Literacy Coaching with Mrs. Bush
May, 2023
Reader's Notebook Ideas for May
How To Use The Reader's Notebook to Improve Writing Skills
Reading is thinking.
An organized Reader's Notebook can help our Stevenson scholars hold those thoughts and bring them into conversations with peers in a Book Club or with their teachers during whole group or small group instruction.
We can work as teachers or parents with our students to improve writing skills by showing them how to put their thoughts into a Reader's Notebook.
Once they set up their notebooks and get busy writing, they can use this method for years to come to write down their thoughts and reflections about what they are reading after any story or novel.
Students can use post it notes to create 4 tabs in their Reader's Notebook
Here are the (4) tabs students can use below:
- Read Aloud
- Independent Reading
- Book Club Notes
- Goals
- In addition to the (4) tabs listed above, I like to save a few pages in the beginning of the Readers Notebook for Books I’ve Read” section and a “Books I Want to Read” section.
These and more ideas can be found in our Fountas and Pinnell reading series.
How do each of the Reader's Notebook (4) Tabs Work?
1. The first tab is the Read Aloud Section.
I used the Read Aloud Section in a few ways.
When we finish a read aloud, I make copies of a picture of the cover of the book. We use a glue stick to attach it in our notebook, and I give my students time to reflect about what they learned from the characters or the story. We take time to write about how the story has impacted us. I like using it this way because some of the read alouds we share with our students have big life lessons, and I like to recognize their impact when we finish. This helps students relate to characters or situations in the book to their own world.
I also use this section at times during my Mini Lessons. If I want my students to try a strategy, I usually demonstrate first using text already read out loud. With certain mini lessons, we open to this section in our notebooks to try the same strategy and then talk to our reading partners. I usually reserve a small part of the Reader's Notebook for this section.
2. Our Independent Reading Section takes up the bulk of our Reader's Notebook.
This is where students jot or store post its with jots.
We refer to this section in conferences I have individually with my students.
3. The Book Club Section holds all of our Book Club work.
We usually read together during book club during our "Lunch Buddy" reading sessions.
Students enjoy discussing what stood out to them in each chapter of the novel we are reading.
After our discussion, students are given time to write down their thoughts in the Notebooks.
4. Finally, the Goal Section holds the goals that students set for themselves with their teacher's guidance during conferences.
You only need a few pages for it, but I have found this section really helpful to focus students on what they are working on while they are reading.
Writing doesn't have to be difficult or hard to do. We can get all of our scholars writing more by using some of these tips for good writing each day.
Parents and teachers alike can help our scholars to develop a love for reading by exposing them to rich literature that our scholars will enjoy and want to write about.
Before you know it, all of our scholars will be proficient readers and writers.
Those are my thoughts....Let's keep reading and writing!
Your Stevenson Literacy Coach
Mrs. Denise Bush