their just-right books and zip-lock bags for students to keep the books in. I am looking forward to making a better use of my library this year.

Sue Ronning

I think the hardest part about a classroom library is the available space. I have been in classrooms before where my space is very limited and I have had to be very creative in how to have a classroom library-knowing how important this is in my classroom. The last classroom I was in I was very fortunate to have an over abundance of storage space. My books are kept in large plastic bins in storage, but I am constantly taking them out of the bins and putting them in individual plastic blue tubs for classroom use. I have some of them categorized by theme, and some by genre. Because I have gone back and forth between K and first grade(it seems every other year), I feel like I am rearranging my books and how they are stored and organized depending on what grade level I am teaching. I like the idea of shopping on one day of the week for the "just right books" Hopefully I will be able to try that in my classroom this year. J. Baker

I am lucky and have a lot of books. I have the books organized generally by level. A few by collection either author or subject. I have a section with large reference books. The big books are together and the nonfiction books are together.

The shopping for just right books is done on Tuesday. A group of students went to the Title I teacher—I would start with the group I had left—when they were done then the other students would be back and could shop. The original students were reading and then we could go on to conferences. I kept a clipboard with a list of student levels—we would start here as a spring board until students were more confident in there abilities to choose just right books. KDN

==== As far as my classroom library goes, I am quite content. Two years ago I discovered Beth Newingham. Wow, is all I can say! I redid my entire library that year. I had matching blue book baskets. I printed up many of her book labels organizing books by genres, authors, and series. I coded the back of the books so students knew where to return books when they were finished. It was great, and my students really liked the new system. This summer my goal has been leveling these books. This is new to me. I have never used levels before. While I intend on keeping my current system of organization, I am adding baskets with books from one level. I am also finding gaps in my library. I still need so many more books. I have found a grant I am applying for already. I am using classroom money I had left in my account from last year. I am also looking for used books anywhere I can find them. I do Scholastic Book orders, so I am going to send out a wish list when the book orders go home each month. It will take time, but it is very doable. I am counting on our school library to help me as well. Parents spent time last year leveling the entire library. I am hoping it is finished and ready to go when school begins. It is such a valuable resource. TGaribay====

#2. Partner reading is another component of reading workshop. This can be tricky with young children. If you have tried this, share how you established these partnerships and how you keep them going. What difficulties do you encounter with partnerships? // I haven't been as successful with reading partnerships as I'd like to. I //// understand that it is another crucial component of the reading workshop; I just //// haven't kept up with it as much as I'd like to. I think because last year the //// reading workshop was so new to me, I had to place my focus on a few sections at //// a time. This year, keeping and maintaining the partnerships will be higher on //// my list of to do's within the workshop. I will pair the students with others //// that have similarities. They may have the same reading level, be reading the //// same book, or be reading a similar genre of books. I just need to remember that //// the students should be matched with some similarity to each other. I'll have to //// enlist the students' help with maintaining the partnerships; I think that will //// be a classroom job, just to remind Ms. Taylor to switch or keep reading //// partners. We will have our turn-and-talk partners, but maybe it will be easier t //// o have book clubs instead of partners. This will include more voices and //// opinions to the activities. Just a thought... // // Cara1212 // // My first unit of study will be minilessons where students will practice the concept of partner reading. In the past I let students chose a partner early in the year. Now I have a plan. During the first month I will be building a community of readers. As I assess I will note compatibility based on reading levels, interests, and similar taste. Partnerships may change as my students develop into a literate society. I do create an environment of caring students day one. We will practice and I will model positive partnerships. During my second unit I will set up partnerships based on authenic assessment. During class meetings we can discuss challenges, what they perceive or I observe. In my room we embrace diversity. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // Chapter 5 from Bobbi Friend #2 –Similar to Cara and Margaret, my plan is to do a better job with partnerships this year. I had trouble making the partnerships meaningful enough at the beginning of the year and therefore struggled with the consistency of using the partners. I often used the turn and talk method when introducing a mini-lesson, but I did not work towards the responsible partner discussion that would lead to thinking and growing in the way that it is meant to be used. I often had partnerships that dissolved due to personality conflicts and not having readers well matched. I felt as if I needed to spend more time at the beginning of the year describing the reason for partnerships and teaching students how to use their partners in different ways. After our discussion today I feel much better about the idea of partnerships and I will use them next year on a daily basis. I am glad to know that we can have them read the same book, discuss their independent workshop book, practice retelling with each other, discuss something that they wrote on a sticky note, among others.
 * Respond Here: I have never formed lasting reading partners. We buddy read with Kind. kids and sometimes with 5th graders and those were lasting partners, but in our room we have read with various partners. Now I would like to try what Kathy says! I will try to match kids based on reading interests and also ability levels. I really enjoyed reading what she said about matching kids up who are at the same level. What I have found in the past is that matching a really fluent and independent reader with a lower ability reader is hard because the lower kids don't get enough reading work to practice their strategies. The "higher" kids will tell them the words and have a hard time giving them time to figure it out with the strategies that they are using, need to be using or reinforcing appropriate strategies. I am going to try to partner them up more like I said, based on ability and what Tier they are in (RTI) and interest. I will keep them together as long as it is a good match, no one asks to be moved, or if I see that the class needs to switch it up! I do encounter trouble with talking and goofing around at times. I hope that will be less and less as I work on planning mini lesson and individual meetings to deter this behavior!! Steph gaunt **

