Using March Madness to Cultivate a Love of Literature

I cannot take credit for this idea.  I first saw it on Facebook, linked by a teacher-friend.  The article had a simple picture that caught my attention.  To be honest, I didn't even read the article.  I just saw the picture and my mind started going crazy on how to make this work for 1st graders.

I took a large piece of butcher paper and drew a very large bracket with a big Sharpie.  I hung it in the hallway across from our door so that the kids could see it, as well as the rest of the school.  I can't tell you how many other students, teachers, and parents stopped to look.  I even overheard a few older students talking about which books they thought would win.  It made my heart smile.  :)

One of the main questions I've had is whether or not I let the students choose the first 32 books.  I did not, mainly because it was such a last minute project and I needed to get it going.  I picked 8 books from 4 different genres.  I created categories for Classics, Humor, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales, and General Fiction.  I wanted to expose the students to a variety of genres and open their eyes to some literature that they may not have explored before.  I tried to throw in some books I knew they liked, too.  I Googled images of each book I chose and just copied and pasted the images into a PowerPoint, printed, and laminated!  I put a little masking tape on the back of each image and put them on the bracket.  The pictures of the books made it a little more exciting and colorful.

I had to get this done before Spring Break (which is this week, PTL!), so I read a set of books from each category every. single. day.  

I started off each read aloud by saying that we were going to have another tournament.  Within the Classics category, I gave a little bit of background for each book.  They loved learning how old some of them were!  ;)

After I read the two books, I passed out little paper ballots to each student.  I reminded them each time that they had to vote for they one THEY liked best.  The paper ballots were a good way to do it because they really did want to keep their vote a secret.  If we simply raised our hands, well...you know how that goes, especially with little ones.  ;)  I have a feeling the race wouldn't be as close!

After all the votes were tallied each time, I would announce the winner and CHEERS would ERUPT.  They were so excited every single time!  There were some definite shockers, like The Giving Tree.  I totally didn't expect that one to make it past the first round.  

Another question I've had is if I read the books after reading them once.  YES!  I read them every. single. round.  It got a little annoying by time the finals came around, but I felt it was important for them to hear them each time in order to compare them to the book it was up against.  Surprisingly, they loved it each time and I really think it made a different.  They had such a fresh perspective when it was up against a different text the next time.

After the tournament was over, we went around to a couple of classrooms that took a big interest in our competition and announced the winner.  They ended up reading the book to them as a class because they practically had it memorized.  ;)

So who is the 2015 book winner of Mrs. Kirby's 1st grade class?  I'm so glad you asked.  :)  It was the ONLY unanimous vote during the whole tournament (which provided a great opportunity for a quick vocabulary lesson!).

THE PIGEON FINDS A HOT DOG by Mo Willems!!!!!

I definitely recommend this activity for next year in your classroom!  It was a DEFINITE hit with my students and I don't think they'll ever forget it!

The Next Step in Guided Reading - Chapter 6 and a FREEBIE!

This was a loooooonnnnnnggggg chapter!  Considering I teach 1st grade, the majority of my students are not at this level.  Every once in a while I'll get one or two, but a lot of this just went in my memory bank in case I ever switch grade levels, tutor, or move into a different position.  I still really enjoyed reading this chapter!  What did you all think?

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I noticed that with the fluent level, a large majority of the focus is on vocabulary and comprehension.  I knew it would take a hard look at comprehension, but I wasn't expecting the heavy emphasis on vocabulary.  But it makes so much sense!  Vocabulary is always a skill that can be taught, no matter what level a person is on.  Even adults can refine their vocabulary skills!

I was also captured by the VIP strategy.  A lot of my higher readers struggle with identifying the most important parts.  They get so caught up in the details that they miss the bigger picture!  I like the idea of having the small sticky notes on hand so that they can flag it when they read it.

