I will begin teaching my 13th year this fall, but have only been teaching ELA for four years in a self-contained fourth grade classroom. The other eight years I taught 6th grade math and social studies. Preparing for four subjects everyday in fourth grade has been quite overwhelming but I love how exciting my job is! I just wish I felt better at it because these past two weeks I have felt quite inadequate.
I know I haven't received the books yet, but my number one question from reading information about Daily 5 is why does everyone has book bins? I have encouraged my students to choose one chapter book to read at a time. Sometimes we are also reading a novel in class and this is plenty for a fourth grader to be reading at a time. I know I don't like to start more than one chapter book at a time if I am truly enjoying what I am reading. We spend time discussing how to choose a chapter book and I have a few hundred in my classroom library marked with AR levels. They are to take home this chapter book each night and bring it to back to school each day as they would with their homework folder. I can't keep the books in my room because we started grouping for reading this past year and I have the top readers from the grade come to my room for ELA only 80 minutes each day (which is another whole topic of discussion in itself!). The students need their free reading material for their regular homerooms during DEAR (drop everything and read) time since my students do not have AIS (academic intervention services).
So, I guess to sum it up, I have the following questions if any of the fellow bloggers would be willing to provide guidance and suggestions for. Please be patient with me as I am a brand new blogger:)
1. Do students bring their books home to read for minutes at night? (My students must do this and record the # of pages read on their reading calendar).
2. Do students have a recommended number of books they must read each month or other time period? (My students must read 4 chapter books a month and score 70% or higher on AR (accelerated reader) books over 250 pages count for two books but for the top readers, the AR level must be 4.0 or higher beginning in November).
3. How do teachers check for comprehension of books read? (I use AR to check for comprehension).
Any help would be appreciated and I am very anxious to get started! I am also trying to follow along with this book study. It is wonderful! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
