How is THAT for alliteration!?!?! :)
As I head into my third year as a Reading Intervention Specialist after 26 years as a primary grade teacher, it is with great trepidation and anxiety. COVID-19 has changed the way we all have to plan and teach in the coming days. It is my hope that I will be able to adapt these small group activities from two years ago if I have to teach remotely this fall.
After the school year begins and I have assessed students in grades K-3 to determine who qualifies for daily intervention lessons, I like to spend our first few meetings getting to know my students.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR READERS
I feel that it is very important to establish not only familiar routines with my kids, but also establish a rapport by finding out what their likes, dislikes, and book interests are.
Because we only have 30 minutes per day to get our important work done, establishing fair rules and emphasizing that our time be spent wisely are two of my first group goals. My colleague and I came up with a behavior expectation system based on four simple guidelines.
READING ROOM EXPECTATIONS
READING ROOM REWARDS
Our students seem very motivated by this system, and it keeps them accountable for their own choices during group time. Once they have earned 10 card punches, we celebrate with prizes from the Treasure Box and special refreshments! We also enjoy Flashlight Fridays, where independent reading takes place with the room lights off, Book Buddies on our laps, and our flashlights focused on our favorite books!
Another goal of mine during our first few group meetings is to find out what kinds of books my students like to read and what makes reading enjoyable and/or hard for them. We spend at least half of one meeting discussing these points and making lists for me to refer to as I plan lessons and bookstore shopping lists. As a former primary classroom teacher, I found that my classroom library was sadly lacking in the type of reading material that third graders enjoy. Luckily, my school parent club allots a generous sum to every teacher at the beginning of the school year so I am able to shop until I drop in early September.
STUDENT READING SURVEY
What is inside of these packages will be revealed in another blog post, but for now I will close by sharing the materials featured above in case you would like to give your readers a jump start this year! Here is the link to the resource highlighted below!
Feel free to share it remotely in your Google Classroom, during a Zoom Meeting, or Send-Home Packet if you are teaching remotely this fall!
PIN FOR LATER
As always, I thank you for sharing my story! I hope you will return to this blog, my TpT Store, my Facebook page, my Instagram account, my Twitter account, and my Pinterest boards often to learn along with me in Room 45 (or from my living room) this year! It is a very welcoming, safe, and cozy space where Book Buddies abound!
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Until next time, continue to keep calm, teach on, and carry a song in your heart!
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