I have started something new this year with my dyslexic students and I am calling it "Powerful Reading". They have all loved it and look forward to Fridays each week!
This summer I read "Notebook Connections, Strategies for the Reader's Notebook" by Aimee Buckner. I was so inspired while reading this wealth of information about helping students become deeper thinkers, readers and writers. I look forward to Fridays as much as my students do.
With my 3rd graders, I am reading to them and we are listening for "great writing" - which would be the literary element introduced that week. This week: Foreshadowing. I am reading the Sister's Grimm series to my students and it is full of literary elements. Sometimes it is hard to just stick with one!
My 4th graders are surprising me each week with the comprehension and growth in their reading.
As the students read, we have been working on "capturing" our great thoughts while reading. We do this by using small post-it notes and writing great thoughts about the text - could be a connection they make with the text, or a questions about what might happen, a literary element recognition, etc. 4th grade seems to be a great age to really begin digging in a little deeper into reading.
I tell my students from the beginning that it is impossible to not think while reading, so "tune in" to their great thoughts!
I also shared with them my "Truths about Reading" which are:
*Great Books are meant to be read over and over.
*Picture Books are not just for babies.
*Short chapters have benefits.
*You can depend on a favorite author
Afterwords, the students came up with their Truths about Reading and that was our very first entry in our Reader's Notebook.
If you are a teacher, I highly recommend Aimee Buckner's book! You will be inspired to incorporate it in whatever grade level you teach. I have put a link below for quick access to her book on Amazon.com.
Happy Reading, Everyone!
http://www.amazon.com/
