It's amazing what reading aloud to your students will do.
For the past 4 years, I have started the year off reading The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. I teach 6th grade...and the book's reading level is a grade equivalent of 5.1. It's an independent level book for 75% of my students, but I'm still reading it to them.
We're nearing the end, and each day when I have to put it away, they are begging me to continue reading. Kids crave a good story. They will sit and listen. They enjoy it. It makes them think. They discuss the story and make predictions in the lunch line. They want to get caught up with what is happening when they've been absent and miss a day of reading.
I have one copy of the second book in the series, The People of Sparks, in my classroom library. The cover is not connected to the book anymore and held together by tape. I just ordered a second copy from BookMooch.com and am awaiting its arrival.
There's no technology involved in my reading aloud to the students. No flashy screens, cameras, or sound effects are attached to the book. It's just a good story.
No wonder my education professor, Dr. Susan Sherwood, stressed that you should read to your students every day. I'm a believer.
What have you read to your students lately?
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Book Bistro
Last year I wanted to find a different way of doing the classic "book report." I do the First 20 Days of Reading from the book Guiding Readers and Writers in my classroom. This system of Reader's Workshop relies on reader's response letters and book recommendations. Some students really struggle with finding good books, so I thought a fun venue to share books would be a cafe-like atmosphere. Last year, we called it Book Cafe, but since some teachers have been implementing the Daily 5 and The Cafe Menu, I didn't want the two cafes to be confused. Thus, this year we changed the name to Book Bistro.
Our elementary operates on trimesters, so we have 3 rounds of Book Bistro. Each student presents one time per trimester. With my class of 22 students, we hold 4 Book Bistros per trimester so there are 5-6 students presenting at each. This usually takes up an hour of our morning, but it's definitely worth it. It helps the students presenting work on oral communication, and the listeners get to hear about some great books! The students have a list of ideas to choose from, but as you can see, they may also come up with their own idea and get my approval. We've had some great presentations this year including a newscast shot on multiple locations!
Because it is a cafe or bistro atmosphere, the students presenting bring in treats and beverages for the listeners to enjoy as they present. I've even had students bring specific food because it relates to their book!
At the beginning of the year, I held my own Book Bistro for the students. I brought the treats and modeled three different ways to present with three books that I enjoy. We also discussed proper "cafe etiquette" including not scarfing down your food, sipping your beverage, sitting quietly, and not getting up to throw things away when someone is presenting.
Students really seem to enjoy this venue for sharing books. It's fun to hear them tell me ," This book is GREAT! I think I'm going to share it at the next Book Bistro." Talk about motivated readers!
Our elementary operates on trimesters, so we have 3 rounds of Book Bistro. Each student presents one time per trimester. With my class of 22 students, we hold 4 Book Bistros per trimester so there are 5-6 students presenting at each. This usually takes up an hour of our morning, but it's definitely worth it. It helps the students presenting work on oral communication, and the listeners get to hear about some great books! The students have a list of ideas to choose from, but as you can see, they may also come up with their own idea and get my approval. We've had some great presentations this year including a newscast shot on multiple locations!
Because it is a cafe or bistro atmosphere, the students presenting bring in treats and beverages for the listeners to enjoy as they present. I've even had students bring specific food because it relates to their book!
At the beginning of the year, I held my own Book Bistro for the students. I brought the treats and modeled three different ways to present with three books that I enjoy. We also discussed proper "cafe etiquette" including not scarfing down your food, sipping your beverage, sitting quietly, and not getting up to throw things away when someone is presenting.
Students really seem to enjoy this venue for sharing books. It's fun to hear them tell me ," This book is GREAT! I think I'm going to share it at the next Book Bistro." Talk about motivated readers!
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