Notebook Connections

While traveling last week, I had the time to read Aimee Buckner's book Notebook Connections.  As I stated earlier, I am really looking to "beef up" my student's reading responses this year.  I have done workshop for a long time, and I have had my students respond to their reading, but not to the level that will help them to meet the CCSS.  This book was a great read and really broadened my ideas!
I am still considering having the students choose from a variety of writing choices as I discussed in my earlier post, but instead of having them choose one response for me to score, I think that I will use Ms. Buckner's more holistic approach and collect their notebooks every two weeks and give them a grade for variety and depth of entries in the notebook.  I will score the notebook and make one response in general to the four-five entries they have written.

Another goal for this year's reading workshop is to do a better job of using the notebooks while conferencing with students.  I work hard to meet with students quite frequently, but I do not do a great job of reviewing and discussing their notebook entries with them.  I want this to be an area where I grow this year.

I am now going to read Ms. Buckner's writing notebook book called Notebook KnowHow.  I am sure that, while it focuses on writing workshop, it will still help me to continue to fine-tune my thoughts on student responses to reading.

Have you read either of these books?  Do you have any ideas to share?

So....

I have taken a more than HUGE hiatus from my blog.  The last school year was a very trying one for me.   Our district's initiatives and expectations required so much of my time that I had to step away from my blog.

I have begun summer by doing a lot of NOTHING.  It has felt good to give my teaching brain a break.  I have read a lot of books.  Here are some I have enjoyed. 



The Titanic series was a fun and easy one to read.  I know many of my students will enjoy it.  Even though I know a lot about the events of the Titanic, this gave me some new information, and I really enjoyed the characters.  They would be good to help kids better understand the beginning of the 20th century.

 I liked As Simple as it Seems.  It was a "girl growing up" book.  It had a voice that I enjoyed, and I can see some of my strong girl readers enjoying it, too.

Masterpiece is by no means a new book, but one that I had not gotten around to reading.  I liked the mystery, but I enjoyed the art history lessons more.  It reminded me of the Blue Balliet books that I love--Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game.  What better way to teach students art history than through a good mystery and strong characters?

I read Ghost Train to Nowhere because I thought some of my more reluctant readers will enjoy it..  It was probably too much for many of them, but I think I will have an audience for it.  It kind of reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode.  :)

Adventures in Cartooning was cute.  Definitely good for my reluctant readers and for my students who enjoy writing cartoons. 

You may remember from other posts that I am really enjoying the Theodore Boone series.  The Accused is not the newest in this series, but it is new in paperback, and I don't typically buy hardback books for my classroom.  Theodore Boone is a kid detective/lawyer who is easy for kids to understand.  This book is actually a continuation of the first Theodore Boone book, but  I don't think it is necessary to read the first to understand this.  Another good thing about this series is that it is written by John Grisham.  I like to expose my readers to authors that they can enjoy throughout their lives.

One Amazing Thing is not a book for my classsroom.  It is a book that my son is being asked to read as part of his university's freshman reading program.  It was a nice book to read, and I am glad that I read it to share my ideas with my son.  He is not much of a reader, but I think that he will be interested to learn about the characters in this book.  In the story, the characters are trapped in an office after an earthquake, and they decided to pass the time by sharing one amazing thing about their lives.

So today's post is my effort to get back in the swing of things.  I have  a lot to share from the last school year plus things I have been working on this summer. I hope there are still people out there that are reading....:)

QR Codes, Book Choice, and a freebie

Last year, my students created QR codes to share their products with the class.  This year, I am hoping to continue this, but to also find other ways to use QR Codes into our classroom.

What is a QR code?  QR codes are the little boxes with black and white design that you sometimes find in advertisements or on products.  They can be read by a smartphone or other devices (like an Ipad) when you have a QR reader app.  (There are plenty of free QR reader apps.)

I have one outside my door of my classroom which directs parents to our class website.

