Friday, March 14, 2014

Slice of Life - First Graders - #sol14


Slice of Life is hosted by Two Writing Teachers on Tuesdays.  For the month of March, we are posting a slice daily.
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To celebrate the end of reaching two weeks of Slice posts, I am going to share another story about first grade readers.

This past week, I have spent the majority of my time at one of our elementary schools.  It has been a lot of fun experiencing the energy of a school community again.  Being at the District Office can have it's benefits but I miss seeing the students on a regular basis. 

As part of the project I am working on, I have been spending a lot of time listening to first graders read and talking with them about what they just read.  Since most of these students do not know me, I have taken advantage of the walk from the classroom to where I am working with them.  One of my questions has been to ask them about their favorite book(s) that they read recently. I learn so much from their answers - about them, their language skills, and also who they are as readers.

Yesterday, I received this book talk and recommendation from a child for the book below.  She was very persuasive about why she liked it.



I told her I would check it out and then I wrote on a sticky note the following recommendations for her (click on any book cover for more information):


Franny K. Stein by Jim Benton


Araminta Spookie by Angie Sage


The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin

I heard later from her teacher that she had very proudly and excitedly shared the sticky note with her.  Yes, I smiled.   

Next week is spring break, but I am excited to return to the school site after break to one of the classes to partner with the classroom teacher on a reading comprehension pilot that we are testing out. At the same time, I am  excited about how I might be able to continue my book discussions with some of these students.

Now it's time to put some bins together with books to share during my visits.