Centers this week. And Kung Fu Fighting.

This week we started Buddy Reading during centers. We learned what close reading should look like and practiced it. While at buddy reading, students practice reading leveled books to their classmates. They learned how to use their Buddy Reading Log to record the books they read. This is a really cool way for the kids to track their own progress and see themselves grow as a reader. Their buddy reading log is in a folder, which also has a spot where the kiddos can see which sight words they know. I love routines that help the kids see how they are learning!

Here are some pictures of buddy readers and other hard workers at centers! :)

Kyle and Hayley decided to make it a race at the sight word work center. At this center they practice writing the word, recognizing it in different fonts, and building it with letters. 

Paige loves her sight word watch :)

Scott builds the word " mix" at the Word Building center.

Soona sorts letters at Letter Work. At this center, the kids practice recognizing letters even when they are in different fonts.

Brian works on sight words at the letter stamp center. The kids trace the word, stamp it, then decorate the letters of the sight word (with markers! Woo hoo!).

Elena at the Rhyming Center. Children sort different picture tiles into the rhyming  "house" it belongs in .

Sawyer searches for sight words using a magnifying glass at the Sight Word Detective center.

Clayton practices using his reading finger while reading a rhyming book.

Karson works on Success Maker at the computer center. The kids are awesome at logging themselves in now!

Sully searches for sight words in magazines to cut out and paste in her sight word book.

Sawyer used his reading strategies to practice reading "Pumpkin Happy," the story at the Book Making center.

Trevor practiced sounding out simple words at the Stretchy Snake center. 

Elli concentrates hard to find all the "likes," on the "iPad." :) while they lack, everything an actual iPad has, the kids get to use dry erase markers on these faux "iPads." Kids love dry erase markers. Fact.

Paige writes down different friends' names at Write the Room. 

Ellery illustrates our poem about buddy reading in her poetry journal. Every week or two we learn a new poem and practice reading it. Then we add it to our poetry journals. At the end of the year, the children will get to take home their poetry journal , full of poems they know how to read.

If you've made it this far into the post , you might be wondering... Where's the Kung Fu Fighting?? And why is my kindergarten practicing Kung Fu at school? :) We aren't really , but we have a lot of fun dancing to the song during brain breaks! Enjoy watching... :)