My class's website

One of the ways I have decided to use them this year is to attach them to some of the books in my library so that kids can find out more about the book before they read the book.  The QR codes I created take the students to websites, book summaries, or a book trailer (FYI--some are from YouTube).

I am excited about trying this with my students this year, and I hope to continue to "grow" my number of codes.  I teach 3rd grade, and I tried to create codes for a wide range of books.  The one thing I haven't done yet is create any for non-fiction books.  I will have to work on that next!  :)

I use the site called QR Code Generator.  I find it very easy to use.  Just paste in the URL for the site that you want the device to go to.  For the document I am sharing today, I used my snipping tool to take a picture of the QR code and then I pasted it into a word document. 

If you would like to have a copy of the 17 codes I have created so far, you can either scan the QR code  or follow the link at the bottom of the post!  Leave me a comment to let me know if you have other ideas for how to use these codes or other QR codes in your room!

Enjoy...I think your students will!

QR code link to Google doc

OR.....link to Google Doc.

You still have time to join the Find your Voice Linky party for mentor texts to use when teaching voice.  C'mon...I know you can think of a picture book you use to cover this skill...

Find your Voice! Linky party

Hey There!  I am having a Linky party to develop a group of mentor texts for teaching kids about voice in writing.  I hope you'll join me!

I am trying to work on my Writer's Workshop this summer.  I feel like I am on the verge of making it happen, but I have to say, I feel like it is the blind leading the blind when it comes to writing.  I think that it is because I don't remember being taught how to write until I was a senior in high school, and then, Mr. Meyer never stopped!  Before him, we were just told TO write, nobody conferenced with us or talked to us about writer's craft.  He helped me a lot, but I certainly can't teach my 3rd graders the same way he taught us!

So,  I am working on some mentor texts, and I thought I would start with VOICE.  I have two that I use, and I am sure you are familiar with them.

I LOVE The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.

This book is the story of the 3 Little Pigs as told by the wolf.  It is very cute, and the wolf's voice is very strong. 

My kids love it, too, but it is one they are very familiar with.  I like to use it for CAFE lessons, too, like point of view and author's purpose.  So, while it works well for voice, I thinkit might be a little overused by 3rd grade.

I also love the story Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose.

This is a great story, too.  It is the story of a boy who is trying to decide if he is going to smoosh an ant, and the ant's argument of why he shouldn't be smooshed.  Very cute.  It is written in rhyme. 

Often, my kids aren't familiar with this book when they come to me, but I have so many ways that I like to use it!  It is good because their are two voices, but it is also good as a persuasive mentor text, and for many CAFE lessons.

Do you have any mentor texts to share for teaching voice in writing?  Please, please, please link up with me and share!  I would love to find some new books to use for teaching voice, and this should give us plenty of time to find them before school starts!  Just grab my linky button at the top of this post.

Professional Reading

While I spend A LOT of my summer reading kiddy lit, I also do some professional reading. A couple of books I am going to read and think about this summer are Readicide by Kelly Gallagher and Number Talks by Sherry Parrish.

I am also looking for some books to continue the development of my math workshop.  Do you have any recommendations?

These Books Kick it up a Notch!

Two of the  books I have read this spring break really "kick it up a notch!"  The first one I read was by John Grisham, Theodore Boone:  Kid Lawyer.

I do not typically read books written for adults, but I am aware of John Grisham, so I bought this book earlier in the year because of his name on the cover.  I ripped through it over break.  It was a good story, and really broke down the law system for kids.  It reminded me a lot of Encyclopedia Brown (he was always one of my favorites!) but had a much more serious crime that Theo pursued.  Throughout the story, Theo's classmates came to him for law advice, and his knowledge was enough to set them on the right path.  I liked it so much, that I headed off to the bookstore to see if there was a 2nd.  They didn't have the 2nd one in.  It is called Theodore Boone:  The Abduction.  I will have to look for it this summer!

The second book that I read was very short, but pretty intense.  It was called On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer.



