In the Kindergarten classroom at TVCS, we are so fortunate to be able to use a combination of several resources to ensure we are reaching each student where he or she is in the world of emergent literacy. We follow closely the teachings of Lucy Caulkins and Kathy Collins, both of the Teacher's College of Columbia. Kathy Collins provides a broad overview of what we strive to include in our classroom.
Components of a Balanced Literacy Framework
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We continued to have reader's workshop this one final week. We were busy at the listening station, reading independently and working in our RW journals, and having some small group direct instruction. Please read with your child over the summer and keep the excitement alive!
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We had another Reader's Workshop Party this week after receiving ten tallies, but we changed things up just a little bit. With the heat of summer days coming on, we thought that ice cream would be more appropriate than popcorn. So, we trekked over to the Emporium and treated ourselves to some of their delicious ice cream. It was a great way to celebrate all of the amazing reading we have done this year!
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Here is a list of one hundred books selected by the National Education Association in 1999 as great reading for children and young people. To help make these books more useful, we have added book and author links to any TeachersFirst resources and lesson ideas. For more reading ideas - including books grouped by theme and grade level - check out the hundreds of titles in our Suggested Reading section.
You can see NEA's online survey of best books from 2007 here.
TeachersFirst includes the most recent publications in our monthly TogetheRead themes on our companion site,TeachersAndFamilies. Don't miss these opportunities to promote literacy as a family activity!
Books for All Ages
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Books for Preschoolers - More Preschool Titles from TeachersFirst / TeachersAndFamilies
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Books for Children Ages 4-8 - More Primary Reading from TeachersFirst / TeachersAndFamilies
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
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I thought I would take this section of newsletter to inform you of our current read-aloud that we have every day after lunch recess. This part of the day is so important for the kids to take a breather, and relax, only focusing on relaxing and being able to concentrate on the auditory skills of listening to a novel. We usually have review each day to reinforce comprehension. Henry and Ribsy is the second book in the series that we started reading about 3 weeks ago. The Black Bats are enjoying listening to a book written in a different generation than the one they are growing up in.
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In Reader's Workshop, we typically start the session with a mini-lesson. Depending on what we are trying to teach, our lessons always look a little different. This week, we talked about how reading can help us find information. We try and foster readers that have the following qualities:.JPG)
An important part of our Reader's Workshop rituals, this picture is an example of "a sight word hunting we will go!" Kids love to read and scour REAL stuff. Encyclopedias, National Geographics, field guides, and books that may be slightly over their phonemic abilities. That is why we look and "shop for books." We select topic matter that interests us, pictures which are intriguing, and while we cannot decipher word for word what is on the page, we are finding sight words left and right and marking them to share them with our friends. Do you remember doing something so cool in Kindergarten? I know....me neither.
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