Like everyone else who responded to this question, I want to do a better job of developing meaningful partnerships. I did make the switch last year to pairing students at similar abilities in both reading and writing workshops. This was a switch done at midyear and I liked the results. Even though students in my classroom did a wonderful job of coaching their reading partners, it seemed much easier when they both read at the same level. Like the example given in the book, students work together to figure out new words instead of one person telling the other. I also need to make partner time a priority so students have the opportunity to share what they are reading, retell the story, and inquire about what their partner is doing. Last year, most of my partner work involved turning and talking after I asked a question or did a demonstration. It is higher on my list for this year. Stephanie Cooper I have taken some partner reading management ideas from Gail Boushey and Joan Moser in their Daily 5 book. I teach the students appropriate ways to sit, voice levels,and roles. We also go over different ways partners can read like: you read-I read, choral read, you read-I reread, taking turns. Another part of partner reading is learning different jobs and how to be a “good” partner. The jobs go beyond just being a reader and a listener. Usually the listener will be the finger pointer at the early part of the year and then move on to checking for understanding. Checking for understanding involves the listener reiterating what he or she just heard the reader read before going on to reading themselves. When we explore nonfiction stories the partners try to be detectives and find or listen for interesting facts. I sometimes establish lasting reading partners but on certain days I give the students the choice to find their own reading partners.Usually the lasting reading partners are created between students that read and discuss their reading well or sometimes they are built with one partner being a good model for the other partner. Garth

When I switched from teaching kindergarten to first grade, I took all of the books I had purchased plus I inherited a lot of books from a retiring first grade teacher. Over the summer I hit yard sales and Goodwill and even begged used books off from family and friends. I then began the painstaking process of getting as many as I could leveled. My school still uses DRA as a formal reading assessment and as a reporting piece on report cards so I leveled the books according to DRA system. I used any online website available and Fountas and Pinnell as resources and then I just used a conversion chart for DRA levels. In one area of my classroom I have bookshelves with leveled books in baskets. In another area in my room I have books sorted into baskets based on subject, genre, or author. The books in these baskets are somewhat flexible as sometimes a student will have a great reason as to why a book should be in another basket. Due to the fact of limited space I also have some books in a cupboard that are brought out on a rotating basis. I am probably what some people would call a book “hoarder.” I felt very validated by Kathy when she talks about the importance of establishing a library because I have what I consider a great start. I feel that I am lacking non-fiction so that is where I am trying to focus. (This is a side note but if you don’t know about Wilbooks go to [|www.Wilbooks.com] and there are some grants where you can apply for free books and if you are a Title I school there is a deal where if you order 100 books they double your order and you only pay the shipping on the second hundred books—so I ordered 200 books for $240.00. I thought it was a good deal—but don’t tell my husband!) Shopping for books has evolved throughout the last few years but I still feel that there is probably a simpler way. I have never “signed out” the books, the kids take 2 and they bring back 2 in order to get more books. I sometimes have to hound a little bit to get them back, but in the last 6 years I bet I have only lost 6-8 books. I am anxious to hear how others manage the shopping process. I was wondering if any of you set time limits or do you let them take however long they need? I have mixed feelings about how to handle this. --Jodee Tuttle

