Structure of a 90min Reading Block for Teachers

Fitting It All In: How to Schedule Your Literacy Block for First Grade

• May 30, 2015

**Looking for Kindergarten literacy block schedules? Click HERE. Or for 2nd grade literacy block schedules, click Hither.**

In this post, I'll take you through the components of a literacy cake for first grade. I'll as well provide some sample schedules and share full general scheduling tips!

Earlier I get started, I exercise want to say that in that location'southward no i "correct" fashion to set upwards your literacy block. The best schedule is the one that meets the needs of you and your students. Also, I love hearing other teachers' creative scheduling ideas, then please practice comment at the cease of the article!

Components of a Literacy Block for Commencement Grade

While literacy can and should be a part of every component of your day (even math!), hither are the building blocks that I used to schedule my first grade literacy instruction:

• Readaloud
• Shared Reading (+ reading workshop minilesson; can be combined)
• Guided Reading / Minor Group Literacy Piece of work with Phonics + Literacy Centers
• Independent Reading
• Writing Workshop Minilesson (may include modeled/shared writing and interactive writing)
• Independent Writing
• Word Work / Phonics
• Phonological Awareness

Readaloud (10-15 minutes):If at all possible, I actually do a readaloud twice a 24-hour interval (some years I definitely can't brand this happen, though). During one readaloud, we read for enjoyment and understanding. At a dissimilar time of the day, we read a book to focus on comprehension strategies and vocabulary. If you can do two readalouds a day, you might want to focus on comprehension and vocabulary during a literacy block readaloud. Then, you could practise another readaloud for enjoyment after tiffin or recess. Yous don't necessarily need 2 make new books for each 24-hour interval, all the same. For example, you could read aloud a volume for enjoyment on Monday later lunch. Then, you dive into that same volume more deeply on Tuesday during your literacy block. This is how I accept my Reading Comprehension Units for K-1 set up. When you lot teach one of the comprehension minilessons, you often use a book that you've previously read aloud to students. This is because I've establish that kids can better focus on practicing comprehension strategies when they've already listened to the book. If you don't take fourth dimension for two readalouds in a day, you might focus on comprehension Monday, Wednesday, and Fri, and read for enjoyment on Tuesday and Thursday.

Shared Reading (10-20 minutes): This is when I read aloud (and take students help me read) a big book, poesy on chart paper, or a story from the basal reading series. If students practise not all have copies of the text, they sit down on the rug and then that they can easily see the print. We typically read only two stories per week during shared reading. This is because we read each text multiple times (offset time for comprehension and enjoyment, and additional times for teaching points like "Look for a clamper of the give-and-take that you lot know"). Shared reading can be used to teach decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies.

Guided Reading / Small Grouping and Centers (45 minutes):During this block of fourth dimension, I run across with students for guided reading while the other students work independently. In guided reading, I provide students with scaffolding so that they can read texts at their instructional level (slightly harder than what they could read independently). The students who are non meeting with me piece of work in literacy centers. (Note: your small group reading didactics does Not ever need to be guided reading! In that location's also value in meeting with a grouping of kids to work on a reading strategy, or to support them in reading grade-level, rather than instructional-level, text.)

Reading Workshop Minilesson (10 minutes):I teach a decoding, fluency, or comprehension skill (merely one per lesson) that students tin can exercise as they read independently. This is a very brief, focused lesson and can hands be combined with shared reading.

Independent Reading (25 minutes +5 for sharing time): Students read independently (not silently, merely whisper reading). Yous can also contain contained reading time into your literacy centers, but I've institute that kids are more than focused when the classroom is placidity and anybody is focused on independent reading at the same time. I confer with kids individually while everyone is reading. After contained reading time, we come up dorsum together every bit a group then the kids can share about their reading and strategy use with a partner or the form.

Writing Workshop Minilesson (10 minutes):I teach a brief, focused lesson on a writing skill that students can use in their own writing. I structure my writing units by genre, so whatever skill I'thousand teaching is related to that genre. I model existent writing during nigh every one of these minilessons.

Independent Writing (25 minutes + 5 for sharing time): Students write independently, and I confer with kids individually. After independent writing time, we come back together every bit a group so students can share their writing with a partner or the form.

Phonics / Word Work (10-20 minutes, plus more in pocket-sized groups): I teach From Sounds to Spelling or another phonics program in a small grouping setting. I typically meet with 1-two groups per day to introduce a phonics/spelling pattern. At the same time, other students are working independently with their assigned words. It takes some time to set, but differentiating discussion study has been super constructive with my kids in the past.

Phonological Awareness (v minutes spread out throughout the day):  This is when we practice quick, oral activities to increase students' awareness of the sounds in words. Phonological awareness activities can include rhyming practice, segmenting words into their private sounds (cat -> /c/ /a/ /t/), blending private sounds to make words, substituting sounds, clapping syllables, etc. I don't ordinarily write phonological awareness into my daily schedule because we do these activities during transition times.

Sample Schedules for a First Grade Classroom

So what does this look like in a first form classroom? Below are some schedules that I and/or my colleagues take used in the past. I included some variation in the amount of fourth dimension yous spend on each activity, the number of specials classes you lot have, and length of the school 24-hour interval.

Even though I generally followed i of these schedules, our day in kickoff grade didn't ever look like this throughout the entire twelvemonth. I honey to teach integrated thematic units that engage kids in learning content surface area material through literacy activities (i.east. reading about and writing about animal habitats). At the outset of the year, it's bang-up to establish a routine that provides kids with consistency. But as the year goes on, I call up information technology'south completely fine (and sometimes necessary) to deviate from that schedule. Literacy learning doesn't ever fit nicely and neatly into a box!

General Scheduling Tips

Ideally, you lot could choose one of the above schedules, arrange information technology slightly, and go with it. However, I know from experience that it's not always that easy! If you can't use any of these schedules and have to write one from scratch, here are some general tips that I keep in mind when doing my scheduling:

• When y'all write your schedule at the beginning of the yr, make 2 schedules: 1 for now and one for after. When our offset graders come up to us at the starting time of the year, they are still babies! I try to continue "sitting and listening activities" brief, and I carve up silent reading fourth dimension up into 2 5-10 infinitesimal chunks. I make sure to create a starting time-of-the-year schedule that reflects their developmental needs, simply I also create an end-of-the-twelvemonth schedule, also. Keeping that end-of-the-year schedule handy helps me gradually transition my students to where I need them to be.

• Programme to teach the most important skills right at the outset of the twenty-four hour period. Students are most focused at this time and are more than likely to retain what you teach.

• Alternating activities that involve sitting quietly/listening with activities that involve movement.For instance, you might teach a minilesson, take students piece of work in centers, and and so read a story aloud. If you must have two "sitting and listening" activities back-to-back, make sure to include a movement suspension in between them.

• Prioritize educatee practise time. When I accept limited time, I tend to want to fill it with instruction, to squeeze in every possible lesson I can. But what kids really need is time to do with your support. I try to distill my lessons and then that they are brusk and to-the-point, and then requite students as much time to exercise as possible.

• Begin and end the day every bit a group. It builds customs for students to come together for morning coming together or an end of the day routine. These are definitely my favorite times of the day!

I hope this postal service gave you some ideas for structuring your literacy block! If y'all are looking for reading and writing curriculum for kickoff grade, click on the images beneath to read more.

Happy teaching!

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Alison

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I'yard Alison, a literacy specialist. I love getting kids excited about reading and writing – and sharing instruction ideas with other teachers!

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