This is not a new book, and you may be aware of it because it was a Newbery Honor Book.  It is a book that really spotlights character vs. himself conflict.  The entire book is told from the point of view of Joel who "gave his honor" to his dad that he would ride his back right to the park and back, but he doesn't, and tragic events incur.  It really made me sad to think of how this boy struggled with this one little decision and the effect that it had.  This book really emphasizes "Wrong is wrong even if everyone else is doing it and right is right even if no one else is doing it."  Serious book with a strong message about our actions and how they affect others.

Two of the books that I have read this break.  Life is good.  :)

A GREAT read aloud!

I have read Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett to my class for the last couple of years.  It is always a favorite, and a great way to incorporate some art history into our classroom.

The book trailer above will give you some basic ideas of this book if you are unfamiliar.  It is a mystery written for late elementary kids, but it acts as a great read-aloud for my 3rd graders.  As we read, we not only contemplate the mystery, but we also learn more about Vermeer and have fun with pentominoes.

The characters in this book are very likable, and they are great role models for learning, curiosity, and perseverance.  My students often like them so much that they can't wait to read the follow-up mysteries, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game. 

If you or your students are looking for still more information on this great book or the other two in the series, Scholasic has a great page on it, too!  Click HERE to access it.

I love read aloud.  :)

Finally last week....

Last week was our state testing week.  What a long week for kids!  Most of mine did well with the change in schedule and routine, but some of my kids who struggle with focus had a tough time.

I am not a fan of testing, so I try to keep them excited by offering some fun activities.  First of all, a favorite is for their parents to write to them on sticky notes--one note for each day.  When the kids come in the room, they have a snack on their desk along with a note from a loved one.  Many get so excited that they keep them on their desks well after testing.  They can't have them on their desktop during testing, so they hang them down on their desk where they can still see it and then place them back on their desks when the testing is done. 



Many of them think that their moms and dads are coming into the room when they are gone.  It is so cute.  I love seeing the creative ways parents make the notes.  It is really touching how much of an impact it has on the kids. 

On Tuesday of testing, we celebrated Michelangelo's birthday by painting our own "Sistine Chapels."  Kids had fun laying on their backs.  I posted about this activity here.  Here are our finished creations.

Aren't the colors beautiful?

Wednesday was our World Read Aloud Day celebration.  We celebrated all afternoon with a visit from our Director of Elementary Education reading Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude to the whole 3rd grade, extra read aloud from me, read aloud with a partner and a Skype event with Navjot Kaur.  She read to us from her book A Lion's Mane.  It was a nice afternoon.  One of the kids said to me, "I've never met an author before.  Now I have!"  This Skype was set up for me by LitWorld who organizes World Read Aloud Day.



Certainly, we are glad to be done with our testing, but these special events made it all a little more fun!



Happy Birthday, Michelangelo, and a break from state testing

Michelangelo's birthday is on March 6th.  We tried this activity last year as a way to lighten the week of state testing.  It turned into a memorable afternoon, and one that I am looking forward to replicating this year!

In the fall, we had read From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.  (always a favorite!)  When we read the book, we did learn a little bit about Michelangelo, so this activity didn't take too much set up.

In the afternoon, we told the kids of Michelangelo's upcoming birthday.  We figured out how old he would be, and then reviewed things that we had learned about him in the fall.  Next, students got out their watercolor paints, we taped white paper to the underside of their desks, and they got down on the floor and painted on their backs just as Michelangelo had done when he painted the Sistine Chapel.

They laughed for the first few minutes as they got used to this new perspective and the realization of what they were doing.  However, it didn't take them long to settle in and get serious about what they were creating.  We had great fun on this afternoon, and the art they created turned out to be pretty darn good!

It will be a fun break again this year.  I'll post about our new creations!

A little winter reading...

