Building Stamina!

Each year, the Kindergarten program uses the return from Winter Break to add in new classroom routines.  Upon yesterday's return from Winter Break students students watched as their afternoon Rest Time transformed into a Quiet Reading Time (QRT).  During this time, students pick books from the library to encourage personalized reading success.  It is a time to build reading stamina.  Our 2nd semester goal is to work towards 15 minutes of uninterrupted, focused reading time.  Yesterday, we started with just ONE minute of uninterrupted reading time (followed by a relaxed QRT where students could read or rest) and are already planning to move towards two minutes of uninterrupted reading time today (Tuesday).  Increasing reading stamina (and attention) minute-by-minute is done purposefully and allows students to slowly build their ability to focus solely on reading and interacting with books.  We equate building reading stamina to learning to ride a bike from a tricycle to training wheels to a two wheelers.  We read Froggy Rides a Bike as a funny reminder at how much practice it takes to get good at a particular task.  Click link for a YouTube reading of this book.

These Cottontails won't even let a teacher and her camera distract them from reading!

As we get into the groove of QRT and building reading stamina, students will also learn to select "just right readers" that allow students to experience reading success at their current reading level.  We will also practice selecting "just right readers" on our monthly library field trips.

In coming weeks, we will begin working on learning our Weekly Words, these "high frequency words" are common words we use and read regularly.  It is important to focus on these words as they often go against English language rules and learning them helps our brains get ready to tackle bigger / more complex words.

While we build our reading skills at school, look for regular blog posts with reading tips and tricks for you to use at home with your child.  These tips and tricks will help build routines and practices between home or school.  In the meantime, check out THIS article which states that even small amounts of reading (as little as 4.7 minutes) can benefit a child's reading success.  As always let me know if you have questions.

PS:  Enjoy this video of another aspect of our Literacy time - building Writing stamina!  Students are able to engage in the writing process for upwards of 15+ minutes silently and without interruptions. Way to go Cottontails!

Brainstorming writing "seeds" about our New Year's resolutions.