Let the construction begin!

Well, I bit the bullet. I have a blog. Not sure who will want to read and or follow this, but here goes.

I teach first grade and began Reader's Workshop last year. It was the first time in my teaching career that teaching reading made sense. I LOVED it!!! Even better, my students LOVED it. Prior to Reader's Workshop I used a basal which I supplemented with Guided Reading. I must say I am a convert and I am out to convert others to join me in my Reader's Workshop endeavor.

 I was skeptical to try this with first graders. Much of the content seemed a bit complex for them, but we did it anyway. And guess what??? Yep, they did great. I figure they may not get all the ins and outs of questioning, inference, etc. but they get that reading is awesome. This is an important lesson for first graders to learn.

So, my plan right now is to document how I get my workshop set up from the get go. Yes, I plan to show the good, the bad, and the ugly because we teachers know that a real classroom contains all of these things.

I hope that maybe you will follow me through the construction process. Currently, I am the only one in my building doing Reader's Workshop, so I would also love advice from anyone who is more seasoned than I.

I will also post any items that I currently use in my first grade workshop and include websites that I have found invaluable this past year. Of course keep in mind that I have NO idea how to do this yet as this is my first blog.

Happy reading!
Very truly yours,
Jennie