I have been on a major reading kick lately.  I am a reader, and always have been,  but sometimes life gets in the way of getting a lot of reading for  myself done.  However, I have been enjoying the new year by doing a lot of reading just for me!
I nearly always choose books that are written for late elementary/middle school.  I started teaching as a middle school language arts teacher, so that is when I became a fan.  I can read great stories at this level, and it doesn't take me too long to get through a book.

I began this most recent spurt of reading with Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.  This is certainly not a new book, just one I hadn't gotten around to reading.  I enjoyed it, and I loved the message that it sent.  It reminded me a lot of Loser by Jerry Spinelli. (one of my students' favorite read alouds) However, I don't think this book would be one my students would enjoy yet.  While the text has nothing provocative or wrong in it, I just don't think they would be able to connect with the characters who are both in high school.  I think this book would be a great one for middle school though.

 I then moved into The Report Card by Andrew Clements.  I enjoyed this one as well.  I liked the message, amd I have always enjoyed this author's voice.  I could see many of my students enjoying this one.

The next thing I knew, I was wrapped up in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.  This 5 (soon to be 6) book series is one that has taken my classroom by storm.  I have had the first three books in my library for a couple of years, but I finally picked it up to start in January. 

As I began the first in the series, The Alchemyst, I knew that my group of voracious readers would LOVE this series.  They had enjoyed reading Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, and in some ways, this series is a marriage of these two ideas.  Readers get to enjoy the magic of Harry Potter, but they also get to learn about mythology as they did in Percy Jackson.

For mythology, this book covers most cultures' mythology.  It makes it interesting to imagine all of the different gods interacting with each other.

Of course, I knew my kiddos would love the action, and all of the books n this series offer plenty of this.  I was pushed to read the books quickly so that I could get them to a boy in the classroom reading it.  The next thing I knew, students were checking books out from the library and purchasing copies from bookstores.  They have found out that the final book in the series comes out in May, so I will have to get it so we can end our year with this book.

When I finished The Warlock, I kind of floundered for a couple of days trying to find what I was going to read next.  I was in the mood for more action and excitement, but I didn't put my fingers on anything right away.

While cleaning recently, I came across Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor.  This was certainly a change from the Nicholas Flamel world that had overtaken my reading.  But it was a good one to read and to take me back to why I fell in love with adolescent literature.

 This story is about a young girl whose life is in constant turmoil because of a mother who is not too great at that job.  She is a strong character who is forced to grow up quickly, and we understand her point of view and her love of other characters in the book quite clearly.  This book reminded me of many of the Sharon Creech books I have read over the years.  It is not one that I would recommend to my 3rd graders, because I don't think that they would understand the character and her issues yet.

The next two I am going to give a go are Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and, in an effort to find something appealing to my more reluctant readers, Dragonbreath: The Curse of the Wereweiner by Ursula Vernon.

Fablehaven especially looks interesting to me, and one of my sons has read them all and recommended them to me.  The Curse of the Wereweiner also comes from my sons' library, but it looks as though it has not been read yet.  What about you? 

Do you find yourself reading children's books a lot, too?  Do you have any special ones that you recommend for me or my voracious 3rd graders?    It makes my workshop and my conferences much stronger when I can talk books with my students and know exactly what they are talking about in the books they are reading!

Besides that, it makes it a lot easier for me to talk the talk to my kids about the importance of reading when they know I walk the walk!

Persuasive Writing Mentor Text

I am preparing a short unit on persuasive writing and have been looking for some mentor texts.  I found somewhere that the book Earrings by Judith Viorst would be a good one.



What a cute book!  I read it to my class, and they loved it!  It is the story of a little girl who wants to get her ears pierced.  She is very dramatic in her telling of her story, which really keeps the kids engaged.  The book also gives good examples of persuasive writing in that it tells not only HOW badly she wants the earrings, but also WHY she should be allowed to get her ears pierced.  We read the book one day and then created our anchor chart for persuasive writing using this text the next day. 

Do you have any other good books that you use for persuasive writing?