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

Even though my students aren't this high, we still focus a lot on comprehension.  We will occasionally stop during our reading and check our comprehension.  We also have a chat after reading the book about different aspects of the story.  I typically try to ask a lot of green (literal) and red (inferential) questions.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to try and incorporate more yellow questions when we discuss the book.  Some of my higher groups could totally handle this.  I also love the idea of the reading notebooks for vocabulary recording, comprehension notes, and guided writing.  I probably won't have the opportunity to use this a lot since I teach 1st grade, but I'm glad I read it so that I know what to do in case I have kids at this level!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I have these retelling cubes that I love!  I actually use them with all of my groups.  Retell a Story Cubes

For nonfiction, I just wrote some simple questions on large popsicle sticks and put them in a cup.  The students draw one out and answer the question.

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

Reading notebooks are the biggest thing I'd want to have on hand during fluent level groups.  Staples has a deal on notebooks for $0.17!  I got 24 for $4 and some change AND free shipping!  You should really snatch them if you think you'll use them!  This is seriously a great deal!

Staples Notebook Sale

I put together a little freebie for you all today!  Remember those green, yellow, and red questions?  Well, I made a little question card ring for reference during your groups.  You can make one for each student, have one at your guided reading table, or have it on hand for YOURSELF to remember what types of questions to ask!  :)  Click on the following link, photograph, or picture to download!  Enjoy!  :)

Traffic Light Questions

See you next week for the LAST chapter of The Next Step in Guided Reading!  Woohoo!

Craziest Winter EVER!

This is getting silly.  Between all the 1-hour delays, 2-hour delays, and cancellations, this has been the wildest winter I've ever experienced!  And it's snowing right now.  Again.  *Sigh*  Where oh where is spring?  We've only been in school for 6 complete days since before Christmas break.  Six.  It was nice at first, but now we're all panicking about how much learning we're missing out on!  How about you?  Has your school closed or delayed a lot this year?

First of all, I know I'm way late on this, but I'm linking up with Farley for the monthly Currently!  :)

Why does laundry and cleaning a house never end?  Gracious.

And if you're wondering which one is the fib...it's number 2.  :)  I HATE pineapple.  I'm probably the only person on earth, but I just don't like it.  It has a very strange taste to me.  I prefer blueberries, raspberries, Honeycrisp apples, and oranges. 

So what does one do when the weekly schedule is entirely interrupted by snow days and cold days?  Survive.  That's what one does.  I have a student teacher right now and I feel so bad for her because it's taking FOREVER for her to learn the routine and schedule.  Half the time I forget what it's supposed to be!  She's done a fabulous job, though, and has done some great lessons.  Her very first lesson was an art lesson where the kiddos made penguins with all sorts of crafty things.  They loved it and they turned out ADORABLE!

How many times can one redo a Word Wall?  Many, many times.  I used to have it up at the top of the wall, close to the ceiling.  I liked to have bulletin board space for other things.  But I'm just too short and hated getting out the ladder to add words to it.  So I moved it down to a bulletin board.  It actually works much better!

We recently had our 1st grade Reading Super Bowl!  The students were to read as many books as possible each night (with a limit of 12) and turn in a slip stating how many they read with a parent signature.  The students were divided into teams (the Broncos and Seahawks).  Each day we would tally their books.  The team with the most books read scored a touchdown (6 points).  This was done daily, Monday-Friday.  No late slips were allowed, as each day we tallied the books and put up points.  When we came back Monday, the winners were announced and the whole first grade went to the cafeteria for a Milk and Brownies party.  The losing team had to serve the winning team their milk and brownies and then were able to get their own.  So really, everyone won, but it was a fun lesson on manners and serving others first!  Just a small little reward for the winners.  :)  But the kids LOVED it and LOVED seeing how many books the first graders read in a week!

The last little thing I'm going to share tonight is a fun idea my student teacher did with the kids that correlated with our Weekly Reader.  The issue was about penguins and it taught the students about the heights of different penguins.  She took some butcher paper and had groups design their penguin according to the different types.  The important thing was that she cut the paper so that it was the same height as the penguins that they studied.  When she explained that the actual penguins were the size of their paper ones, they were AMAZED!  It was a great visual.

Have a great Sunday everyone!  My day will be filled with church, lesson planning, cleaning, and our small group!  I'm HOPING for a completely normal week next week!  We'll see!