Hi Rose I decided to post this to the list to share with everyone. I use "Literacy Journals" with my students, instead of reading notebooks. Each student has a notebook and we do EVERYTHING language arts related in that notebook. They are one subject spiral bound notebooks. I do not copy graphic organizers, story maps etc. We do it all in the notebook. I have found it more meaningful when the children create their own. If we read a story and I want them to identify the narrative elements, they can go back into their journal and look at how we did it the first time.
I have found keeping everything in one notebook helpful for the students and myself. I even have them keep all their writing graphic organizers and rough drafts in the notebook. I never let the notebooks leave the classroom because they are the evidence I use to assess their abilities. I just recently collected all of their notebooks and gave them all new ones. I realized I had to hand the older ones back out because the students knew they needed them as a resource. It is also great evidence of their growth through the year. I also use them in parent conferences to show their parents their growth. I teach grades 2 through 6 and use these notebooks in each grade. With my grade 2 students, I modeled and used the non - conventions notebook for overhead transparencies along with a read aloud. My students picked 5 non - fiction conventions to produce in their literacy journals. I used Gail Gibbons books as an author study. I did book talks of all the books and used each book to point out a convention. The students then choose their own book to read and identify the conventions in their journals. We used the same books to write an informational paragraph, so as the children read they used post - it notes to identify important details. I teach in an ESL classroom and I have found the single notebook to be successful for me. I am sure everyone must pick what works best for them. Always check the Tools for Teachers page because it is a wealth of information. Donna ESL teacher PA _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
