Launching Our Reader's Workshop

Just as we did in kindergarten last year, the first graders participate in reader's workshop everyday.  We begin with a mini lesson that focuses on a strategy or reading skill and then practice that skill together.  The children then have time for independent reading where they can utilize the skill we learned in the mini lesson.

We also learned how to "check out" books from our classroom library and return them matching the sticker on the book to the sticker on the bucket it came from.  In addition to this, we practiced selecting "just right" books for us to read for our book boxes.

By using a stamina chart, we have been keeping track of the amount of minutes that we can successfully read to ourselves.  We are already up to six minutes!  This is actual reading time, with no book selecting, bathroom trips or drinks from the drinking fountain!