I teach the most amazing fourth grade kiddos ever! We are a Dual Language Immersion school teaching Portuguese. I teach the English side. I have twenty-five students in the morning then we switch and I have twenty-five in the afternoon. With both classes, our favorite part of the day is when I do the teacher read-aloud.
Reading aloud takes kids places they have never been and opens their minds to a greater imagination.
Some of them really have a hard time reading alone with no one to read to them at home. I was making such great progress with them but now, with no school, I worry.
I am a special education teacher but currently teaching general education and I love it! My students' passion for learning is above anything I've seen. They love listening to me read to them and are always fully engaged. As I walk around the room, their eyes are looking into mine. We laugh and sigh and they get so mad at me when I leave them at a pivotal part of the story. I would hate for all of that to go away.
My Project
In the fourth grade, I really start teaching my students the love of reading. In my class. I try hard to get my students engaged and loving to read independently. I always have "special" books behind my desk that they love to come ask me for suggestions. I have books at all reading levels, but they look age appropriate for those that aren't reading at grade level yet.
Another way I get my students interested in reading is through my, ever so exciting, read alouds.
I'm usually able to read through about three books a year. As I'm reading to them, my "not yet" kiddos follow along in the book, helping them see the words and understand the context better.
With the predicament we are in this year, I am not going to be able to finish our last book Savvy. I plan on recording myself reading the rest of the book to them. For those who are not quite reading yet, they can following along with me as they watch and listen. The others are, and probably will, be welcome to follow along as well but if they so choose, they can finish it on their own. Most of my students, after reading Savvy, always check out or buy the next book in the series, Scumble. That's how much they love reading after being in my class!
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