Reading with Meaning

The blog has been very quiet...but I have been here! I am working night and day having changed our classroom into a more conducive environment for reading and comprehension.
The children have begun to take Accelerated Reader comprehension tests and some very good readers were scoring some low scores. I had to re look at how reading was being taught in my class. I didn't want them to just learn to read, I wanted them to comprehend what they were reading!
With this being said, I have brought all of my books off of the shelves and put them out for the children to read!
The following is a basic schedule of how the morning goes in the classroom.
8:40-9:00 Music, Read Alouds, Mini Lesson (focusing on schema, visualizing, inference, questions, determining importance, and synthesizing)
9:00-9:45 Independent Reading {all reading...all the time! :o)} and Teacher conferencing with students
9:45-10:00 Sharing
10:00-10:45 Small Groups
Teacher: Guided Reading Only
Seat work: Phonics Focus
Center: Independent Reading/AR testing/Parent listens to student read for fluency

Here are a few photos of the children actively reading:

After reading Debbie Miller's book, "Reading with Meaning", I feel I have found a technique that speaks to me as a teacher and a learner.

I googled Reader's Workshop and found this young lady making this technique work in her class. Head over to her website and click on some of the videos she has created. This is what a typical morning sounds like in my class! I highly recommend visiting the sight here and seeing what she has to say about this in her classroom. You will get a great idea of why I am doing the same in my class. Having not had the opportunity to start first thing in the year has not been a hinderance, the children have adapted to my routine with ease by this time of the year. They are enjoying the opportunity to read more and become better readers!

With this new setup, I have some odd requests:
I appreciate all of the parents who send in donations to the classroom! I am looking for your help before I go out and spend my money on these things. Perhaps you have some of the items available that are cluttering up your home.
***By all means, I am not asking you to go out and purchase any of the following!!!
*clipboards
*post it notes
*small lamps you do not use any longer...not looking for style, just lighting! :o)
*A tall floor lamp... ditto! :o)
*plywood to make shelves
*cushy pillows to sit and read on...again style is not an issue
*any books your children have grown weary of and may have outgrown
*Do you see the tubs in the background of this photo of Melissa? I sure could use some if you have any lying around not being used. The soaking tubs are the perfect size, but any will be greatly appreciated! I have many more books I would like to still get out and into the hands of the children.