Nightly Reading in Reader's Workshop

Our class blog will have a few types of posts. The "Week in Review" section will be done with help from the students. I anticipate using their help starting this week. We also may have a post which relates to important information going on in our classroom. Lastly, you may find a post "From the Teacher's Desk". This type of post is information regarding more to the learning and growth of the children in fourth grade. I hope you find all of these posts helpful.

From the Teacher's Desk
One aspect of Reader's Workshop is the connection the children make about reading at school and reading at home. I have asked the children to continue to read the same book both at school and at home. This allows the students to meet two goals (1) to read a book within 2 weeks, so that we may discuss various parts of the book, and (2) this allows the students to focus on one plot, one set of characters, one story at a time. This allows students to be more successful in reading and thinking deeply about a story or topic. In order for the flow of reading to be consistent, the students are asked to bring their book to and from school everyday. Therefore, if a book is forgotten, it counts as a homework miss. This has been an adjustment for many of the students. It would be helpful if you could help your child to develop a plan to help to remind them to get their book into the book bag.

The reading portion of our homework is not optional. I ask the students to read for a minimum of 15 minutes nightly. I will be checking in with the students at least a few times weekly. In your child's backpack you will find an article about nightly reading that I received from a colleague. I hope you find it interesting!


Please remember that if you have a question or concern regarding anything that goes on in school, don't hesitate to ask.