Great places to read

Never ceases to amaze where a first grader will go to be comfortable reading. We have some unique, cozy and comfortable spots in our room, but it seems that "Reading in low places" is a popular option this year.

In addition to building our stamina for reading, we've also talked about finding a just right spot to read. We talked about how just right spots are comfortable and let you be a reader. We then tried out different spots in our room to see where we were most comfortable. We tried out Mrs. Malchow's wheelie chair, laying on the floor, using the paw print stools, sitting by the fish tank, and more. See our list of spots we LOVE! 
 Having a comfie spot usually makes a BIG difference for little learners! 

After trying several spots we wrote about our favorite spots as well. Our writing goal was to stretch words out and our illustrating goal was to use details, at least 5 colors and no stick people. 

If you'd like to hear the music as you watch the slide show, click on the speaker icon in the top left corner. Also, the slideshow is set for 15 seconds per frame so you have time to read all of our wonderful 1st grade writing. You can click on the arrows to advance through quicker if you'd like.

Where do you like to read? We'd love for you to let us know in the comment section below.

20 minutes- Hurray!!!

We did it!!! We made it to 20 minutes of independent reading time today! We were all so excited! We have been making mini goals each and every day. Now that we have hit 20 minutes, we are going to add on another Daily 5 option (Listen to reading, Work on Writing, or Word Work) It's still a teacher secret so I can't divulge the information quite yet. YOu'll have to ask your child what it was next week. Along with our 20 minute celebration, we are going to invite Mr. Sufka in to read with us too! We are excited to show him how great we are doing!

Just a quick reminder as well- there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, Sept 28th!

International Dot Day and Read to Self

For the past week we have been learning about 1 of our Daily 5 components, Read to Self. We created an anchor chart (a chart that goes on our wall to remind us of what we talked about) with our 5 expectations which are: 

1. Read the whole time (stretch arms out while saying "whole time")
2. Stay in 1 spot (use super glue) 
3. Read quietly (shhhh...) 
4. Get started quickly (swing arms like you're walking fast) 
5. Build stamina (stack hands alternately)  

Ask your child what stamina is and how it helps us with reading. :-) Have your child show you our actions to go with each expectation (see orange above) 

We also took part in International Dot Day this week which is a celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration. You can read more about it here We read Peter H. Reynold's book, The Dot to help us understand just how important it is to have courage and to make our mark in the world. You can watch the book by clicking on this link. You can also listen to the song by clicking here.

We did a couple of activities this week. First we all colored a dot in our own creative way.You can see an example on the desk in the picture to the right. We then used the free app called, Quiver to make our images come to life in 3D. Look carefully on the picture at the iPad and the image popping out. Your child will be bringing their dot home this week if you want to try it at home. You can also go to the Quiver website to download other coloring sheets that utilize Augmented Reality to pop out. It's amazing and the kids were in awe.

We also created our own dot artwork but instead of using paper and pencils, we used our iPads and the wonderful drawing app called, Drawing Pad to create digital dot pictures. Here a just a few pieces of our artwork. I'll be working to get the other pieces off the iPads next week to share with you. Kiddos leared how to navigate the app, switch between tools, and how to save their images onto their camera roll.

After we were finished, we shared some of our creations with Mrs. Simmons class in Ohio via Skype. They also took part in Int'l Dot Day and wrote their own rendition of Ten Black Dots. We ended up with a few tech glitches for our connection (they could hear us, but we couldn't hear them) so we improvised and used "sign language" to share our learning in addition to utilizing the instant chat feature. It was still a great experience and they are going to send us a copy of their book in the mail (snail mail that is) so we can enjoy firsthand ourselves!

Have you ever gone "Unshopping"?

sorting books before putting them away

Today we again practiced "Unshopping"! This is what we do each week before we pick out new books for our browsing boxes. Everyone sorts their books out and then returns them to the correct book baskets. 
Once we have our books put away, it's time for the real fun to start, BOOK SHOPPING!!!!!  This is typically a favorite part of our week and this week was no different... in fact, it was probably a bit more exciting than usual as I purchased quite a few new books for our classroom (shhhhhh... we're not allowed to tell Mr. Malchow! LOL)
We have a new basket of Super Hero books (oooo... ahhhhh!), Fancy Nancy books, Hello Kitty, and Star Wars just to name a few. The books were flying off the shelf like hot cakes today. In fact,once we were done shopping, the kiddos couldn't keep their hands off their books and we had our best read to self time ever! You could have heard a pin drop in our room for almost 20 minutes!

Book shopping!!!

Where do you like to read??

For the past 2 weeks we have been learning about 1 of our Daily 5 components, Read to Self. We created an anchor chart (a chart that goes on our wall to remind us of what we talked about) with our 5 expectations which are: 

1. Get started quickly (swing arms like you're walking fast) 
2. Stay in 1 spot (use super glue) 
3. Read quietly (shhhh...) 
4. Read the whole time (stretch arms out while saying "whole time")
5. Build stamina (stack hands alternately) 

 Ask your child to show you our actions to go with each expectation (see orange above) 

We've also talked about finding a just right spot to read. We talked about how just right spots are comfortable and let you be a reader. We then tried out different spots in our room to see where we were most comfortable. We tried out Mrs. Malchow's wheelie chair, laying on the floor, using the paw print stools, sitting by the fish tank, and more. See our list of spots we LOVE! 
We then talked about how the coolest looking spots aren't always the best spots. While we were trying out spots, we also worked to build our stamina for reading. Our first few attempts didn't take us far, we were able to read for about a 2-3 minutes. By the end of the week, we had built our stamina up to be able to read for 8 minutes. This may not seem like much, but for little minds, this is a wonderful jump. Currently, we are reading independently for 10 minutes!! Having a comfie spot usually makes a BIG difference for little learners! 

