Book Club Materials (2013)
In second grade, reading shifts from learning to decode words and understand sentences to connecting with characters and truly understanding stories. At the same time, children begin a social shift away from the self-centered play of their younger years toward a more social basis for play and learning. What others think begins to take on importance, and children develop the ability to take on someone else’s perspective. For all these reasons, Book Clubs offer an ideal way to structure reading groups within the Reading Workshop curriculum.
Book Clubs allow students to create understanding socially - share ideas, get another perspective, and see that discussion is an important part of leading an intellectual life. In Book Clubs, students read books at their level, either on their own or with the teacher, and then engage in rich, comprehension-based discussions with other children who are reading the same book. I frequently drop in on these conversations, giving me insight into how deeply students understand text read independently and allowing me to support deeper comprehension through questioning, returning to the text, and fostering perspective-taking.
It also gives me the freedom to meet with struggling readers in their Book Club groups for more traditional Guided Reading, while not singling them out from the rest of the class. More advanced readers can read introductory books in common to build understanding and aptitude with the routines of Book Clubs, then branch out and read different books, comparing them in terms of character, plot, and theme. Since every child is engaged in a Book Club around the same theme or study, all children have a stake and can participate in a shared project at their own level.
This grant allowed me to expand my Book Club resources during the 2012-13 school year by purchasing many multiple copy sets of fiction books in popular series at all levels of second grade reading. I was also able to subscribe to VoiceThread, an online collaboration tool that will allow students to share their thinking about books and characters with a wider audience.
Book Clubs allow students to create understanding socially - share ideas, get another perspective, and see that discussion is an important part of leading an intellectual life. In Book Clubs, students read books at their level, either on their own or with the teacher, and then engage in rich, comprehension-based discussions with other children who are reading the same book. I frequently drop in on these conversations, giving me insight into how deeply students understand text read independently and allowing me to support deeper comprehension through questioning, returning to the text, and fostering perspective-taking.
It also gives me the freedom to meet with struggling readers in their Book Club groups for more traditional Guided Reading, while not singling them out from the rest of the class. More advanced readers can read introductory books in common to build understanding and aptitude with the routines of Book Clubs, then branch out and read different books, comparing them in terms of character, plot, and theme. Since every child is engaged in a Book Club around the same theme or study, all children have a stake and can participate in a shared project at their own level.
This grant allowed me to expand my Book Club resources during the 2012-13 school year by purchasing many multiple copy sets of fiction books in popular series at all levels of second grade reading. I was also able to subscribe to VoiceThread, an online collaboration tool that will allow students to share their thinking about books and characters with a wider audience.
Portable Listening Centers (2012)
Listening to stories read aloud by an effective reader helps build literacy by providing a fluent model and developing listening comprehension. This grant allowed me to purchase thirty picture books with companion cds, five MP3 players, and five sets of children's headphones. With these materials, I created five "Portable Listening Centers", each containing several books, an MP3 player programmed to play the audio file for each book, and a set of headphones. Students check out the listening centers to use during Reading Workshop. Because they are portable, students can take them wherever their Book Nook is for the day, and I don't have to create a separate space in the classroom for a stationary listening center. Students also have the responsibility of helping each other learn to operate the MP3 players.
I targeted this grant toward helping my struggling readers and ESL students, as reading along with the recording could help them build vocabulary and expression. However, I have found that all my students love using the listening centers! In fact, I have to make sure I rotate them on a regular basis so that all students have access to them equally. The only problem we have is keeping them all charged!
I targeted this grant toward helping my struggling readers and ESL students, as reading along with the recording could help them build vocabulary and expression. However, I have found that all my students love using the listening centers! In fact, I have to make sure I rotate them on a regular basis so that all students have access to them equally. The only problem we have is keeping them all charged!