Accountability for Independent Reading

So, we know that independent reading is MORE than just get out your books these days! It is part of a Reader's Workshop!

So starting as early as KINDERGARTEN students are self-selecting several texts, keeping those texts in their personal book bags or boxes and choosing a place to get comfortable in classrooms to READ independently for upwards of 15-20 minutes EVERY DAY for EVERY STUDENT! 

I promise you kids will get LOST during this time in books and you will come to love it as the best part of your day.  But, sometimes we want to have a little EXTRA accountability for students.  Why not consider having a student checklist that they could fill out daily/weekly?

These could be kept in student book boxes/bags and if you needed to ask a student for their self-checklist you could!  You would only ask for it though if you had something important to write on it.  Perhaps a not about a behavior that should give them a YES check or a NO check when they evaluate themselves?

It is uploaded here in a word doc for you or PDF to use as you see fit in your own classroom! If you like the idea and if you download, be sure to leave a comment! 

Happy INDEPENDENT READING!

Digital Work Board for Work Stations

Do you use a work board during Literacy Workstations? If you've been to our presentation on Work Stations you do!   

Lots of teachers use a pocket chart like this one below to help students become independent during rotation time.  A work board shows students they have work to do!  And it helps students who might be coming and going from your classroom during work stations get started independently.  With a work board, they don’t need your help to know where to go next or to know where they need to be!

If you want to use a pocket chart to organize, you can snag these FREE icons here.  There a set for K-2 AND 3-5.  (https://goo.gl/pL73nB) I still love the idea of a pocket chart.  It’s practical for most classrooms, but I do realize it is 2019!   Which means many of us do things that incorporate technology into our classrooms "these days".

Instead of a pocket chart, some teachers choose to display the rotations on their Smart Board each day. 

I suggest using google slides for this!  It’s just like a pocket chart but in digital form.  And if I need to tweak a station or two, I can access the document from anywhere! Let’s take a look at what a work board might look like in the digital world.

Notice it still has the student names at the top and two rotations.  Fountas and Pinnell say teachers should be pulling a MINIMUM of two guided reading groups a day - which is why you see two rotations on this chart.

Just like on the pocket chart, we still have our anchor stations with icons to help match students to the right station.  I like to change the background color to match the anchor stations for efficiency.  For example, at the word work station, I have a blue ‘word work’ label with the same icon to help students know where to sit around the room!  

Remember everyone's FIRST stop on your rotation is independent reading. The only time kids would not be independent reading every day is if you called them to the Guided Reading table!  That is reflected on the work board in the top row.  Need help organizing for independent reading like this? Check out this post! 

I’ve created this editable powerpoint for you to use if you want to try out displaying your work board next year! 

This is yours to use - so feel free to edit ‘student name’ to your own students!  You can also change out the graphics or tweak the anchor stations to fit your needs!

Click here to download.

Cheers!

Organizing for Independent Reading

Book bins, book boxes and shopping bags Oh My! How do you help your students stay organized during independent reading time? 

There are so many different ways to organize students' books, and you have to find what’s right for you, your classroom space, and your students. 

Today’s post is all about the endless possibilities for organizing student books for independent reading time. Because remember- in a Reader's Workshop- independent reading is NOT a center (AKA Classroom Library Center) it is something every child does every day and it starts on the 1st day of school! 

Below are my absolute favorite ways of organizing student books on a TEACHER BUDGET (if you know what I mean!)

Book Baggies:

In my opinion, the easiest way to organize if you have a SMALL classroom space are student book baggies!  Each student gets a baggie with their name on it for storing their books. You can get fancy and let them design their own name tags for the bag or decorate with stickers!  (or not).  

These gallon sized baggies slide nicely into student desks or chair pockets, making them easily accessible for independent reading time!  You can grab these at your local grocery store.  If you choose this route expect the bags to rip and tear eventually….meaning buy extra baggies and replace the baggies every so often as students need a fresh, new bag. 

Another favorite baggie to use are the 2.5 gallon sized!  These are great for students if you have LARGE picture books that won’t fit in a gallon sized baggie.  Perfect for Kinder, First, and Second grade readers! 

Book Bins:

IF you are RICH (or are blessed with a nice classroom budget- do those still exist?) you can find sturdy book bins through Lakeshore Learning (first photo) or Really Good Stuff. You will most likely NOT have to replace these. 

If you are NOT RICH or on a budget (so like everyone reading this) you can still find magazine holders on a dime!  Kids LOVE decorating these every year! 

These are the most affordable cardboard book boxes I have found on the market to date.  They are from IKEA.  A pack of 4 boxes is $0.99 y’all!  If you don’t have an ikea near you, just order online and have it shipped to you! Easy peasy!

If you aren’t into cardboard, but still want to find affordable book bins, look no further.

Head to your local dollar store or Walmart and peruse the kitchen section.  You can find ice cube bins that are sturdy and durable for a few bucks.  Turning these into book boxes is a great way to get that Lakeshore Learning "look" without going in debt!

One last idea is to use baskets to organize student books. 

One teacher in TISD calls them ‘shopping bags’ Isn’t that ADORABLE!?  

You can find these at your local dollar store and depending on the season Target Dollar Spot!

The last thing to think about before deciding is storage! 

If you have lots of shelf space in your classroom, go for the book boxes/bins/shopping bags.  I recommend spreading out the boxes on different shelves around the room so that you don’t have a traffic jam while getting started with independent reading. 

If you don’t have shelf storage or have a smaller classroom, go with the baggies!  But make sure students have a place to store the bags of books (like a desk, chair pocket, or cubbie). Or plan for some crates you can keep them in and make a plan for a FAST passing out come independent reading time. 

What’s your favorite go-to storage for student books? Comment below to let me know!