Building+a+Reading+Life

Reading: Unit 1: Building a Reading Life  During our first unit of study, we hope you will begin to build a reading life that will last you a lifetime. Reading is one of the greatest gifts and treasures you can possess! It is my hope and dream for you, that reading will become a passion of yours -- as you fall in love with characters and cheer for them, cry for them, and wrestle with them in their struggles. I love reading and I hope you will too! = =  READING FLUENCY/ THINKING VIDEOS! <-- CLICK HERE TO SEE!

Click on the link below to open and print a pdf of the standards checklist for our first unit of study.

Reading Checkout Cards We also want to encourage students to be reading "just-right" books at home and at school. Research shows that the more time students spend reading books that they have a deep comprehension and fluency reading independently, the more growth they will make. In order to support reading books that are just right, I have conferred with students to let them know their independent reading level and encouraged them to choose books that are just right for them. I have also encouraged them to self-monitor their reading fluency and comprehension. My goal is that students can independently check if they're truly understanding what they're reading. It is a sign of a good reader who can pick up a book and read a page and say, "This doesn't feel right for me. There are too many words I do not understand and I am not understanding what I'm reading. I'm going to choose a different book." I realize that all students are not ready yet to self-monitor their comprehension, so I'm checking in with them to guide them in developing those skills. Third grade teachers have designed systems for students to check out books from the classroom library. Please encourage your child to bring home and check out JR books from the classroom library. I will also encourage them to check out books that are TOO HARD/ CHALLENGING for them to ask you to read aloud to them! :) Why Log Our Reading?  In third grade, we encourage students to keep a log of their reading. This log allows students to analyze their reading life. By looking at the log, students are able to recognize how much time they spend reading and the types of books they are reading. Some students will choose to also look at the number of pages they're reading and set goals for themselves to read faster, stronger, and longer. We are working on building reading fluency and stamina! Here is a copy of the reading log we're using.   Click on the .pdf below to see the Reading Log!

= =  Our Motto is "Reading is THINKING!" In our first unit, we learn that while we're reading our brains are constantly working and questioning! We jot down our thoughts on post-it notes and we share them with our reading partners at the end of reading workshop. We also share our thinking during whole class read alouds too! media type="custom" key="23823120" align="center"