Happy First day of school and independent reading!
Today is the first day of school. In a few hours, I will welcome my fifth graders into our classroom and start building our classroom community.
This is a big year for me. I have a student teacher for the first time which is inspiring me to slow down and think carefully about decisions I make in the classroom. My district is launching a new reading program. I won’t get into my impressions of the program so far but the process of curriculum review inspired me to reflect on what really matters most to me and my students when it comes to our classroom culture of literacy.
While we will do lots of team building and identity work in the next few weeks, we will also set the foundation for independent reading in our classroom. Here’s how…
Talk about books! We will share our favorite books and create space for students who do not love reading, yet (more on that later). I will share my summer reading which I am calling “the summer of the sequel”. I reread three books and then read their sequels. I also went to Italy twice but that is for another post!
Select books and start independent reading on day one! I firmly believe that students need time in school for reading books of their choosing. If we carve out time in school, they are more likely to continue reading their book at home! The more they read, the more they talk, share and build their identity as readers.
Explore who we are as readers. We will reflect on our reading preferences, set goals and make plans for prioritizing reading time!
Protect independent reading time! I will encourage students to hold me accountable for making sure we have daily reading time. Too often we sacrifice that time in order to finish a lesson before lunch. That is why I post our daily schedule and make sure independent reading is always on there.
I want reading to be as joyful for my students as it is for me. I want them to crave reading time and feel fulfilled after closing the pages of a book. I can’t wait to get started!
