In my classroom we will begin using the Reading Street literacy program the first week of October. It is a brand new program and so far my CT and I have just been reading the manuals trying to get a feel for it but there are not very many similarities with the program and book clubs. At first I thought book clubs were aimed more towards to higher grades but after reading the book club book and thinking about the students in my class I would love to see a book club type program in place in my classroom. It would be nice for students to use books that are interesting to them as a book club book and then there still is the freedom for choosing a silent reading book and the teacher would have a read aloud book, by having that every student will be interested in one of the books even if their group book club book is not something they would normally choose. The program my class is using has small group sets of books of about 5 or 6 of each book and they are meant to be used for small group instruction that will occur during the “flip stations” or as time similar to centers. I know these books are made geared for specific components of literacy especially since they are first graders some of the “below level” and “on level” readers are focused on short “a” sounds or certain letter blends. The program refers to these books as “decodable readers” I wish that the program used “real” children books in the program, there are so many great books with great illustrations that I would think the students could get the same benefit from.
I also like in the book club model how the teacher read aloud is included with the program. We do a teacher read aloud and it is just something for fun and a time for the kids to relax after recess. I have been in classrooms where the teacher read aloud book plays more of a role and I also like that aspect of the book club model. The program my class is using is extremely scripted and there is not a lot of time placed in the program for small groups besides the centers which I believe will be more individual activities. I think that first graders could have good conversations about a book club book and it would be beneficial for them to talk to each other and make predictions or discuss characters. The literacy program includes all the different focus areas: journal writing, whole group discussions, individual student books for each unit, a lot of pictures and illustrations, there are always sections for oral practice, listening comprehension and spelling tests. So the students have a lot of opportunities to read and write but it is all there for them where as right now in the class since we have not started the program the kids are choosing books from their book boxes to read and the teacher and I walk around and have some students read aloud to us and they also have been able to choose their own writing topics which has allowed me to really interact and get to learn more about the students. All the teachers seem anxious as to how the new program will work out and I know my CT will not be using a lot of the same activities she has done in the past as a result of there not being enough time.
I think it is very important for students to be able to choose their own writing topics especially this early in the year. I think at this point in the year it is important to see where your students are as writers. As the year progresses it will be vital to teach them new writing styles and it will be important for them to practice those different genres but I think at the beginning of the year letting them choose their writing topics will show you their abilities. I also think this is important because it will let you help teach/correct misconceptions that the students have about basic writing norms such as when to use capital letters, spacing, and punctuation.
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