you've got to accennntuate the positive....

So, first day in groups. Groups that (according to the "Mcleod Reading Test") we are supposed to be in all year.

And, you know, except for some of the pandemonium that the song I quoted above leads one to expect, it worked okay.

We had one group doing a guided reading exercise with me (we practiced taking a close look at the characters in the Giver), one group working on spelling sorts, one group working on projects related to the Giver, and a final group working on our Writer's Workshop Contract for this grading period.

They weren't totally productive, and I had to sacrifice the latter half of the period before to get them settled into their new seats, but, hey, we made it!
I really enjoyed working with my guided reading group. It was great to sit down and really just talk about reading strategies with a group of eight students. This, of course, led me to wonder what would happen if I had twenty students instead of thirty-two.
But at least I now have an excellent song in my head.