Daily 5- Part 4- Read to Self

I forgot to mention modeling in part 3. The first month is almost all modeling and anchor charts. The original anchor charts are on large chart paper, but I only keep them up for about a week. I type what is written and we turn it into a contract. I store them in a folder with prongs and they all have to sign the front. The sticker on the front is from the Daily 5 book and says: 

1. Get started right away

2. Stay in one place

3. Work quietly

4. Read the whole time

5. Increase stamina

6. Select and read good fit books

When students have trouble during the year I have them review our anchor charts during read to self to remind themselves of the contract they signed. 

As I stated in Part 1.. my students must choose read to self every day. It's 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading time! 

The first couple of weeks of school I put good fit books into my students' book bins until they are able to appropriately choose their own. My book bins were 2.50 at Target and I have them decorate an index card on the first day and I velcro it on to reuse for next year. None broke this year and they were pretty rough with them! Inside their book bins they are allowed 6 books (no more than 2 chapter books), a writing journal, a folder for word work and writing pieces (left side is labeled word work, right side is labeled writing) an IPICK book mark, and a check for understanding. 

Anyways, the most crucial part of read to self is the students being able to choose their own books. I spend about a week modeling and working with students one on one to choose good fit books. To practice we sing the IPICK song and they receive IPICK bookmarks. I can't share them because of copyright issues, but basically I just created it in Word with the IPICK acronym 

I choose my books

Purpose

Interest 

Comprehend

Know most of the words 

We also go over the "5 finger rule." If a student chooses a chapter book they must be able to randomly open the book and read a page without struggling with more than 5 words. I tell them if it's a picture book it's a "3 finger rule" since most of them have a lot less words than a page in a chapter book. 

I don't know what else to say about read to self. It's wonderful and my students LOVE reading. My favorite part is seeing them smile or laugh as they read. There is nothing more rewarding than watching your students enjoy learning. If you think of any questions, feel free to ask them in a comment or email. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Countdown: 24 more days of school!

Don't forget you can follow me on Facebook and now you can even receive email notifications (on the right hand side) when I update my blog. Thanks Ladybug for yet another thing I didn't know!