We've started "Read to Self!"

So far (in our four days of school,) we've learned the 3 ways to read a book and have just begun learning about Read to Self!

On Friday, I read aloud a leveled reader (Chick's Walk from Wright Group) and demonstrated how to read the pictures. I chose this particular book because the words very closely follow what is happening in the pictures. First, I walked through the book, talking about each picture as I looked at it. I wondered about where the chick was going and commented on where he lives. After I finished the book, I asked my first graders to tell me about how I was reading the book. They talked about how I was looking at the pictures and talking about what was happening. Next, I actually read the very simple story to them, and we talked about how reading the words is a little bit different. We're actually paying attention to the print and reading the author's message. For the retelling part of the lesson, I used The Monster at the End of This Book. We had read this book already, so I walked through the book talking about what had happened on each page. We talked about how many of us can retell our favorite books since we've read them so many times!

Today (Monday,) we did a brief overview of the Daily Five before introducing Read to Self. We brainstormed why this is an important activity for us to do each and every day. Then we came up with ideas for what Miss Komos will do while everyone is reading. Finally, I guided them towards coming up with their "jobs" during Read to Self.

After we made our anchor chart, I showed them their book tubs (which I'd already filled since I haven't taught them about good fit books yet!) I placed children all around the room with their book tubs. Once everyone had a spot, I let them know I'd leave them alone so they can work on the "BIG I" of being independent workers. During the first session, they were fantastic! They lasted two minutes! So as not to let them lose momentum, I stopped them and gathered everyone back together. We briefly talked about how we did, then repeated the same process again. I let them make it to three minutes this time and celebrated their success by reading aloud the Elephant and Piggy book We Are in A Book. We were bananas over this book! :)

Tomorrow, we'll continue to review our anchor chart for Read to Self and have several practice sessions for opportunities to build our stamina!