I too have mainly done partner reading using the story from our basal reading series each week. After our week of modeling, teaching, discussions, reading...the children were partnered up by my choice to read the story that we had been working on for the week. As I look back at it I can see how this really didn't engage the reader. We had spent the entire week reading this story in whole groups, small groups...and now partner reading and there probably wan't meaningful conversations happening between the reading partners. I always did this at the end of the week. Each week I also changed the partners. At times I had in mind ability grouping but other times it was just the pick of the hat who was paired with who. This will be something for me to rethink this process. Jill Baker
 * As already stated by most, I also have a lot of work to do in the area of Reading Partnerships. The method I used this past year was having kids read with a partner using the story from our basal for the week. They read together, helped each other with unknown words, and had some discussion afterwards. I did spend some time modeling and teaching how good discussions went after reading, but this was highly scaffolded for my class. Because it was the basal story, we had already read it together as a class, and they were building their conversations based on what we had already talked about. This was a good starting place, but I never took it further to make the partnerships go deeper with other books. I will be working on this area more in the upcoming school year. **
 * Kristy Weberg **

My group loved partnerships! I had a few long going partnerships. I did not start out working that way. If I had the lasting partnerships would have been a benefit to my students. Instead at times I based partnership on level, on the skill we were working on or at time random. The randomness was to allow all students to get the chance to read together plus at times our attendance was not the best and that would have been hard with standing partnerships—my way allowed for this additional variable. KDN __**Chapter Five: Readers Use Strategies to Figure Out Words** __

#1. Very specific points were made at the beginning of the chapter describing the concept of a minilesson. We <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">must be very purposeful as we develop our minilessons. They address broader issues rather than child- <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">specific. We are reminded that our minilessons address a diverse group of readers. Comment on Kathy's <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">description of the acquisitional learning/maintenance learning factor of minilessons. // As Kathy mentioned, she had to have a colleague show her that minilessons have to be particular and carefully thought out and planned. An ongoing assessment must be taking place to ensure that the majority of the class will benefit from the lesson insteado f something that could be taught to a small group of kids instead. Precious time may be wasted if only a few students need the attention in that area. The maintenance factor of minilessons is to keep assessing and looking at what the students really need to learn and how to exactly teach it. // // Cara1212 // // Reading this chapter and reflecting on "acquisitioal learning/maintenance learning" I thought about my classes during my early years of teaching. It's a wonder children didn't scream, "I already know that!" That was when I taught to the masses. Through careful assessment I know to be conscious of who needs what. The idea of creating minilessons whole class based need to create an awareness for those who need the information and help those who have some of the information maintain. The students with serious gaps are mine in small groups. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // Chapter 5 from Bobbi Friend #1 – The concept of the mini-lesson is the most important structural part of reader’s workshop. It is when your whole group instruction takes place. Mini-lessons are designed as scaffolding, to build a base layer for the students to develop strategies that lead to skills. This is a time when all students should be acquiring similar skills and reading habits. The maintenance piece then comes in with partner work and individual conferences. The design of the mini-lesson is also important to a successful reader’s workshop because it needs to be short but valuable.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Respond Here: To me mini lessons are really explicit teaching moments and they have to be so short and that is so hard! I see them as both an acquisition of new learner pieces and also maintenance for all to reminded of strategies and things that they should be doing; reminders. Kids that need a lot of extra help as Margaret mentioned are in small needs groups with me. I also need to give them enough time to be able to maintain and practice these skills and the ideas presented with each other in partner reading as well as private and independent reading time. S. gaunt **

