I couldn't be more excited about this year! I am looping with my students from 1st grade to 2nd grade. One reason this excites me is because I realized last year what worked with these students and what didn't and now I am ready to begin the year with their needs in mind. 



Something that I am going to try is Reading Workshop. I have used literacy stations and done Guided Reading, but using this system not only seems more organized, but there is so much research behind each station. I am ready to dig deep into Reading Workshop. That being said here are some great blogs with Daily 5 Cafe and more that you should check out if you use this in your classroom. If you don't use this in your classroom, then this is a great place to start.

Article from Scholastic:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2009/10/reading-workshop


Great Schedule:
http://www.bainbridgeclass.com/readingworkshop.htm




Awesome activities and ideas:
http://lessonplansos.blogspot.com/
Strategies:
http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/readingworkshop.php



More ideas and places to get lessons and activities coming soon!

Reading Workshop

Reading Workshop/Daily 5

I found so many great ways to start using Daily 5 Cafe and continue using it. I have literacy workstations and practice Guided Reading in my classroom, but Reading Workshop or Daily 5 is a bit new to me.

Here is a website that has everything you need to get started including parent notes, lesson plans, and workstation cards.

http://www.willoughby-eastlake.k12.oh.us/classroom/technology/daily_5.htm


There are so many awesome websites! More to resources to come!

Gettin' Wiki with it!

My wiki is designed for extra discussions with our class book club. Students take books home after doing guided reading with me. After students have had a chance to read their book, we have a class book club. The book club meets every other Friday and the groups are put together based on interests, ability, skill, etc. During the book club students eat popcorn and discuss their books in detail. I give parents a list of questions at the beginning of book club, so that students are understanding what they are reading at home and taking responsibility for their reading. I thought creating a wiki would be a great way to be more interactive with parents as they help with book club. Now students can write a sentence or two about what they learned from the book at home.

This is the Wiki that students will use to guide their learning during bookclub. https://bookclubgilliland.wikispaces.com/ (Request an Invite if needed)