Morning Book Club with Students

I was looking for a way to connect with more of students and to continue to grow my students love of reading. I decided to try a morning book club, and it was the best idea ever! I was hoping I would have at least 5-10 students and over 20 showed up the first time! It has continued to grow.

This has easily become my favorite day of the week. Students and I look forward to it all week.

I'm sharing the steps I took to get my book club up and running in case you're interested in starting one too!

1. Introduce the idea-

I started with a poll (using menitmeter) to see if students were even introduced. I didn't share a lot of information at first, I used this poll as a way to get them interested and want to know more.

2. Pump up the idea-

After the poll, I talked up book club and how awesome it was going to be. :) I shared that we would meet before school, discuss the book, play some games, and just have a bunch of fun together!

3. Pick a book-

I wanted our first book to be a short read, so we could get through it fairly quickly. I didn't want book club with one book to drag on forever. I chose a book that was available on Scholastic. That way parents would be able to easily purchase the book for a reasonable price. Also, think about a book that would be appealing to most of your students.

3. Share information with parents-

I sent an introduction letter and permission slip to parents both with a physical copy and emailed them a copy. I also shared about our upcoming Book Club via my weekly video newsletter. I wanted to make sure I got the information out via many channels.  Click here to view my letter and make a copy if you want to tweak it.

4. Buy books-

I ordered the books on Scholastic for the students that placed that way. I also let students know they could check the book out at the library or buy on Amazon. If money was an issue, I worked with students to help them get the book.

5. Student Bookmarks and dates-

I created bookmarks for each student that was going to be in Book Club. The bookmark included our meeting dates and chapters to read for each meeting.

Click here to grab a copy to edit:

6. Email parents-

Then, I emailed just the parents with students in Book Club sharing the dates and times for our meetings.

7. Meet UP-

Finally, we met for our first meeting. We circled up and discussed the book. I went way BETTER than I could have imagined. Students were so engaged with the book and each other. I was so proud of their questions, discussion, and engagement. We ended each meeting with a game, usually Kahoot!

8. CELEBRATE-

After our first book club, the students asked if we could celebrate. Parents contributed, and we were able to have the best time. We even created a life motto, like one we learned from the book!

We are ready for book #2!! 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

First Chapter Friday

First Chapter Friday is a big deal in my classroom! It happens every Friday, and students come in looking forward to seeing what book we will be reading. 

First Chapter Friday is exactly what it sounds like. You read the first chapter of a book aloud to your students. But, what makes it fun is the hype and excitement for the book and who gets to read the rest of it. 

Click here if you want to grab a copy of my display slide.

I have six easy steps to help your students want First Chapter Friday every week.

1. Decide on a book and talk it up before Friday without giving the title away.

2. Share the title. Then share information about author and talk about other books he/she has written.

3. Read the blurb and let students share thoughts and questions.

4. Read the FIRST chapter (and sometimes the 2nd and 3rd, and maybe 4th)! I love when they talk me into reading another chapter.

5. Let students share thoughts about the book via Padlet (QR code on my slide) and read each other's ideas.

6. Place an "I WANNA READ" sheet for students to sign their name if they are interested in reading it. 

And that's it, but my students absolutely LOVE First Chapter Friday!

Click here to grab a copy of my list. I put the list in our classroom library, and we pass the book to the next person. I love when they all try to be the first one to get the book from the school library. :) 

This is a great time to highlight new books, authors, different genres, series, etc. I also let students submit titles of books to me for recommendations for our First Chapter Friday reads. First Chapter Friday has brought even more excitement to our classroom for my readers! 

What do you do to grow the love of reading in your classroom?

Digital Conferring Notes

Conferring is a very important component of Reading and Writing Workshop. 

Conferring provides individualized instruction for each student. I gain valuable knowledge about students' reading and writing through each conference and gives students confidence as well. 

It is important to take notes while conferring. I am always tweaking the way I take and manage conferring notes. I have used many different ways like sticky notes, notebooks, OneNote. I recently created a Google Form for me to quickly fill out when I meet with the child. Click here to see my Reading Conference Form. 

My favorite thing about my digital form I love the most is that I can filter my Google Sheets by homeroom, student name, skill, reading level, etc.  This helps me see what area a majority of my students are struggling with and where growth is happening. Then, I can easily create a small group or mini lesson on what is needed for my students. I also have a record of conferences for the whole year in one place for student data.