** I'm happy that the author just gives some good advice in a clear way to us here. She says, "if more than half my class needs a particular skill or strategy...., I can justify teaching it in a minilesson". This is very helpful in determining what to cover in minilessons, especially with print strategies. We can have lots of these skills in our own thinking, and know how important they all are, but that doesn't mean for our classes that they all need to be taught. I know I did several minilessons this past year in which I found out quickly that my kids were already comfortable with that skill. Those were days that could have been used for effectively and efficiently had I done a different lesson. I have been using the units published by Heinneman and now have flagged specific lessons that my class for this upcoming year probably won't need. Of course I'll have to determine that through conferring and small groups, but at least I know what to look out for now. ** ** Kristy Weberg **

As Cara mentioned in her reference to Collins description of the differences between acquisition and maintenance learning, “precious time may be wasted if only a fennnw students need attention in that area.” Collins explains that if “more than half of my class needs a particular skill or strategy…I can justify teaching it in a mini-lesson.” (Pg 116) I am guilty of times where I’ve taught something that only a few kids needed. I’m afraid, too, that even if many of my students need that acquisition lesson, there are some (such as my more advanced readers) who receive mostly only the maintenance learning lessons. Like Margaret, I've probably made kids want to scream, "I already know that!" Ugh! I worry about those kids whose abilities fall on the farthest ends of the spectrum. I have renewed hope and plans that I will be better at leading strategy groups and ability-based reading groups to better differentiate my learners needs. I want all kids to be receiving acquisition learning most of the time, with a good balance of maintenance learning to reinforce their skills. Sara Sabourin

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like Kristy and Sara I found it affirming to read "It's usually more effective to teach specific print strategies in small group setting, such as guided reading groups or strategy lessons. After all when we pull together a small group of children, we can tailor our teaching of strategies to their specific needs. But when we're teaching a mini-lesson to the whole class during independent reading workshop, we're facing readers with a wide range of competencies and needs. This fact makes it difficult to teach a print strategy mini-lesson that will fit the needs of many students at the same time....if more than half of my class needs a particular skill or strategy, like attending to the first letters of a word to figure it out, I can justify teaching it in a mini-lesson." (p. 116) Again, this goes back to knowing our students well, and teaching them the specific strategies they need. We need to keep all students challenged. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fran Olesen Reflecting on mini-lessons, Kathy’s comment that “if half the class needs the skill or concept it would be a good mini-lesson” is the thought that has stuck with me. Also the many reminders that mini-lessons are short lessons. Too many times I have focused on skills that one or two students have needed and probably bored my other students to tears. I will focus on being more learner directed as I plan my mini-lessons this year. During one of the read-alouds that Kate modeled this summer at the Home-Grown Institute, she talked about being purposeful with her placement of sticky notes and plans for what she would teach. I hope to emulate that this and be very specific as I plan my mini-lessons to ensure they remain short and on topic. Sue Ronning

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">#2.This is a unit of study on print strategies. The goals and bends in the road are outlined on the planning chart on <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">page 118. As you look them over, do any look challenging? Explain why or why not.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Respond Here: **