Participate in World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day is March 7, 2012.  This day is sponsored by Litworld which is  a nonprofit organization working to eliminate illiteracy in our world.  You can determine how you want to participate in this day.  My class is going to participate, but I am going to try to talk my whole 3rd grade team to participate.  I am hoping to have a guest reader from our community come in, and possibly to have a guest reader through the Internet as well.  I am still brainstorming ideas of what to do that afternoon.  We will be doing Day 2 of our state testing on that morning, so I am thinking that we will dedicate the whole afternoon to read aloud!  Sounds like fun to me!

If you would like to learn more, or to sign up for updates, go to the Litworld website.

An oldie, but a goodie for Columbus Day

Although we had school off yesterday for Columbus Day, October 12th is the true date of Columbus Day.  If you are looking for something to do, you should consider using this book with your kids.

This book tells the story of Christopher Columbus's landing in San Salvador, but it tells it from the view of Taino child on the island.  The point of view is the key difference in this story from other books about Columbus.  The child is warned in a dream of the arrival of the Europeans, and although he pleads to the adult leaders on his island not to welcome them, his warnings fall on deaf ears.  The afterword tells of how the arrival of the Europeans led to the end of the Taino people and change in its culture.  It is a great book to get kids thinking differently about things that they have always before just accepted.  I hope you can get your hands on a copy of this book to share it with your class before the week is over!

A Great Start to growing readers and writers!

   I am so pleased with the way our literacy block is working!  These kids are doing a GREAT job!  I have my own little version of the Daily 5, and I continue to tweak it each year to make it stronger.  Students get two 20-25 minutes block per day where they can choose to read to self, write, or work with words.  The rest of our literacy time is used for student sharing, minilesson, Superspeed 100 (a word fluency program), partner reading,  and a group choral reading.  I have students listen to me read at another time of the day, and I do my writing mini-lesson at another time as well.

   In their Daily 5 binders, they mark down their choices for their independent work time.  They are all picking up on the routine of it all very well.  This is the second week that we have really been doing it, and it amazes me each day how well they are doing!  It is so exciting.

   I am also using some ideas I got from The Book Whisperer and Igniting a Passion for Reading, books that I read this summer.  When someone comes in my room to ask a question or some other interruption occurs, my students pick up their books and read.  I am also finding students filling in book recommendation slips to hang on our bulletin board. 

   I am excited about our little reading community, and I am looking forward to its growing stronger.  I am done Fountas and Pinnelling for the 1st Benchmark (We only have to level those who are below level on our screener, but I had 10 who were low or concerned me in other ways.), so now I really get to conference with my students and begin my small groups in earnest.  It is great.  It makes me wish I had even more than my 90 minute block. 

  The little things like this are what remind me of why I became a teacher.  I hope the rest of the year keeps going so smoothly!

 

Book Trailers

One of my many goals this year is to expose students to more books.  We already do this through student sharing, classmate recommendations, and teacher sharing, but I am wanting to take time each week to show one book trailer which advertises a new or existing children's book.  While searching, I found this one:




Third grade is a great year for Mr. Popper's Penguins, and I liked that this was short but to the point. I also liked it for its use of vocabulary. I am thinking I can have this lead directly into a lesson on context clues.

Do you use book trailers in your classroom? Do you have a special place that you find them or that you recommend? I would love to get ideas on using book trailers in my classroom.

The Book Whisperer--Chapter 6: Cutting the Teacher Strings

This was probably the hardest chapter for me.  Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it made me take a truly critical look at my practices.  I have been guilty of teaching great books instead of teaching readers.  My practices have changed over the years, but in some ways, I certainly have done it.

For a variety of reasons, I have not taught whole class novels for a couple of years.  I place a lot of emphasis on our read-aloud novel.  It is a great place to have discussions and to practice a variety of skills.  It encourages kids to find similar books or books by the same author.  I have also used share-read in the classroom.  I am going to look closely at my use of extension and arts/crafts activities with literature, too.  As we are standard driven, I think I do a pretty good job of making activities match standards, but I am sure that I do some that aren't developing the students as they should.