Here is a copy of my writing form as well. You can add any questions you want to make the form personal to you and your class. How to you organize your conferring notes?

Student Book Challenge

I knew I want to come back from Christmas Break and hit the ground running with building stamina and creating excitement about reading new books! So, the Student Reading Challenge was born. 

We looked back at our goals for reading, accessed how we were doing, and reviewed good reading strategies. I challenged my students to the 20 book challenge to begin with. This will not be 20 individual books, per say, because I didn't want students to read just 20 picture books. I wanted to encourage a variety. Together, we created a point system:

Picture books= 1 point

Graphic Novels= 5 points

Chapter Books= 10 points

The only requirement I gave them is that they had to read at least one chapter book. 

Click here to grab a copy of the document students are recording their books on. 

After students earn 20 points they share the document with me, and we talk about the books they read. They earn a certificate and get to sign the 20 point sign in our classroom library. I love recognizing hard work with a positive note from me that can go home!

Click here to grab a copy of the certificate that students can earn. 

From there, students start working on the next challenge: 40 points, 60 points, etc! Let me know if you have any questions. 

Can they get to 100 "books" before the end of the year? That's the real challenge!

3-2-1 New Year Reflection

Happy New Year! 

I love the start of something new! In education, I love that I have two chances to reflect on my life and set new goals. 

With my own family, we sit down and reflect together and then talk about the year to come.

I am going to be doing the same thing with my students this year. They love our 3-2-1 FriYAY, so I created a 3-2-1 New Year Reflection. I'm excited for our conversations and the community it will help build for the remainder of the year. I will also model how reflecting and thinking about the new year will help me pick my ONE word.

Click here to grab a copy of the digital template of 3-2-1 New Year. 

You can have students fill out digitally, print a copy for each of them, or complete as a scoot.

For the scoot, print a blank copy for each student and place the 3-2-1 sheets up around the room. You could partner students up in groups and have them rotate and discuss as they go around. 

I'm excited to see my students in a few days and celebrate a new year and decade with them!

Happy 2020!!!

Encourage Reading and Writing Over the Break

As teachers we know the importance of reading each day and that regression can occur over breaks. I like to encourage my students in fun ways to read and write over the Holiday break. 

Here are 4 ways you can encourage your students:

1. Reading Incentive- 

This incentive encourages students to read 30 minutes a day. You could set it for less if you have younger students. You can send the letter home to parents along with the reading mug. The top readers will get to have breakfast with me when we return in January. We will eat and talk about the books we have read. Yes, I will be reading over break and keeping track too to show my students.

Click here to grab a copy of my letter and mug that I will be sending home with my students next week. 

                  

2. Who's Reading What?-

I am also going to share a collaborative document with my students in Google Classroom so we can see in live time the books being read and get ideas and recommendations over break! I am excited to see all the books being read and the pictures that will come in! Click here to grab a copy!

3. Christmas Break Journal-
If I'm encouraging reading, I am definitely going to encourage writing too! I love hearing from students over break. I will share this Christmas Break Journal in Google Classroom with my students. I can easily respond back to them and show I care even over the holiday. (I will not respond everyday. I will take time to enjoy my break and family too.) Even if you don't respond over break, students will be collecting writing ideas and can share with one another when we return in January.
Click here for a copy.

4. Reading Bingo from Capstone- 

This is another cute option to share with students over break that I found from Capstone Reading on reading that makes reading fun. It offers several creative ideas for reading!

I already have a stack of books I'll be reading over break! Remember to model what you teach and preach. :) How do you encourage reading and writing over the break?

Light Up Your School

Similar to my Gratitude Challenge, I am going to encourage my students to Light Up Wells by writing notes to share how those around us make our school a better place. I loved seeing how happy it made my students to deliver their thankful notes last month. 

I will kick off our Light Up Wells initiative by giving students a light bulb with handwritten note when they walk in Monday morning that shares with them how they light up our classroom. Then, we will string the light bulbs to create a festive decoration for our classroom.

Click here to edit a copy for your students and campus.

I will print the suggested calendar and light bulbs for students to write notes two to a page. 

I want to focus on the positives that are happening on our campus. I believe it is worth a few minutes each day to allow students to think of who they could encourage and practice lifting LIGHTING others UP!