So how am I doing with conferencing individuals more than once a week??? Not to well. I need about 20 minutes more each morning. There needs to be a better balance between guided reading groups and self-selected reading. Can 1st graders really choose their own reading and show growth? I will find that out during the next 6 weeks. More of my time will be spent with individuals than groups. I think it might work.

What a day. Some how, I meant with every group this morning. The class was very quiet...probably due to a long weekend or late night. I am giving written response assignments to each group. That makes them reread their text and keeps them focused on the reading task.

After school, we started our writing circle multi-age group. There are 24 kids in the group from K5 to 5th grade. Today, we started an idea page, wrote, met each other, and shared. Next week we will create our writing map.

I would like all my readers to do a better job choosing their own reading material. Some of them are but too many are still reluctant readers. We are going to try something new with my most reluctant ones: after they finish reading a book in group, they will reread it on their own and then illustrate 3 three parts of the book and add text to their illustrations. These readers love to draw. I'm hoping the opportunity to draw about their reading will encourage them to read more and to choose more appropriate books for their independent reading.
Another thing we have done this week and will continue doing is using the series of books, You Read to Me, I'll Read to you. Besides the fairy tales, there are poems about reading. The kids love getting a chance to perform this short readers' theater for the class. It is helping with comprehension and fluency.

Today is National Read Aloud Day. I forgot to tell my kids about that. So tomorrow I will let them know that we will be celebrating a day late. At 9:00 I will let them know that they will have one minute to read aloud to the class (using our new MIC system) and that they had time to choose a piece and practice. I'll let you know how it goes. I will have to choose a piece to read, too.