I have a lot of crazy ideas. Some flop. Some surprise me. Being in K-2 you have to be willing to try, fail and try again.
My latest crazy idea is to address some of the struggling readers at my school. I feel like struggling readers often get shafted when it comes to reading for pleasure. This is AT NO FAULT OF THEIR TEACHERS. I know how important the fundamentals of reading are - and how can students succeed if they can't read? I get it, I promise. Because teachers work so hard on getting students to be able to read, they don't see reading as entertainment. I want to try to show students that reading can be fun and doesn't always have to be "read and test." Here's the plan: I'm going to start a weekly book club for struggling readers during lunch. I'll have five groups of five or six second graders, one on each day of the week. Together we'll pick a chapter book (from a list I've pre-selected), and read for fun. Not reading to take a test, not reading to retell the story, just reading for fun. We'll read a chapter or two a week, meet in the library during their lunch block and talk about it. My AP seems into it - once I work out some logistics I'll pitch it to the second grade teachers at their PLC meeting. Now comes the fun part...looking at book options! If anyone has suggestions, holla at ya girl.
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It's the first week of school! Where did the summer go? I had a blast with summer reading (which will be featured in an upcoming post), but I'm so glad to be back with my students.
This year we have a little over 200 new kindergarteners at Odell Primary! For most people, that seems insane, but I absolutely love it. They are so wide-eyed and excited about school...it makes me excited too. Of course, none of them know where they're going or how school works, but we'll get there. I absolutely LOVE teaching them in the Media Center, but I'm not sure I could do it all day every day (shout out to my kinder classroom teachers - you da bomb!). Right now, we're doing staggered entry so I'm not teaching true media classes...we're reading Amanda Panda Quits Kindergarten by Candice Ransom, coloring, and doing puzzles. We've started back to school lessons in the Media Center with first and second grade. We're re-learning how we use our three PBIS rules in the Media Center to be safe, be responsible and be respectful. First grade is reading Back to School with Bigfoot by Samantha Berger and they are having a blast. Second grade is reading Second Grade Holdout by Audrey Vernick. Second graders are also discussing how important it is to be good leaders since they are the oldest students at our school. This year I'm doing the craziest thing I've ever tried at the beginning of the school year...we're checking out books. From day one. Insert terrified emoji. It has actually gone REALLY well! The kids are super excited that they get to check out books so it's pretty gratifying. Most of our students are returning from the previous year and I'm only allowing first and second grade to check out one book for the first class. It's chaotic but it's the chaos I thrive in, so it's just a dream come true. Big things are on the horizon this year. It's the first year I've returned to a school after a full school year, so I'm excited to see how things change and how I can improve my practice. |
@LibrarianMarliThis is a reflective blog based on my professional journey - both inside the Media Center and during my Professional Development endeavors. Archives
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