My new students this year,I've learned,are from 15 different countries on 4 continents. How amazing is that?! They come to school speaking many different languages with many different interests, hobbies, and life stories. Some of them are learning English for the very first time while others only speak English.
Most of these students are new to me and new to the school. I've met some of them before, but for the majority of them I met for the first time this week as school started. They are all very sweet and getting adjusted to a new school, new teachers, and new friends. They are a great bunch of students and I'm excited to jump into our work!
This year, we are all reading Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) books that students can pick out on their own based on their own interests. A lot of my students, the new evident leaders, have asked me to get books for them that they are interested in reading. I had each student write down one specific request on a post-it note for a book that they would want.
One of my goals this year is to have every student read an independent reading book, and although I have a lot of books, I want to be sure to target each student's reading level and interests. Since most of them are new to me and I'm still learning about their interests and abilities, they projected the idea of asking for specific books. I then asked each student to write down a book title, genre, or topic they would like to read about this year. I've compiled a list of the books and topics they personally requested. By getting new books that they request, students will be able to build on their independent reading ability, increasing reading skills and vocabulary while they read. They will also be able to empathize with the characters of these books since they are about topics, people, and issues close to each of their hearts.
In Their Own Words
"My goal is to learn how to read better."
"We'll pay attention to our books because we are more interested in them."
"I will focus on the main idea of the book for a project."
"The goal I'd like to accomplish is read a book that is not boring."
"I want to finish a whole book."
"I want to encourage others to read good books."
"We are reading more, obviously!"
"We are interested in our books more than if they were boring, and we may learn something that we can bring to our own life or school, like an important lesson."
"We can recommend books to our classmates based on what we learn about each other in class."
"This project is important because it helps everybody in your class."
"Reading improves our reading levels which then helps us with our grades."
"The challenge it overcomes is that this project gets us reading more and we get to read books that actually interest us."
"These books teach us about history and I am excited to bring one of the books home to share with my mom."
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