Chp. 3 Readers' Workshop: Real Reading from the Start

In Chapter 3, Debbie Miller discusses that her first grade students began "reading" from the start of the school year.  Each table of students had their own basket of books.  Miller also put in the songs that they had sung in class.  We wished that we could sing more in our classrooms!!! We also loved that Miller began her school year by making charts with her students.  She would have them talk about people they know that read and what do you see them doing.  Some answers included: reading newspapers; going to the library and checking out lots of books; and reading a lot.  Over the next few weeks, students observed what readers do.  They did this in the classroom and at home.  The children also payed attention to where readers read.  

Miller would then send her students off to read.  Some students chose to sing the songs they knew, others chose to look at pictures in books, while others were reading.  Miller would confer with students about their reading.  Now she is trying to find out about them as readers and take notes.  After conferring, Miller would have the students share about what they did that day.

We really liked this chapter and felt like Miller had great ideas.  I liked how she really modeled the behavior that she liked.  She also found the teachable moments to set rules in the classroom, instead of making a list at the beginning of the year.  We are anxious to read the next chapter because we love the picture at the beginning! Stay tuned!