I really like the idea of teaching comprehension tests as their own genre.  I do not give many comprehension tests throughout the year, but we do practice the format and going back to use our text to find the answer.  I have never been a fan of AR or any of those programs, so it was good to have her thoughts on that match mine!

We do not complete book reports in my class either.  Students are responsible for sharing about a book they are reading about once a month.  However, they do not get to choose their day to share, I have a schedule set up.  I do this sometimes as well.  I liked Ms. Miller's ideas of teaching them about the term spoiler.  We have a lot of set things that the students discuss in their short book share, but sometimes I do have a student who wants to tell a little too much...

My students are given reading log pages to keep track of minutes read at home, but I am still undecided about this year.  I have no requirements about it.  I just ask them to turn it in at the end of the month.  I watch for increased minutes.   I think of it like being on a diet and recording the food you ate....for some people it really helps them to have some accountability to themselves.  For my own sons, two were VERY motivated by recording minutes each month, and two could care less.  It was just one more fight.  That is why I really deemphasize them in my class.

I have never appreciated popcorn or round robin reading!  When I taught older students and we read a lot more from the text book, I would give out reading assignments the night before so that students had plenty of time to read and practice their portion before reading it to the class.  With my third graders, I use a lot of partner reading or listening to the text from a CD.

I have questioned the use of incentive programs before, too.  One time, I heard a speaker say that the best incentive was a new book.  For example, Pizza Hut should reverse their program.  Instead  of earning a pizza for meeting a reading goal, students should earn a free book every time they eat a pizza from Pizza Hut!  That would really be encouraging reading!

So, I have some practices that I need to reevaluate.  I certainly want to be a teacher who teaches a love of reading rather than just great books!

The Book Whisperer--Chapter 5: Walking the Walk

I liked this chapter. (Who am I kidding? I liked the whole book!) It made me think about myself and my practices in the classroom and at home.

I have read a lot of children's books, and I am not afraid to share my thoughts and ideas about books I have read with my students. Students feel comfortable asking me for a suggestion because I have read so many. However, I find that I am best at recommending to my more-developed readers. I taught junior high and 5th grade for a number of years, and during that time, I developed a love of literature for this age. I rarely read adult books, but I don't read enough books that are at a 3rd grade level. I resolve to do better at this, and I have tried to do that this summer.

One way that I am going to do this is that in my classroom, I am going to have a display showing the book that I am currently reading. I am planning to put myself to the same 40 book challenge that I am giving my students. I have created a list that I will have posted by my desk, and I will plug each book into its category as I complete it. Not only will this model reading, but it will be a reminder to them to keep their own list updated.

Click on the picture to access my book list that I will post by my desk to show me meeting the 40 book challenge.

To link up with others' ideas about this chapter, go to Create Teach Share.

The Book Whisperer--Reading Notebooks

I have used reading notebook for a number of years.  I have changed it a million times. I have changed the format, the amount of entries, and the amount of times I collect them. 

 I have to be honest--I am not disciplined enough about grading them.  I have tried a number of things to help.  I usually start the year very strong, but as I get busier, and we get more familiar with each other, I don't look at them like I should.   Hopefully, this year's method will help this dilemma.

I do like that they really help me to get to know my students and their reading a lot better.  I give them a sheet of response starters to help them get going, and I can often tell the readers who struggle more because all they can tell me about is a little bit of what is happening in the book.  With third graders, it is often a new skill, so I have to do a lot of modeling and talking about what I might say in a response besides just retelling the plot.

This year, I plan to try Kidblog with my students for their book responses.  Students will be responsible for one blog per week in which they talk to me about their book.  I think I will start the year with prompts, but as the year goes, I want to allow them more choice in their blogs.  I do have plenty of other classroom times when I ask the students for reading responses.  These will supplement our blogs.  Hopefully, using Kidblog offers some excitement for my students, and it will be more efficient--less space to store our notebooks and easier access for me (and no notebooks to carry around).

