Reading Workshop

I always love teaching reading, but this year I am more excited than usual because I am trying out some new ideas during our reading workshop time. I always teach a mini lesson on a specific reading skill or habit, then students follow our classroom routines for getting their book bags, setting out their reading mats, stacking their books in the order they plan to read them, and they get started, trying to incorporate the practice we've discussed in the lesson as they read. I can tell you that this class is a group of productive readers and I can already feel them getting stronger! We have some independent reading time every reading session, following by some time for partner reading, reading together, helping each other remember strategies to improve.

The first several of my lessons this year were about developing strong, general habits as a reader. We've been using this word "habit" a lot in first grade this year. They are developing good reading habits-- things they do as readers without even needing to be reminded! 

We spent another series of lessons focus on specific habits of tackling "tricky" words we encounter in our reading (and had some fun giving a name to some bad habits that we want to notice and get rid of).

Lately I have been working  on good habits partners have when they work as a team. 

Please ask your child about reading workshop. And when you are reading with them and they get stuck on a word, try asking, "what are some strategies you could try to figure it out?"