Creating a class of engaged and independent readers is one of the most important goals of the school year. It is very important to start off on the right foot and build that love of reading as soon as possible! Below, you will find some tips, strategies, and lessons I use year after year that build my students’ love of reading at the beginning of the school year.
Lesson #1: Teach Readers the Expectations for Reading Workshop
In this lesson, students should learn what a reading workshop should look and sound like in your classroom.
One way to introduce this is to read a story with your students. I wrote a story called Trevor, the Boy Who Learned to Love Reading. In this story, Trevor is a little boy who struggles with reading. He pretends to read when the teacher is looking at him, distracts other readers around him, daydreams, and reads the same book every day. At the suggestion of his classmate, Trevor decides to read an adventure of Jasmine and Philip book. And guess what happens? He falls in love with reading because he found a book that he loved!
If you’d like to hear me read this story on YouTube, click HERE.
Another way to introduce what a reading workshop should look and sound like is to create a t-chart with your students! On one side of the chart, write “looks like” and on the other write “sounds like”. Check out the example below:
Students should help you create this list of expectations. This way they build ownership over the reading workshop and understand what it looks and sounds like to have an environment that supports all students. You could also have students write down the finished list in their reading notebooks to refer to throughout the year. This is the perfect introduction to the reading workshop!
Lesson #2: Readers Read “Just Right” Books that Fit Like a Glove
In this important lesson, students learn how a just-right book “fits like a glove.” You can watch me teach this lesson by clicking HERE.
In order for students to independently shop for appropriate books in the classroom library, they need to be able to know to determine if a book is “just-right.”
One way to do this is to create an anchor chart with the following questions:
1. Do you think the book will be interesting and exciting?
2. Can you talk to a friend about the book because you understand what is going on?
3. Can you read almost all the words on a page?
4. Is this a new book that you have not already read?
5. Are you engrossed with this book?
Model this lesson for your students by choosing three to four books from the library. Demonstrate how you take a picture walk through each book, answering these questions until you find a book that is a perfect fit.
Next, you can have students practice finding a ‘just right” book in the classroom or school library. Once they find one, have them fill out a reflection about what they read and why it was a “just right” book for them.
Lesson #3: Readers Treat Books with Respect
Teachers spend tons of time and money curating a classroom library and want them to last for a long time and serve as many students as possible. Students need to know how to treat this space with respect so that everyone gets to enjoy the classroom library.
In this important lesson, students learn how to treat books with respect. I like to read aloud the story “The Adventures of Jasmine and Phillip,” as a fun way to teach this lesson using a social story. You can listen to me read this story by clicking on the video below.
Teaching students how to treat classroom library books with respect can be a challenging task. Students will learn and understand the importance of treating books with respect from reading and discussing this unique social story. This is the perfect way to teach your students to not fold book pages, have clean hands when reading, and keep food or drinks away from books.
Here are some other ideas for teaching your students how to treat the classroom library with respect:
- Teach expectations you have for independent reading time. Are students allowed to have water bottles and snacks when reading? How do students store their books when they are not reading them?
- Read aloud The Adventures of Phillip and Jasmine (YouTube: The Adventures of Phillip and Jasmine) Do you have an example of a book that was destroyed because water spilled on it or food was smeared on one of the pages? Show this book to your students, along with a brand new book in perfect condition. Have a class discussion about the differences between the two books and why it is important to take care of books.
- Explain any consequences for not being respectful with books.
- Consider making a class “promise,” in which all students agree to take care of books.
Lesson #4: Readers Think About What They Read
Students need to be thinking about their thinking while they read. This is an essential skill that will follow them for the rest of their lives as readers! In this lesson, students learn how to THINK about what they are reading, by using thought bubbles. You can watch me teach this lesson by clicking HERE.
Metacognition, or thinking about your thinking, is something the teacher can model every time they read aloud. You can provide thinking stems to help guide and remind students what to be on the lookout for as they read.
Here are some of my favorite thinking stems to model metacognition:
- I’m wondering…
- I’m thinking…
- I’m noticing…
- I’m visualizing…
- I’m feeling…
- This reminds me of…
Lesson #5: Readers Respond to Their Reading
Students learn about the different things that they can write about their reading. In this lesson, students will learn how they will use their reader’s notebook to write as they are reading. I teach my students that “Reading and writing go together like peanut butter and jelly!”
You can watch me teach this lesson by clicking HERE.
One way you can teach this lesson is to create an anchor chart that includes different things they can write about as a class. Have students share ideas as well as adding your own.
Inside our readers’ notebooks, we can write:
*Write our favorite part
*Create a timeline of events
*Write about what made you laugh, cry, or gasp
*Write new facts
*Ask questions about what we are reading
*Keep track of the plot *Write a list of character traits
*Compare character traits
*Make inferences
*Draw (in detail!) the setting
*Identify examples of text features
Students will then have a turn to start reading and writing about one thing on the anchor chart at the end of the lesson.
Looking for More?
Grab this FREEBIE with directions and printables for each of these lessons!
I hope you have some great ideas to bring back to your classroom as you get started this school year!