// After studying the chart of bends on page 118 and reading the chapter, I really think I may skip this unit of study or only touch on a few key points with my students. I teacha class of 5th graders that are maybe only a few years behind in their reading.S o many of the goals and bends would be already learned; but there are some I may pay closer attention to...I would look more closely at the workshops tructures and the setup of the groups I have. I may put them together in groups of skills needed to be taught in relation to words in print and decoding. Another bend i the road I may pay more attention to is the types andl evels of books the students are choosing and shopping for. This may be a goodtime to have leveled bins of books instead of having students choose by genres.This will ensure they are reading just right books to help boost their reading levels. I would also focus on the bend of fluency. I might have the students domore readers theater readings and plays. I would show the students how to do better with fluency by paying more attention to the punctuation marks in their readings. This would also help with their fluency. // // Cara1212 // // This Unit of Study fits very nicely into the Third Grade Curriculum. This gives me the opportunity to create Minilessons/Small Group Strategies as I assess the needs of my students. I have tried the thoughts presented in the chart. I like the organization of it. My students come to me at various places in their pursuit of the printed word. This unit of study will be shared with my Parapros and my Colleages. Tha Bends in the Road can be matched with what we already do, but in a more systematic mode.. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // **I taught 4th grade last year and will be teaching 5th grade this year. Many of my students will have had experience with all of the goals and bends, but of course there will always be those still struggling in some of the most basic areas. I feel like all of the bends in the road could use some explicit teaching with my students, but just tailored to their specific needs. For example, many of the print strategies are already in place, but there are a couple that could be re-taught with harder words (ie. looking through the word, and using meaning clues). Many kids (except for maybe the highest readers who read with complete ease) need practice with being flexible in using their print strategies. Many can practice them in isolation, but to make them all operate at the same time is the work of a fluent reader. Many are close to this, but need a bit more practice. Also, many kids who are very accurate and read at a good rate, could still use practice with the voice and tone of their fluent reading. They need practice with reading it like a story and reading like the characters would talk, not in a robotic way. And last, all my kids could use a review in being brave as readers, and taking on books they never thought they would. Kristy Weberg**
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I find that most of my kids except a few already come to me with many print strategies and concepts cemented from previous years. I agree completely with Bobbi. My kids who need to practice fluency have a harder time as they are encountering new words and harder reading levels. I am hoping that with appropriate partnerships and needed mini lessons that I can help them conquer this . Steph Gaunt **

Chapter 5 from Bobbi Friend #2 - By the time students reach me in third grade, most print strategies will be something they have mastered. However, I think that as their reading progresses, some students will find that meaning may break down when the text becomes more difficult. Reading with fluency when may become of a challenge when vocabulary is increased. Students need to use their thinking skills to focus on when meaning begins to break down and what kind of fix-up strategies they will use.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We have a responsibility to our students to be sure they know how to read with fluency...After all, the voices in which children read outloud will soon become the voices they hear in their heads as they begin to read silently." (131) I work with struggling 4 & 5th graders and the majority of them have fluency issues along with comprehension issue. When assessed I find their decoding skills are weak, and I need to teach the students to use a flexible strateg(ies) for decoding long and polysyllabic words, especially in the content-area texts. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fran Olesen

Looking at the bends in the road, wanting my readers to be brave is one that I will stress. My students are struggling readers and most often when they encounter a word they don’t know they try one word and stop. They may know other strategies, but if the first one doesn’t work, they don’t continue. I want to have them be confident enough to try something else and keep trying until the reading is fluent and makes sense. Sue Ronning

Helping the struggling reader is going to be difficult for me only because I am thinking out conferring and how it's going to work. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the thought of conferring with all of my students. I am going to start small, maybe conferring with everyone in two weeks instead of every week. I am hoping that as I get more comfortable with RW, I will become more fluent in observing students and seeing what their strengths and weaknesses are in reading so I can help them. TGaribay

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">#3. I appreciate in this chapter that Kathy points out the importance of being able to apply these strategies outside <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">of school and also with unleveled books. Relate how you help your students accomplish this. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Respond Here: I basically try to model this and share my experiences with them on how I do this at home and how we can do this in our daily lives. I really hope that they are doing their strategy work with the unleveled books. I find that when they are reading books that they are really interested in they really want to be able to read them and therefore try harder to figure out the words and ask for help if needed. Steph gaunt** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">We want our children to beable to apply their learning to the world beyond their classroom. I like the fact that the Minilessons are created around normal everyday activities. I often send my students home with an assignment that has them trying out strategies taught. Looking around home or at the doctor's office or while grocery shopping, "What do people look like when they are reading?" At home you be the story teller and excite a parent or sibling with your book. I even have my children start up a conversation at home about the strategy taught that day and how it benefits <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">their success. I know, you're thinking, really... They do it and they share what they did and how the parents responded. I also use this "out of school experience" with Math, Science, and Social Studies.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Margaret Fox


