Should I or Shouldn't I?

That is the question I struggled with all
summer when it came to a reader’s

notebook for first graders.  I’ve always
had good intentions of having the students
use them as they are learning to read,

and I have asked parents to provide

a spiral labeled reader’s notebook,

but I never quite had a vision for what the
notebook’s purpose was and what it would
look like.

This  year, I have been very intentional
about having the first graders use their
notebook.  First of all, it keeps all of their
thinking and ideas in one spot--no loose
papers in every nook and cranny.

We started the year gluing a favorite part
graphic organizer in the notebook.
 The students gradually came to write their
favorite part without the organizer and draw
details in their pictures.

We also added a word work section.

As we came across anchor charts that would
eventually be taken off the wall, we made
copies of them and had the students glue
them in their notebook to have as a reference.

We have a part for practicing fluency too.

Moving forward and thinking about next
year, something I need to add are tabs for
the different sections--it is only October and
I'm not sure how many more tabs the
students may need! We may even need
another notebook! We are truly a work in
progress in first grade!