This is the time of year in schools when the teachers and I start talking with kids about their summer reading lives. Kids look back over their reading logs and reading notebooks and ask themselves questions like: "What kind of books do I like best?" "Which genre was my favorite?" "How much time and how many pages can I read in one sitting?" "What do I want to read more of this summer?" "What skills and strategies do I tend to use most? Least?" "What do I want to work on as a reader, and how will I do it?"Some kids decide on a series they want to read, others make a goal for themselves, such as reading 40 minutes every day, or reading books on a topic, like volcanoes, or dogs, or soccer! Lots of teachers take their classes trips to the local public library to make sure everyone has a library card, and some teachers even send books home with kids for the summer.
As for me, one of my many summer reading projects is to read several books at each reading level from level G to level Q (that's from about first grade to third grade). Knowing the books will help me be an even better reading teacher, and will give me lots to talk about with kids and teachers this fall! I'm partnering up with my colleague, D.D., and we're going to meet a couple times to swap books and talk about them!
And, for Baby L, this summer we're going to do a couple things to make sure she has plenty of reading in her life too!
1) I've been working on videotaping myself and Daddy B reading her favorite books. That way she can listen to us read when we're at work and she's at home with the babysitter!
2) Baby L is turning pages now! So when we read, I've been letting her practice turning the pages.
3) When we read, I let her spend a long time looking at each page, so she can notice as much as possible in the pictures.
4) When we read, we read a couple books in a row. When she seems uninterested we stop. She usually is happy and engaged for 3-4 books now. Who knows how many books we'll be up to by September!
5) Our goal is to read every day, no matter what!
What are your summer reading projects? Leave a comment!
I had a big long comment typed out to you, and now it's gone. For me, my summer reading includes re-reading the Harry Potter series and trying to fit in a book a week. I would also like to re-read some of the my favorite classics, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace and Little Women.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog, and I am going to follow it. I hope you will do the same with mine.
http://motherhoodthesequel.blogspot.com
As for my girls, I have a seven year old and a seven month old. When I read to the oldest, I include the youngest, and she loves it. My oldest does, too, but she is having problems in school. We are having her tested on Wednesday for dyslexia and ADD (my husband, her dad, has both), and I will be planning out her summer reading accordingly.
Thanks for coming over and leaving a comment about your one-a-day! I lost track of you after poem-a-day in April, but I've officially followed you now so I can keep track of you and Baby Lily! (I'll add you to my one-a-day post.)
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