 * I also try to talk a lot about what I do as a reader and how I use these strategies. I do this a lot during a read aloud or when I'm conferring with kids. Also, I will try to model a specific strategy or skill using a variety of genres or types of text, so that the kids see it being used in different ways (not all in one minilesson of course!). This past year, my class received a lot of donated books, with a pretty good variety of genres. Kids were able to take these home and add them to home libraries. As kids chose these books to keep, I took any chance I could get to talk to them about the type of book it was and what kinds of strategies they would need to use in reading it. This is a hard one though! We're always just teaching and hoping that the skills we teach will extend beyond the classroom and we'll try anything to make it happen! **
 * Kristy Weberg **

_- <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">#4. The sample minilessons are very well thought out. Kathy shares with us some wonderful ideas. She talks about <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">different ways to make sure the children are holding on to what we are teaching. This reminds me of the <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">principles in //Making Your Teaching Stick//. One way to make your teaching sticky is to use charts and visual <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">reminders of your lesson. This unit allows numerous opportunities for creating charts for students to refer to <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">often as they read. What kinds of tools do you use to help your students learn these print strategies? Explain. // Having taught upper elementary grades my entire teaching career thus far, I really haven'thad to teach print-how-to strategies. The students come to me already havingthese skills in tact or at least knowing of them. Honestly, I really only haveto reinforce the concepts for the students. For example, in guided reading, wedo a story walk and examine the cover of the text and other illustrations inthe story. But as far as basic decoding skills, I really don't have to do that.We examine text more by looking at context clues and other nonfiction text structures. // // Cara1212 // // I use charts, but I feel my greatest tool is the minilessons/small group sessions and time to practice. I really like warming up to prepare our minds to read. We often, I'm guilty, put in the CD, tell the children to open their book and listen. How sad:( I love the look at it, say the title, what do you think this is about, tell the person next to you. This is authentic learning. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // I agree with Stephanie in that I try to be conscious of displaying too much on the walls so that it’s not to visually stimulating. I will tack chart paper on top of others on bulletin boards so that I can keep the current one on top, but the previous ones are under so that I can easily pull them out to display. For example, we create a procedures chart for our read-to-self time and review it for the first few weeks of school. Once the kids are practicing that with independence I can post over it. However, on those days when we need to have a review lesson on procedures for independent reading time, we can go right back to it. Another tool for this specific unit is the visual chart my colleagues and I created. Our speech-language therapist used the Board Maker program to find pictures to support what strategies a student reading at different levels should use. For instance, on the chart for readers at the levels A, B, C we have a picture of a finger pointing under words. Another picture shows a mouth to remind the early reader to get his mouth ready to say the first sound. There is a small (8 ½ x 11) paper for each level or similar levels that the reader can refer to. When I confer with a child I’ll put a sticky note on the strategy I want her to work on. I may even record tally points on the sticky note to reinforce when I see her using the strategy. When she uses that strategy independently I will work on another point with her. (I have electronic copies of these charts if anyone needs. I’m not sure how to post them here. Just email me at ssabourin@fruitportschools.net. For those of you at the Home Grown institute this summer, Tia should have emailed them to you. Well, at least those in the k-2 advanced session.) Sara Sabourin
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Respond Here: I use lots of charts and visuals such as posters around the room to remind kids and assist them in helping them remember the tools to use. I also have pre-made bookmarks that list good reader strategies on them and they use those to refer to (unless they lose them: There are many charts that the kids use in their writing folders that I took from Lucy Calkins for writing as well. Those charts are hung up on a chart stand and they have many of them in their folders to HOPEFULLY refer to as well when they are writing. I think that it is hard to have charts hanging all over the room because it is too visually busy and I have limited space with walls and bulletin boards. I do use a chart hanger however where they are all hanging so I can flip back to them when I am reviewing a concept and kids go back and flip through them as well. Lots of kids ask me to to please flip to a certain chart as well as they are working( more for writing than reading). I have more reading posters on the walls than the writing but there is a good blend for each area as they do come together in many ways. Stephanie gaunt **

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I chart the teaching points during a unit of study, so I can go back to it during connections. Once we are completed with a unit I tack them on the ceiling so kids can refer back to them. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fran Olesen

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">#5. At the end of each unit, we assess to see what further instruction may be needed, both individually and whole <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">class. What assessments do you and your school district use to monitor progress?

