1. Daily Independent Reading Time (DIRT)
Mrs. Martin’s
Fifth Grade Class

2. Classroom Library
So that you may begin reading books at school before the Mimosa library opens, you will need to know how to check out books from the classroom library.
Choose a book – record in
purple library notebook on
your page.

3. How to Check Out Books
When you have finished the book, put 1 line through your information after you return the book to a basket.
Get another book and start all over again.

4. Rules During DIRT We read silently
We remain still and in one spot for the duration of DIRT
Read the whole time
We can only do our best thinking while reading if we follow these 3 simple rules.

5. Procedures during DIRT
DIRT will take place daily. Be prepared by bringing your book to class every day!
During this time, the teacher will be conferencing with individual students or small groups of students
Only under emergency circumstances will the teacher be interrupted during DIRT

6. Keeping records during DIRT – very important!
Remember to write down all of the books you read on your reading log, which is located in your Language Arts Journal.
Record all titles, start & finish dates!!!

7. How Readers Choose Books
Which of these do you use?
Front cover/inside jacket/back of book
Another book in a series
Interesting Title
Authors we know and like
Recommendation from teacher, friend
Books that are movies
Genres we like to read (continued)

8. How Readers Choose Books
Read the beginning
Award winning book
New or popular book
Sequel to a book we’ve read
Heard it read aloud
Read it before and enjoyed it
Do you have others?
Which of these will you try?

9. How Readers Choose Books: Just Right Books
“Good Fit” books are books that are not too easy or too challenging for us, but that are just right.
That is, we can understand what we are reading, but it isn’t so easy that we aren’t challenged at all, and it isn’t so challenging that we are struggling to understand.

10. How Readers Choose Books: Just Right Books
So, after reading the first few pages of a book, you should be able to tell if it is just right for you by answering these few questions to yourself:

11. How Readers Choose Books: Just Right Books
If you can answer yes to these questions, it is probably “JUST RIGHT” for you!
Is this book new to me or one I would like to read again?
Do I understand what I’ve read so far?
Are there just a few words per page I don’t know?
When I read are some places smooth and just a few choppy?
Am I interested in spending time reading this book?

12. How Readers Choose Books: Too challenging
Did you know that regularly reading books that are too difficult for us actually leads to frustration, and causes us to avoid reading? and doesn’t help us improve our reading skills?
Reading books which are too challenging actually weakens our skills over time.

13. How Readers Choose Books: Too Challenging
If you answer “yes” to these questions, it is probably too challenging.
Are there more than five words on each page I don’t know?
Am I confused about what is happening in this book? Do I feel bored?
When I read, does it sound pretty choppy and slow?

14. How Readers Choose Books: Too Easy
Sometimes it is nice to read books that are too easy for us, but in general we should read books that are “Just Right” for us.
A steady diet of books which are too easy for us won’t help us to improve our reading skills either.

15. How Readers Choose Books: Too Easy
If you answer “yes” to these questions, it is probably too easy.
Have I read it lots of times before?
Do I understand the story without really having to think about it?
Do I know every word?
Can I read it smoothly on the first try?

16. Losing Meaning
The main job for you as a reader is to keep track of when you stop understanding, or when you have lost the meaning of what you are reading.
Today, when this happens, please mark it with a Post-it note.

17. Losing meaning…
What can you do when you lose the meaning as you are reading along?

18. If you lose meaning today…
Back up and reread

19. Metacognition Be aware of how you “think” as you are reading.
Thinking about your thinking is
called metacognition.

20. Visualize!
When we visualize while reading, we create pictures in our minds.
Visualizing helps us to relate to the characters in a text. We imagine what they look like and how
they act. 

21. Visualize
Try to keep a “movie” running in your mind today as you are reading.
Make a note of when you do this – think
about your thinking!

23. Making Connections
Good readers are always thinking about what they understand and about how they feel about what they are reading.
One important way of understanding and relating to what we read is to make connections with the text.

24. Making Connections Everyone has tons of background knowledge.
Background knowledge is the total of all of the things that you know and remember.

25. Making Connections
Let’s take a 2-minute look at how rich our background knowledge is right now.
In your Writer’s Notebook (WN), make a quick web of everything you know or have experienced in relation to spiders. This can be knowledge from home, books, school, and television or maybe scary or funny stories from your memory.
Example of a “spider web” on following slide!

26. Making Connections Spiders Example of a Spider Web Spiders carry their
egg sacks in their
mouth
Lindsey freaks
out when she
sees even tiny
spiders
Spiders
The pet store has
tarantulas in
cages
My friend Karen
had to have surgery
on her leg from a
spider bite

27. Making Connections
When we read something, our brains are reminded of all of our background knowledge, or connections.
There are at least 4 kinds of connections:

28. Making Connections T – S Text-to-Self
(Not sure what text is? Text is simply the words you are reading)
What you are reading reminds you of something you yourself have experienced before

29. Making Connections T – T Text-to-Text What you are reading
Charlotte’s Web
T – T Text-to-Text
What you are reading
reminds you of something you read before in a book, article, magazine, newspaper, etc.
By E.B. White

30. Making Connections T – M Text-to-Media
What you are reading reminds you of a TV show, a movie, or a song.

31. Everybody knows spiders have eight legs.
Making Connections
T – W Text-to-World
What you are reading reminds you of common knowledge that many people share
Everybody knows spiders have eight legs.

32. Making Connections
As you read today (and every day!) pay attention to the ways your brain is connecting to the text.
Place a post-it note any place in your reading that causes you to have a connection. Come up with at least 3.
After you are finished you can write down exactly what you were thinking about and put the Post-it notes on the bulletin board.

33. Framework for Reading Conferences
Bring me the book you have been reading
Why did you choose this book?
What is the level of this book for you?
Tell me what the book is about so far.
Share a response from this book in your RRJ with me.

34. Framework for Reading Conferences
6. Read this part of the book for me.
Tell me what you remember about what you just read.
Let’s discuss strengths and what you need to work on.
How long do you think it will take you to complete this book?

35. Framework for Reading Conferences
Remember, the teacher must have uninterrupted reading conferences in order to help students with reading.
If you have a question during DIRT, reserve it for before, between or after conferences.

36. READ! READ! READ!
When you complete a book, be sure to record it on your blue card.
When you have 500 pages, you will be able to add a fish to the pond!