In my CAFE binder, I will have a spot for reading response still.  This way, students can take notes while reading and put them in there for themselves or to use when composing their blogs.  We use a lot of post-it notes while reading, so students will be able to write on a post-it note and then just stick it in this section of their CAFE binder.

My biggest goal with reading responses this year is to talk with the kids about their responses during conferencing.  That way I can work with them more on this writing skill while discussing their books.  I will still give them feedback to their blogs by commenting, too.

An Amazon Delivery!

Today, I received a box of books from Amazon.  It contained books that I found while looking at other people's favorite fall read-alouds.  How exciting for me!  I took the boys to the pool, and I read picture books in the sun.  What great ideas I got from everybody!  Some of the books were on multiple lists, and now I can see why.

The book I am going to talk about is one that I don't think I found on someone's list.  It was listed below another book where it says "Customers who bought this book also liked..."

What a great book!  I loved its emphasis on words and definitions, and the story line was clever, too!  I looked online, and Debra Frasier has a website that offers some additional resources to use with it, too.  It is cleverly written and may be better for students in Grades 3 and up, but maybe some of you will tell me differently.

If I am mistaken and found this book in your list of fall read-alouds, I apologize and thank you for the recommendation!



Book Whisperer Chapter 4

Discussion Questions:
1) How do you plan to give your students reading freedom?
2) What are your favourite reading lessons to start the school year with?
3) What would your genre requirement look like? Why would you pick these genres?
4) As we are half way through The Book Whisperer what goals have you made for your reading program for this coming school year?

I am in the habit of giving my students reading freedom.  When we conference, I may try to nudge them another way, but I let them go with what they want if they want.   I think it is important.

I start the year with a lot of focus on Choosing Good-Fit books.  3rd graders are all over the place in their reading abilities at the beginning of the year, and that is ok.  We talk about that point a lot so that everyone is comfortable reading what they need to without embarrassment.  We also talk about the different ways a person can read a book.  These lessons are designed to really help build community.  Depending on the makeup of my class, sometimes these are easy lessons that have to be done only at the beginning of the year, and sometimes we have to review them at different times throughout the year.

I have really thought about this reading requirement.  3rd graders are typically still such novice readers, and I really want to build confidence.  However, I also like to set high expectations.  I have decided to go with a 40 book requirement, but I am going to be sure to stress to parents that it is not for a grade, and the students will not be punished if they don't meet it.  I will review with them the importance of reading for pleasure, the value of reading different genres, and my desire to challenge their children. 

Here is my 40 book requirement by genre:

realistic fiction--2

historical fiction--2

graphic novel--2

fantasy--2

science fiction--2

biography/autobiography--2

books recommended by friends--2

informative books--6

picture books--10

free choice books--10

Here are my reasons for some of the choices:  I intentionally left poetry out, because we read poetry each week together, and the students do 4-5 poetry recitals a year where they must look through poems, choose one, and read it to the class later in the week.  I read them poetry a lot, too, so I feel like they are very exposed. 

I added picture books because they are so integral to our classroom, and my students enjoy reading them.  They will be an easy way for them to boost their numbers and gain some confidence.  Besides, for some of the year, picture books are just-right books for some of my students.
I added a category called books recommended by friends because we spend a lot of time talking about books, and I want them to see how that can carry over.  I am going to work harder to remember to share with them who recommended the books that I read.  I want it to be a real-world reading thing.

My genre choices are all 2 books.  I want them to get more than one taste of a genre, but I didn't want to favor any genre over another.  If a student really enjoys a genre, they will have the opportunity to explore it more in their free choices.

My biggest goal for this year is to require more student accountability.  I am going to pay more attention to their Daily 5 check ins, conference about their blog entries, and monitor the 40 book requirement with each student.  I will have to work to find a good balance between this accountability and the freedom that Ms. Miller describes.