Poetry Club Members Only

So today was the first day of poetry club for seven of my first graders. These kiddos are reading at grade level but they aren't reading very quickly. So with some tips from my assistant principal, I have launched poetry club today! Poetry club is (hopefully) going to increase my kiddos' reading fluency, both reading speed and less robot-reading. 

So the first thing we did is made poetry folders. Nothing fancy - they got to pick what color folder they wanted and write their names on it with a marker. 

Now the real work of poetry club. 

I gave each of them a copy of the poem and we read it multiple times.
1. I read it to them while they tracked with their fingers.
2. We all read together.
3. The students read to together.
4. I listened to each child read while the others practiced. 

So the bulk of poetry club happens at home. It's the student's job to read the poem at home to anyone that will listen - like mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, friend, brother, sister, cousin, neighbor, ANYONE!! And that person has to sign and date a sheet that says that the student read it.

And in order to inspire the students to do that, a little bribe of candy never hurt right? The student that reads it the most will get a special reward. I was thinking a juice box and a lollipop. 

Also, during centers, these students must pull out their poetry folder and practice reading their poem. Then, on Friday, I will have them read it to me to see if they have achieved mastery.

I'm a little worried about students not doing it at home. But hopefully the prospect of juice and candy increased fluency will get them to do it!

What a week...

What. A. Week. For starters, it has been endless. Like the longest week of my life. And I can't believe that it's Thursday. It seems like it should have been Friday days ago. 

And to add more, I have lost two students this week, got a new one, and one came back after missing a week of school last week. 

And it's been unusually cold in Phoenix - we're talking like high 40s/50s - so not actually THAT cold, but cold for what I am now accustomed to.

ANDDD I have felt sick all week. Like headache, stomachache, achy body, over-exhaustion. I went to bed at 8:00 last night!!!! Crazy!!

Let's just say, this weekend has never been more anticipated. And the fact that it's a three day weekend is enough to get me over the moon! 

So one thing that my students are really struggling on is fluency. With AIMS Web testing, they are graded on how many words they can read in one minute. At the end of first grade, we hope that they can read 68 words in one minute. So right now, they should be at about 30ish words. However, a bunch of my kids are stuck in the high teens and twenties. So on Monday, I'll be starting poetry club with them. We will be reading a poem together on Monday and then it'll be their job to read it during centers as well as at home. They all seem pretty excited about it so I hope it helps with their fluency! I'm also starting a chapter book club too for my higher readers - hopefully next week - but I'm having trouble finding enough books for them since I want them to be reading the same book. Gah! Hopefully I can find enough for them!