Literacy Resource

I apologize ahead of time, I completely forgot to grab my camera before I left, so I cannot show a picture, but I will add one later!

The literacy resource in my classroom that I find most interesting and helpful is the daily bookbags my students are given. At the beginning of the year my teacher read with each of my students and gauged their reading level. After that, my students were all given a bag with their name on in and within it was two or three books that fit their reading level and would be a sufficient book for them to read. Each day, the students are to bring those book bags home, and read them with their parents or guardian and get a paper signed that they had done so. The students are asked to bring the book bags back every day so my mentor teacher can replace the books with new ones. I find this system to be very helpful and great to get parents involved.

The book bags are a huge help because the students do not always get an extensive time of focused reading in class where they can practice and improve their skills. Also, having the students work at home with their guardians gives the guardian an idea of where there student is ability-wise and where they should be. There are a couple flaws to this, however, when it comes to involving guardians. Many times students will claim that they had nobody to read with, or parents will just sign off saying their students read when they actually did not. This process requires a commitment from the parent, teacher and student to complete all of the reading.

I would highly suggest this process as well as use it in my own classroom. The students love to receive new books daily and get excited to go home and show their family how much they can read. It really does help the students improve greatly and become more excited about reading. The only modification I would make to this is really insisting that the parents help out, or make sure there is someone, even a sibling, who would be willing to read for a few minutes with the student. Otherwise, I think this is a great idea!