My teacher uses book bins in her classroom. If students have finished their library book then they are welcome to browse the book bins. They are separated by genre, with varying reading levels in each bin. This way something in each bin will appeal to each reader. These are chapter books. My teacher also uses the window ledge above the book bins to showcase the picture books they are reading, have read, and will read. Students are also welcome to these books at any time. I think that these could be utilized better and more often. When the students finish their work, I would like the only option be to read a book until time is up. Instead my students are allowed computer time. Growing up I always had either DEAR or SSR during the day. All of my teachers would also read during this time, showing me the importance of reading. I think that something like this would be very beneficial in our classroom. It would get students reading!

*This is an image from Google. I wasn't able to take a picture but this looks exactly like what she has.

TOOBALOO Classroom Resource

Every student has a TOOBALOO in their "read to self" buckets.  This phone-like device allows students to listen very clearly to themselves while reading aloud quietly.  I think that this tool encourages readers to read with more distinct prosody.  The TOOBALOO also reduces the amount of noise distraction in the classroom; allowing students to focus more easily on their own reading.  For students who are struggling with their decoding, this device makes it so they do not have to feel embarrassed by other peers hearing them stumbling over words. If I were to use this in my own classroom, I would make them available to every student just as they are now.  

Classroom resources

One of the many resources that my mentor teacher uses are book tubs, as seen by the picture above*. She uses the book tubs for student "read-to-self" time, when each student takes time to read silently or quietly to themselves.  The tubs contains 6-8 books of varying levels corresponding to the students reading level.  When the students first get their books, the teacher reads each book with them.  After the initial reading, the students are completely on their own for reading time.  Read-to-self helps the students practice their reading and builds independence.  The down side to this activity is that the books are not rotated or changed frequently enough, so instead of reading the students memorize the books and just recite what they remember.  The teacher also does not monitor the students while they read, even though a good portion of each school day is spent doing this activity.  I would use this type of reading activity in my classroom with modifications.  I would not do read-to-self everyday because it can get boring for the students if it becomes a daily activity.  I would also not do this activity for more than 30 minutes each time (versus the hour or more that my MT does it), because it is very hard for the students to stay focused on reading and not talking for that long.  This activity also needs to be closely monitored while it is happening, and afterwards to be able to assign students the appropriate books at the right time.  I would monitor read-to-self closely while still allowing the students to build their independence with reading.

*The picture was found on Google.  I was not able to take a picture of my own classroom but the picture shows exactly the same thing as what is used in my classroom. 

Literacy Resource

     In my Kindergarten classroom, the students take part in an activity known as Read to Self. During this time, the kids find their book bag (pictured above) and spread out around the classroom where they will read through their books silently to themselves. The students have been taught how to read their books the correct way. They know that they must follow along with their finger and try to figure out what the words are based on the pictures in the book. Each student has their own bag with books specifically chosen for them by the teacher. I like that this resource is specific to each child, however I am not sure how often the books are changed. I would hope that the books would be changed every week or two. I would recommend this resource/activity to others as long as it is monitored closely. It would be easy to throw random books in a bag and tell the students to read without checking their progress. This might get repetitive and would not enhance student learning. However, if the books are being rotated, chosen for the students based on interest and skill level, and some type of assessment is administered, the resource would be greatly beneficial. One modification I would make is giving students the opportunity to draw a picture about one of their read to self books, circle certain words throughout the book, or  explain to a partner what their book is about. These opportunities for further inquiry will ensure that the activity is effective and the time is not being wasted.