Text Box: Literacy Block Schedule  

Text Box: More attention will be given to how the best interests of each student are being served through guided reading. Another focus will be prosody--fluent reading at the correct rate and pacing with comprehension and expression. Last year many teachers were excited with their own progress and that of their students, but none of us should ever be completely satisfied. Guided reading is a practice that must continually change to reflect each new group of students that walks in our classroom door. The very nature of a teacher is to be an eager learner right along with his/her students. Guided reading is a craft that all of us must desire to improve! Two new video podcasts join the guided reading audio podcast and matching PowerPoint from last year. One of the podcasts shows Lori Canales, a first grade teacher, conducting a guided reading lesson. I have done a voice-over with scrolling text bars that will help you view the lesson. The lesson is divided into three chapters in the event you want to view one at a time. The other video podcast shows Estela Fieros, a bilingual first grade teacher, conducting a reading workshop. The workshop follows the format and schedule in the box to the right. It is divided into three chapters with the same features as the reading lesson.   Text Box:   300-600 books in a rich variety of genres 8-15 books per student 30-50% published in the last 10 years 1 new book per year per student 40-60% nonfiction A minimum of 5% reference A wide range of reading levels (2-3 years below and above grade level) Multicultural books and text sets High-quality books Multiple copies of popular titles New books with appealing covers Attractive, inviting setting Text Box: Special Thanks!                                I  want to give a special thanks to Dave Stephenson and Richard Sands for their great video work.

Text Box: All teachers PK-5 should be able to pick out the important elements of guided reading and reader's workshop. I hope you find these are helpful to your practice. More podcasts with different grade levels will be added as time and technology permits. Text Box: Read Aloud 10-15 minute Reading Workshop 1 hour Mini-lesson  5-15 minutes Independent Reading  30-40 minutes (Guided Reading/Lit Circles conducted by T) Share  5-10 minutes Word Wall 10-15 minutes Writing Workshop 1 hour Mini-lesson  5-15 minutes Independent Writing  30 minutes (T conferences) Conference  5-10 minutes (Peer conference) Share  5-10 minutes