Reader's Notebooks

Today was a busy day and once again, I didn't take too many pictures.  I'm going to try to do better, but a few shots a day may be as good as it gets to do the constant movement that goes on in our classroom.
We did daily morning work for the first time this morning.  The students did very well with both the math and language skills.  We had another morning in math, followed by art, and then a trip to the computer lab.
In the computer lab each student took a STAR test so we could get an idea of their current reading level.  I had a conference with each student about their reading level and we discussed what 'just right' books would be for them.  Each students' goal is to be reading a 'just right' book or a slightly challenging book.  I asked each person not to read an easy book because easy books are not going to help them grow as a reader!

This is the sheet students will keep in their reader's notebooks that will help them keep track of their reading level.  We will try to test for a new reading level every month or two so each student can constantly push his or herself to become a better reader.

This is a reading log students will keep in their reader's notebooks.  This log is different from their daily reading log that is initialed because this log just keeps track of what book they are currently reading, what the genre of the book is, when they completed the book, and whether the book was E (easy), JR (just right), or C (challenging).

This sheet will also be kept in reader's notebooks.  This sheet will be used to help us locate information in our notebooks that will help us become better readers.  We are going to keep handouts in reader's notebooks to help us with comprehension, fluency, accuracy, understanding genres, and much more!

We will be continuing to add other pieces to our reader's notebooks over the next week.  We will also practice using these notebooks in class together before students work completely independently with them.  Once all of the pieces are in each notebook and your child understands their book, he or she will be bringing it home to share with you so you can see what it is we are working on at school :).

After a long day of work, work, work we finished our day with a little recess outside.