BOOK BUDDIES

Picking out their books and getting excited for our first day of Reading Buddies!

This week kicks off what I see as one of the most valuable opportunities that comes with being a fifth grade at Buckham Elementary. Every Monday and Thursday,  we travel just down the hall to Ms. Rathbun's second grade class to spend time with our Reading Buddies. Each student is paired with a second grader, and they spend an hour reading with their partner, discussing what they read and learning from one another. 

Ms. Rathbun and I work together to match our students with similar tastes and interests, and each duo gets to pick a book (approved by one of the teachers). They have a choice whether to read out loud together or read silently and fill out a discussion sheet afterwards. They also keep a reading log keeping track of time spent reading, thoughts, questions and insights to present to the rest of the class when they finish. 

Let me tell you, if you haven't already guessed, I love this program! It is so, so fun to watch my students take on a leadership role and begin relationships with younger students--some were a little nervous or uncertain going into it, but they all did so well and I am so proud of them! It was a great first day. Stay tuned for more details about Reading Buddies and fun reading events throughout the year!

IT'S BOOK DAY!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

No, it's not a holiday. It's not Christmas or Thanksgiving or Halloween

Not the first day of school

Not the last day of school

Not even someone's birthday

But it IS BOOK FAIR DAY/WEEK!!!

This is how Jocy feels about the annual Scholastic book fair. Look at that smile, folks!

Today was the first day of the Scholastic book fair, and we had so much fun looking around as a class for old favorites and must-reads this afternoon. Remind your student to bring their money and their lists, because the best part? The book fair will be around ALL WEEK, so the kids will have ample opportunity to purchase their new favorite book... or finish it sitting on the floor among the stacks :)

BOOKWORMS IN 5A

This week, we will be starting Accelerated Reader, which is a fantastic reading program designed to get students excited about what they read.  Each student took a pre-test this week to find out their individual strengths and weaknesses as a reader, and received a list of books that other students at the same level have enjoyed. Students will have thirty minutes each day to read a book at their level, and after they finish their book, they take a quiz about the book they just read testing their comprehension to receive a certain number of ‘bookworm points’. The class has agreed this week on a goal of 1,000 combined AR points as a class by the end of the semester—if they achieve this, I will throw a pizza party for the whole class the week before winter break!