// Our district hasgone back and forth in determining which type of assessment we will use tomonitor progress within our students. We of course use the results of the MEAPTest. We also use the Fountas & Pinell Benchmark Assessments as a measureof which reading level the students are performing at. The upper elementaryteachers use the End-of-Selection Tests from our Harcourt Basal Readers as ameasure of vocabulary and comprehension levels. // // Cara1212 // // Our district has Common Assessments/MEAP. Each quarter we have DIBELS -fluency/comprehension for Upper Elementary and Letter/word recognition at the Lower Elementary. The Common Assessements are based on State Cores. They cover vocabulary, comprehension and grammar. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We hire subs so all teachers can assess their class using Fountas and Pinnell, all K and 1st graders are also assess with DIBELs. I assess further depending on these results. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fran Olesen //﻿--// <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">#6. Celebrating their reading progress always adds to your workshop. There are many different ways you can do <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">this with your class. They can be very simple ways but meaningful at the same time. What do you do in your <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">classroom to share children's successes?
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Respond Here: As Cara listed we use the MEAP and I also have to give Unit End Tests from our reading series, DRA's (formal running record) and personal observation or a running record if i have one on that child. I am not very good about doing running records like I should be. We also use Dibels, Daze, Read Naturally, 6 minute solutions and informal comprehension checks. There is A LOT of DATA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! S. Gaunt **

// There are so many way to celebrate the students' successes with their reading in theworkshop. If at all possible, I'd like to combine the reading and writingworkshop celebrations into one. Of course they won't always mesh together, buti f at all possible, it would make it less time consumable. Not to say that celebrations shouldn't merit the same amount of time as the unit of study. One year, we celebrated our poetry unit by hosting a poetry jam. It was structured after the Harlem Renaissance Poetry Jams. Each student had chosen their favorite poem they wrote and some were selected to read them aloud. Parents were invited, lights were low, candles were lit, and refreshments were served. A highlight of the evening was when a group of mothers were celebrated by theirsons/daughters reading a poem about them and presenting them with a rose. Itwas very touching and the parents and families loved the event. It was an excellent way to celebrate the students’ success with the poetry unit. // // Cara1212 // // We celebrate in a variety of ways. Our Fifth Graders were doing a poetry unit about feelings so we just happen to be finishing up our poetry unit. We had a "Hall Afternoon". We visited﻿ the Fifth Grade gallary of poetry and listened to and read poetry together. We do invite family members in to experience literature delivered by the children. Sometimes we "celebrate" by inviting in members of our staff who don't get the opportunity to be enriched by our school community. // // Margaret Fox﻿ // // I have always had the children read to their parents as a celebration. The parents are invited into our classroom and the children have their book chosen that they will read to them. I really like the way that she suggested getting the children involved in the type of celebrations to have. After all it is their celebration and they should be a part of the planning. It would be nice to have different ways through out the school year to do this celebrating. The children would be so excited about all these different ideas. They always enjoy showing off for their parents, but to have different ways of celebrating thier progress would be even better. Jill Baker //
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Respond Here: We celebrate as Margaret said in several ways. We invite the principal and the curriculum director to come in and the kids read to them. We also read with our reading buddies where the kids read a favorite book of theirs. Sometimes they pick a favorite story and choose an activity to do with that such as make a summary picture cube, draw a favorite part picture of a book that they liked, or a we have a read-a-thon and wear our pajamas!! S. gaunt **

**Many times this past school year we celebrated with new or new to the kids books. I had a lot of books donated, so they would get a chance to choose a new book. I would usually pull out books that could in some way be connected to the unit we just completed, and the kids were able to choose from these. Other times we were all able to order the $1.00 book from the Scholastic book orders, and so kids were excited to be able to buy a book and know it was theirs to keep. We also celebrated at times with making something that signified to us what we learned in the unit. There were times when we made a whole class poster and the kids would tell me what to put on it as a reminder of everything we covered. Kids also made some individual/partner posters. Next year I plan to do more with celebrations and varying what I do as far as a finished product for a celebration. After our non-fiction unit we will make Information Books, which were covered at the Home Grown institute this summer.** -**-Kristy Weberg--**