Start of the School Year and Daily 5

Whew.... the start to every school year is so exciting, while also very exhausting! I have loved building community and getting to know all of my students in my class these past few weeks. We have had a lot of fun and also worked really hard at practicing our routines and procedures. Of course I couldn't get thru it without the best team possible! :)

Check out some pictures of our classroom with our flexible seating:

We started our first week at school by getting to know each other by playing some fun games. We also got to know each other by having each child make an All About Me Pennant and All About Me Math Person

The first couple of weeks we spent 22 days diving deep into our Daily 5 literacy centers. Each day during our literacy block students participate in Daily 5 center choices (read to self, read to buddy, work on writing, word work, and listening center). While students are working in these centers they are also reading in small groups with me as well as playing on iRead (a personalized  program we use on the computer which specifically targets students at their current reading level).

The first center we introduced and practiced was Read-to-Self. Each day we built our stamina by practicing. Check out our anchor chart on our expectations:

My students came up with whole body movements to help them remember the expectations for read to self. Check out their video:

Here are some students reading to their self: 

The next center that we introduced was Read-to-Someone. Check out our anchor chart with our expectations:

The third Daily Five center that students participate in is Listen-to-Reading. Here is our anchor chart as well as some students participating at listening:

The forth Daily Five center that students participate in is Word Work. In Word Work they can choose from a variety of different activities that help to practice their spelling patterns as well as sight words. Here is our anchor chart, center choices, and students working together.

The fifth Daily Five center that students participate in is Writing. In the writing center students have a variety of different activities to choose from to practice their writing. Here is our anchor chart, center choices, as well as some students working together:

As I stated above, while some students are participating in Daily 5 choices some students are working in small groups with me. During this time we are working on their reading goals and writing. This is one of my favorite parts of the day because I am able to specifically read with each child and meet their needs.

The last component is technology. This year our school was fortunate to get many more technology devices. Our classroom now has 6 iPad's, 3 laptops, and 3 desktops. Here are few students interacting with our iRead program on devices:

That's it for now! Thanks for checking in to see how learning is going in our classroom and come back soon! :)