My kindergarten students are enthusiastic about reading!
We are a small rural school in Michigan hard at work cultivating a culture of readers.
I am working to expand their access to reading and show them that it can move beyond the classroom, and into the hallway. The children have been immersed in a powerful variety of literature. In October they explored Caldecott Books. In November it was Reading Rainbow Books. For December they read books about the sciences. In January, they laughed their way through Theodor Seuss Geisel Awarded Books, and in February/March, they explored a whole new world of cultural immersion with Ezra Jack Keats Award Books! In April, we giggled our way through Dr. Seuss books. For the next month, we are ready to delve deeper into our fairy tales, and hopefully make a stronger connection between the book and the Fairy Tale STEM kits we have been completing for the last month!
My Project
This school year I have focused on bringing great literature front and center to my students during our down time in the hallway while they all take turns waiting to use the restroom. I have seen tremendous growth in their passion for reading this year as they have worked to be "leaders" to plan for their favorite book to read when they are finished. They are always racing one another as they vie for the book they desperately want to read that day. I have acquired new books on a monthly basis. So far the children have been immersed in Caldecott Books, Reading Rainbow Books, Life Science Books, Ezra Jack Keats Award Books, Geisel Award Books, and this month, Dr. Seuss books.
For the month of May, the children are hoping to read Fairy Tale Books, but with your help, I hope to surprise them with a twist!
Our readings have taken us all around the world, in fiction and nonfiction. In selecting these fairy tale books, I have chosen one version that is traditional, and another that is non-traditional. It may be from another country. It may be a fractured fairy tale. It might even be written in Spanish. My goal is to have them sharing these books with one another, and laughing (as they should while reading!), while they look for the similarities and differences between the two versions of the tale (and hopefully make those same connections with our Fairy Tale STEM kits!).
The enthusiasm my kindergarten students have developed for the written word this year is like nothing I have ever seen before. Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, and thank you to everyone who will help us along the way one last time.
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