My reading groups

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Home : 2004 : November : 28

My reading groups
By Laura H.

I do it very similar to Pam. Each day I teach a mini-lesson like character traits, setting, compare/contrast, etc. At the beginning of the unit, each group gets a packet that has the same activities, tailored to each book,
and is listed by day.
For example, Tuesday we are on Day 5. We are doing realistic fiction genre.
So my Midnight Fox group, which is a 4.9 level, their packet says, "Day 5-Read chapters 4-5 with a partner. Complete the activity below on cause and effect."

Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday (4.1): Day 5 Read pages 15-17 popcorn style in your group. Complete the

activity below on cause and effect

War with Grandpa (4.0): Day 5, Read pages 26-32 with your teacher. Complete the activity below on cause and effect." (This is the group I am meeting with)

Freckle Juice (2.8): My lower group goes with my aide in the hall. She usually reads every other page with my IEP kids alternating. They complete the packet together. The packet is very simple, so if you don't have an aide, they could complete it on thier own.

I must say the packets take a while to create. But the # of pages that the children read is depending on their level. My low group only reads a few pages, where my upper group reads a few chapters a day. I do reading for 45 minutes. I meet with one group a day. Every four days I am "off" and I visit each group to check progress. The kids know they must be done with the "day" we are on, or they have to come in at recess that day to finish up. I struggled with this last year. Kids were always falling behind. I LOVE doing reader's workshop like this. I can't imagine having a basal or some set way. I love using novels and having them listen to a mini-lesson, work cooperatively and feel good that they have finished a whole novel on their own. Each book does have a test at the end, AND they take an AR test.

Wow! I went on and on. If you have questions, shoot me and email.