Calkins seems to view balance literacy as very important and it is something that we are already doing in our classrooms. The overview also seems to suggest that our Guided Reading groups not just be reading level based but also include some strategy groups. I was surprised that it mentioned first graders should have a reading stamina of 45 minutes by the end of the year.
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Kayla
4/29/2013 07:11:37 am
Balanced literacy is something we are already doing in our classrooms. Again, I think the rigor and intentionality are going to be vital.
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Ashley Phinney
4/29/2013 07:14:09 am
As we already know, balanced literacy is imperative! This is something that we already do; so that will not be too much of a transition. I agree with Brittany that one of the most surprising factors for me was that first graders should have the stamina of 45-60 minutes by the end of the year. Two specific areas that I am interested to use in first grade are strategy groups and quality book talk.
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LeeAnne Peterson
4/29/2013 07:15:27 am
I think that we are already doing a balanced literacy program. I think that it is very important that we build our libraries (Guided Reading and Classroom) so that students can have numerous books that they can draw from to practice at their appropriate levels.
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Bethany
4/29/2013 07:16:33 am
Balanced literacy is an essential part of our reading block. We participate in guided reading, individual conferences, and whole group read alouds. Yes, Calkins thinks these things are important, however we've been using a balanced literacy approach even before integrating Calkins.
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Wendy Dorland
4/29/2013 07:17:54 am
Calkins views balanced literacy as being extremely important. The pieces of literacy all need to be present in order for the puzzle to fit together. I like the way that Lucy suggests dividing your class into 3 groups for word study. One thing that I have done this year is to begin my Daily 5 with a shared reading. After reading Lucy's overview, I feel that I definitely want to do this again next year.
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Kimberly
4/29/2013 07:31:01 am
Guided reading is a crucial time for students to work on their independent level. One very important part mentioned is students having the knowledge of picking out just-fit books. As far as shared reading, there needs to be a very structured time where students will be relying not only upon themselves but others as well. This opens up a whole new world for them. They will not only see things from their perspective but also have an opportunity to learn from others. When they collaborate with a partner or a group they are working as a team.
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Laura Happel
4/29/2013 07:40:47 am
I feel that we already do balanced literacy inside our classrooms. That part that really jumped out to me was the importance of having a classroom library with books that are on students’ levels. I know I really need to build up my classroom library and level my books!
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Kelly Dunn
4/30/2013 02:28:07 am
We are already doing balanced literacy in our classroom so Calkins will be easy to incorporate. We will just have to go deeper with what we are already doing to increase the rigor. I am a little nervous about the idea of first graders having a stamina of 45 minutes by the end of February. That will require a lot of stamina building.
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Maria Monier
4/30/2013 04:02:01 am
I agree with all that has been said above. I think that this should be an easy transition with Balanced Literacy but that we just need to go deeper with some of our lessons.
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Dana Beck
4/30/2013 07:11:44 am
We are already using the Balanced Literacy approach. As others have stated, we will NEED more books for our students.
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Whitney Rand
4/30/2013 07:14:23 am
It seems like we are already using a balanced literacy approach. With Calkins, however, we will need to take our students deeper than we have before. I like how she states that small groups can be a powerful way to teach or reteach the same skills as you would in a whole group setting.
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Debbie Harden
5/1/2013 02:49:59 pm
We've been been using a Balanced Literacy approach for a while, so we have a solid foundation to build upon. This makes me feel more confident about what's ahead.
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Lori Sevon
6/17/2013 09:01:29 am
I agree that we do a good job with Balanced Literacy in our classrooms. Building our stamina up to 45-60 minutes will be the challenge. Using reading partnerships, as Calkins suggested will be helpful as well.