Three Days in My Literacy Classroom
Morning Meeting
Morning Meeting is one of the few aspects of the classroom that will virtually stay the same each and every morning. This is important as it is a regular routine and it is the first thing the students do during the day. It helps create continuity and gives students a part of the day that they know will never change. By having the routine of Morning Meeting never change the students have a certain type a stability they can count on.
Guided Reading
Guided reading is a block of about 30 to 45 minutes where students focus on reading. They learn different skills and strategies for reading and learn about all the different types of books that are out there in the world for us to read. In my classroom I like to break my students up into 4-5 different groups, depending on the amount of students, based on their reading levels. I like to meet with my lowest reading level group at least 3-4 different times a week to help them become more proficient readers. During my guided reading lessons I like to have a group at the back table with me and have everyone else in the classroom either completing a reading assignment or reading independently. Below is a brief example of what 3 different days might look like during my guided reading period.
Today I will meet with the lowest reading group. We will be focusing on a skill like the recognizing the ending -og. We will read a book that demonstrated that skill and then the students will create a sentence that uses that skill. I will be able to meet with 2-3 groups today as they are my lower groups and will need more time and attention.
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Today I will meet with my middle and higher groups. Because they are more advanced it will take them less time to understand the lesson and I will therefore be able to see 3-4 different groups today. I will work on a skill like prediction today using a book to introduce and model the skill. I will then give the group a book that they will read and practice the skill of prediction.
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Today will be my check in day. As it is probably the middle of the week I feel like this is the best time to check in with my young readers. Because we are just checking in I will not have to spend as much time with each group and will therefore be able to see each and every group today. we will talk about the different skills they have learned and how they are practicing them in their everyday reading.
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Writing Workshop
This is one of my favorite classes because it is where you really get to help your students transform their ability to write. As writing is an extremely important skill that is used everyday for the rest of their lives I love that I can help shape my young writers into the best writers they can be. My writing workshop runs in a rotation. In the beginning the students can create a story. It can be as detailed as they want it to be and usually it can be about whatever their hearts desire. After my young writers create their story a series of different lessons are introduced to help improve their stories. Then when many different lessons were taught on how to improve their writing and the students were given the opportunity to practice these different skills the students will moved onto finalizing and publishing their stories. The last step in my rotation in share where each and every student gets the opportunity to share their story. Below is an example of what three different days in the middle of the rotation might look like.
Today is where the students will be adding dialogue to their stories. I will begin by teaching a mini lesson on dialogue and helping the students understand what dialogue is and how to use it. After I have taught the lesson the students will be given the opportunity to practice the skill.
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The next day we may work on emotions and how to show emotions without actually saying the emotion. I will teach a mini lesson on emotions and then create the chart above. The students will help me come up with different ways to show these emotions.
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After teaching many different lessons on how to improve their stories and make it longer I will begin to talk about editing and punctuation. I will again teach a mini lesson on punctuation and review how to use the different punctuation. After this the students will have an opportunity to practice this skill in their own writing piece.
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Conferencing is another important part of writing workshop and you may have noticed that I did not include this a a particular stage in my rotation. This is because I like to continually conference with the students. Whenever a student thinks they are done or if a student is struggling I talk with them about their writing and individually help them with their writing piece.