Non Fiction Reading Center

 

I know my kids love nonfiction reading but it is definitely more challenging vocabulary and concepts. Trying to maintain their enthusiasm and encourage them to read as much nonfiction in my classroom, I decided to enlist the help from my Scholastic Weekly Readers.

Now, before you ask, NO I do not purchase these on my own. My building purchases these for each classroom. I don't know how much they cost but I am sure you could ask if these could be purchased for a grade level for a discounted price. There was a Science Spin we did get one year as a promotion but we haven't used it for a few years.

When I first started second grade, I saw a colleague pulling out a large stack of weekly readers. Ever the curious one, I asked what she used them for. She told me she used them in a reading center to practice text features, vocabulary and social studies/science skills.

Of course this was a fantastic idea so I decided to try this in my room. I simply save 1-2 from each set per month (typically there are 4 per month) and that gives you quite a pile at the end of the school year.

I throw them in the laminator and they are good to go. The greatest part is the kids can use a dry erase marker to search for text features like:

• title
• heading
• bold faced word
• map
• picture
• caption

Or they can answer the questions on the back page in a center. Students can use these for research reports, fluency, the list is quite endless when you start thinking of the many ways these can be used. My suggestion is make sure the lamination is thick so they last for a few years before having to relaminate!!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!