celebrating each other as "Directors"... film premier

The Butterflies celebrated the sleeves and others as "Directors" with an animated film premier event!

"Directing partners" collaboratively viewed, discussed, and provided written complimentary feedback to the Directors of each animated film.

Written complimentary feedback was copied and each "Director" received a booklet of compliments.

first graders celebrate 

first grade reading partners view peer animated films

first graders provide written complimentary feedback to peers

non-fiction reading on iPad

The First Grade Butterflies have been learning about and reading non-fiction genre.

As readers, the Butterflies have been learning how readers use the structure and text features of non-fiction to learn all about, learn specific information, confirm or reconsider knowledge, and...

In addition to non-fiction books in the classroom library, the Butterflies have access to non-fiction books through the Storia iPad app.

As readers the first graders are learning how to apply pre-reading, reading, and post-reading strategies to read non-fiction and comprehend content information.

The Butterfly readers partner read and talk about their thinking, questions, understandings, connections, and... with other readers to better understand.

first graders stop and discuss their thinking and understanding while reading
a non-fiction book on the Storia iPad app

partner reading on the iPad -with the Storia app

As readers, the Butterflies grow and develop through daily independent reading and partner reading.  

The First Grade Butterflies have learned how to "read with" a partner using "I Read You Read" (alternating pages), "Copycat" (rereading each page), and "Jinx" (reading simultaneously).  The Butterflies have learned how to "talk with" a partner before, during, and after reading by making predictions, making connections, asking questions, checking for understanding, retelling, and reflecting on the reading.

The Butterfly readers have learned the importance of "reading with" a partner, to support decoding and fluency, and "talking with" a partner before, during, and after the reading, to support comprehension.

The Butterflies learned how to access the books available in the Storia iPad app to "read with" and "talk with" a reading partner.

Available books are organized on bookshelves.  Bookshelves are titled using the language of the organization of developmental reading levels in our classroom library (for leveled texts) and/or titled using the language of the organization of books in our classroom library.  The titles of the bookshelves support the Butterflies identification of "just right" books for independent and/or partner reading.

The Butterflies used their understanding of the organization of our classroom library to identify "just right" books for partner reading and to cooperatively choose a book(s) to "read with" and "talk with" their reading partner.

The Butterflies were excited to read books on the iPad and actively engaged with their reading partner in "reading with" and "talking with" one another as readers! 

Butterfly Reading Partners reading a Fly Guy book on the iPad

a Butterfly referencing a part of the text
to explain his thinking to his reading partner

Butterfly Readers partner reading on the iPad