Books: They're a lot like clothes, yah know...

What's a "Just Right" book, anyway?

Getting lost in books

Focused independent reading

Getting lost in books

Mrs. Fraser, our wonderful Literacy Tutor with Second Grade Readers

In the past three weeks, we have been busy launching Reader's Workshop in our class and establishing purpose for life as a second grade reader. As part of this unit of "laying foundations" for literacy, one day, I brought in three shirts (I think what follows will remind you of a certain fairy tale you might know, The Three Little Bears). I brought in one of my dad's shirts and put it on, dramatically and theatrically asking students to help me figure out why this shirt just isn't right for me!?!? They thought I had turned totally looney, exclaiming emphatically IT'S TOO BIG!!! Then, I put on one of my old baby doll's shirts (my pinky finger was pretty much the only body part that fit into it) and students scoffed (and laughed) as they proclaimed IT'S TOO SMALL!!! Last, I slid on one of my tried-and-true favorite tees from Block Island and was met by 16 relieved sighs of "ahhhhh, it fits you just right." 

It was in this manner that I showed our second graders that just like we wear clothes that fit us just right, we need to select books that are just right for us. But what does it mean to be just right? We came up with some user-friendly guidelines that you might find helpful in assisting your child with book selection at home.

1. The 5-Finger Test: Open up to any page in a prospective book choice and read it. Hold up one finger for each word you cannot solve on your own. 0-1 fingers=too easy, 2-3=just right, 4-5=too hard.

2. Enjoyed a preview of the book: interesting topic, author, series, etc.

3. Reading it feels good: smooth, fluent reading with expression

4. Might be teacher recommended

Our second graders need to be reading for at least 20 minutes every night!! We are working on building our stamina, or our ability to sustain focus for extended periods of time each day at school. This hard work needs to be paralleled at home so we can all "get lost" in our books and live the life of joyful readers.

We have a great start to our day and it's called: Morning Meeting!

We have a great new start to our day and it's called Morning Meeting! During Morning Meeting, each student is greeted by name by a classmate. This is a way for us to build the important feelings of belonging and significance...and we often greet each other in a fun way (ask your student about our "Howdy" greeting...giggles all around the circle on those mornings). Every child needs to know that they are seen and they are significant in our classroom. The greeting is a small gesture that can help a child feel big.

During Morning Meeting, we also have a short time to share news and information from our lives that we'd like to celebrate or talk about. This is a way for us to get to know one another on a meaningful level. Sometimes, we do a "lightning share," where each child shares a small piece of information such as "one of my favorite books is..." This teaches children the importance of active listening, empathy, and connecting in conversations.

The activity is number three in the Morning Meeting lineup. This is a quick energizer that infuses fun into our morning and gears us up for the important academic day ahead. Ask your student about "Zoom." We've shaved our time down to 9 seconds. Pretty impressive, we know.

Last, students read a Morning Message that I write to them before school daily. This is a shared reading experience where I read the message aloud and then we read it together in a dynamic way. The message has an academic focus to transition us into the lesson after Morning Meeting. Sometimes, students collect data via the Morning Message by making tally charts or interacting with the message in some other way.

I'm looking forward to Open House, where I can share what a Morning Meeting feels like, looks like, and sounds like with you!

Room 108 at a Glance

With the countdown to the much-anticipated first day of school ringing in at 10 days, I am busy putting the finishing touches on displays, making sure all students have the beautiful new materials they will need, organizing our classroom space so that it is peaceful and purposeful, and planning lessons for the start of school! I've enlisted the help of friends and family to decorate, laminate, label, cut and paste :)

While these photos offer just a glimpse at what our classroom looks like and feels like, our second grade spot is shapin' up!

Our rug area, outfitted with a beautiful Rainforest Night rug! This rug will be "home" throughout the day for many purposes: whole group instruction, small group instruction, independent reading, math activities, Morning Meeting, closing our day together, read alouds, etc.

A comfy spot to dive into a book (This chair was loved by my brother and me when we were kids!)

This display holds a clothespin with each student's name so they can select work to display that they feel demonstrates their best efforts for all of us to notice and celebrate.

We will be studying Exploration in Social Studies at the start of the school year. This display features prominent Explorers we will study and a map of their journeys! Underneath is our class "Book Shopping Schedule." Each student will have one day of the week to return the books in their Independent Reading book bin and shop for new books from our Classroom Library.

Help Wanted! Throughout the course of the year, students will fulfill the role of many different classroom jobs listed on our board. At the start of the school year, students will "apply" to their top two choices. Hopefully, I can match each student with one of their top choices. I might need to spread the talent around, though, to make sure that each important job is spoken for.

Can't wait for our first day!