Second and third graders are in that magical epoch in which they straddle learning to read and reading to learn in preparation for the years ahead. The 2-3s are exposed to literature and have reading opportunities every day. We read to glory in or hunt down that just right story, we read to learn new things, we read to connect to and make sense of the world, we read together to coach and inspire each other, we read to discuss literary elements and learn from authors, we read to flex and build those reading muscles.
D.E.A.R.
(Drop Everything And Read). Most days, the children read to themselves during D.E.A.R, building independence and stamina with books.
READING TOGETHER
On other days the children read to each other. In this series of photos, the kids were just back from the holiday break and were sharing their current independent reads in order to pass along the enthusiasm they had for a favorite book, series, and/or author. They chose a favorite passage to read to their partner(s).
Classmates like to share good books with the kids. Teachers do too. And visitors do as well.
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Our circles have kicked off and we've just begun the process of sharing small group dialogues around great books. We're now talking about character development and will be analyzing how characters change through the experiences they have.
I have one picture from one circle...so far. In this pic, a student is reading a passage aloud to her peers. The kids were taking turns rereading key sections of text to the group. They were working to solidify their understanding of the main character's personality as revealed to us at the start of the book.
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| We're serious about reading, but we can find the silly in it as well! ;-) |