After trying several spots we wrote about our favorite spots as well. Our writing goal was to stretch words out and our illustrating goal was to use at least 5 colors and detail.

Where is YOUR favorite place to read? We would LOVE it if you would leave us comment and tell us about it!

Read to Self time

For the past 2 weeks we have been learning about 1 of our Daily 5 components, Read to Self. We created an anchor chart (a chart that goes on our wall to remind us of what we talked about) with our 5 expectations which are: 

1. Get started quickly (swing arms like you're walking fast) 
2. Stay in 1 spot (use super glue) 
3. Read quietly (shhhh...) 
4. Read the whole time (stretch arms out while saying "whole time")
5. Build stamina (stack hands alternately) Think sit ups 

You'll have to ask your child what sit ups are all about. Then ask them what stamina has to do with them and reading. :-) Ask your child to show you our actions to go with each expectation (see orange above) 

 We've also talked about finding a just right spot to read. We talked about how just right spots are comfortable and let you be a reader. We then tried out different spots in our room to see where we were most comfortable. We tried out Mrs. Malchow's wheelie chair, laying on the floor, using the paw print stools, sitting by the fish tank, and more. We then talked about how the coolest looking spots aren't always the best spots. While we were trying out spots, we also worked to build our stamina for reading. Our first few attempts didn't take us far, we were able to read for about a minute. By the end of the week, we had built our stamina up to be able to read for 3 minutes. This may not seem like much, but for little minds, this is a wonderful jump. Currently, we are reading independently for 7 minutes!! Having a comfie spot usually makes a BIG difference for little learners! 

After trying several spots we wrote about our favorite spots as well. (Click on the slideshow below to see our writing.) Click on the image to advance the slides. Enjoy!! 

We'd love it if you left us a comment and told us where YOUR favorite spot to read is!

Read to Self

We've been working hard on an important part of our day called, "read to self" time. During this part of our day, students read self selected books at their reading level. We will be learning a variety of ways to choose just right books for ourselves and will "book shop" on Mondays. Currently we are working on building our reading stamina. Ask your child what stamina is and how they are doing with it.

Best places to Read!!!

For the past 2 weeks we have been learning about 1 of our Daily 5 components, Read to Self. We created an anchor chart (a chart that goes on our wall to remind us of what we talked about) with our 5 expectations which are:

1. Get started quickly (pretend to take books out of box)
2. Stay in 1 spot (use super glue)
3. Read the whole time  (hands pointing to words)
4. Read quietly (shhhh...)
5. Build stamina (stack hands alternately) Think push ups

 You'll have to ask your child what push ups are all about. Then ask them what stamina has to do with them and reading. :-)
Ask your child to show you our actions to go with each expectation (see orange above)

We've also talked about finding a just right spot to read. We talked about how just right spots are comfortable and let you be a reader. We then tried out different spots in our room to see where we were most comfortable. We tried out Mrs. Malchow's wheelie chair, laying on the floor, using pillows, reading with lapboards, going under tables, and more. We then talked about how the coolest looking spots aren't always the best spots. 

While we were trying out spots, we also worked to build our stamina for reading. Our first few attempts didn't take us far, we were able to read for about a minute. By the end of the week, we had built our stamina up to be able to read for 3 minutes. This may not seem like much, but for little minds, this is a wonderful jump. Currently, we are reading independently for 10 minutes!! Having a comfie spot usually makes a BIG difference for little learners!

After trying several spots we wrote about our favorite spots as well.  (Click on the slideshow below to see our writing.) The writing mini lesson revolved around using finger spaces between words. Using our spacemen again was a big hit.

Click on the image to advance the slides. Enjoy!!

Please leave us a comment and tell us where YOUR favorite spot to read is!

Where do you like to read?

This week we have been learning about 1 of our Daily 5 components, Read to Self. We created an anchor chart (a chart that goes on our wall to remind us of what we talked about) with our 5 expectations which are:





The infamous tractor chair


1. Get started quickly
2. Read the whole time (nose in a book)
3. Stay in 1 spot (use super glue)
4. Read quietly (shhhh...)
5. Build stamina (think about push ups)

 You'll have to ask your child what push ups are all about. Then ask them what stamina has to do with them and reading. :-)



Reading on Mr. Poochie-wah



On Friday, we talked about finding a just right spot to read. We talked about how just right spots are comfortable and let you be a reader. We then tried out different spots in our room to see where we were most comfortable. We tried out Mrs. Malchow's wheelie chair, the tractor chair, laying on the floor, using pillows, reading with lapboards, going under tables, and more. We then talked about how the coolest looking spots aren't always the best spots. Allie said she really liked reading under the tables, but Ayden said he kept bumping his head. Tyler said he didn't like reading by the cupboard because it was too hard and uncomfortable while Grayson said he loved it because he could lean up against the cabinets.

While we were trying out spots, we also worked to build our stamina for reading. Our first few attempts didn't take us far, we were able to read for about a minute. By the end of the week, we had built our stamina up to be able to read for 6-10 minutes. Having a comfie spot really seemed to make a difference for us!



Comfie on the floor

After trying several spots we wrote about our favorite spots as well.  (Click on the slideshow below to see our writing.) The writing mini lesson revolved around using finger spaces between words so you will notice pink or green highlighter tape between the words as we used that as a visual to see if our spaces were large enough.
When viewing, click on full screen and hover your mouse across the bottom by the controls, you will be able to see the caption of what each child wrote.

Where is your favorite spot to read? Leave us a comment and let us know. We'd love to hear some more suggestions!

Have a great weekend!