The Daily 5 - Word Work

Last week, we launched the second component of The Daily 5 - Word Work.

We talked about the specifics of Word Work.  Together, we created an "I Chart" describing what the students and I will do during this time.

Throughout the past two weeks, the students practiced using the different activities that will be available to them in the Word Work center.  

Rainbow Spelling

Pyramid Spelling

Word Bricks - 1 Player

Word Bricks - 2 Players

Bead Spelling

Stamp Spelling

Magnet Spelling

Secret Code Spelling

Spelling Word Practice

Once Reading Teams are "officially" up and running, the students will be able to select which Word Work activities they would like to use to practice their spelling words.  I will continue to add new activities to this center as the school year progresses.

The Daily 5 - Read To Self

This week, we launched the first component of The Daily 5 - Read To Self.

Did you know that there are three ways to read a book?

Using the book David Goes To School by David Shannon, I modeled each of these for the students.  

On Monday, we talked about the specifics of Read To Self.  Together, we created an "I Chart" describing what the students and I will do during this time.

 

The students modeled the correct and incorrect ways to do Read To Self.  Then, we gave it a try!

 On Tuesday,we reviewed the expectations of Read To Self and practiced again!  I gave each student a bag of "book worms" to eat as they read.

On Wednesday, we talked about building stamina.  

Stamina is doing something for a long time without giving up or getting tired.

I read the book Dex, Heart of a Hero by Caralyn Buehner.  

 

Dexter the dog is so little that Cleevis the tomcat bullies him.  But, little Dex has dreams—big dreams.  He wants to be a superhero.  So, he reads all the comic books he can, builds his muscles, and even orders a hero suit.  Suddenly, even Cleevis needs his help!  Dexter has determination, spirit, and heart as he proves, above all, that no matter how little you are, you can still do very big things.

(amazon.com)

With the help of Dex, the students practiced building their reading stamina.

As of today, we are up to 4 minutes.

On Thursday, we talked about picking "good fit" books.  

I compared finding the right book to finding the right pair of shoes. 

 

You wouldn't wear shoes that were too big or too small.  You wouldn't wear ballet shoes to play football or high heeled shoes to walk on the beach.  So, why would you read a book that doesn't fit?  

We learned the acronym I PICK as a way to help find a good fit book.

In addition to the books that we have at school, students may also bring favorite books from home to include in their book boxes.  Please encourage your child to bring books into school for Read To Self and to write his/her name on the book (or on a post it).  This way if the book gets left in the room somewhere we all know whose box to return it to.