For this weeks blog post I’m supposed to offer advice about how to implement high quality literacy instruction. Since Tracie and I are teaching the same thing....I’m going to focus on Katie’s target areas.
Reading through your answers to the questions from last week Katie, a lot of ideas sparked in my mind both from the readings we’ve done and also from my personal experience in my placement classroom last year. For your reading workshop you are focusing on readers thinking deeply about the texts they’re reading and learning how to respond to the texts. Chapter 6 of “Strategies that Work” talks a lot about using sticky notes to track student’s understandings of texts. Last year in my 3rd grade class, we used sticky notes ALL THE TIME and for many different things in reading workshop. By the time my students finished a book there were sticky notes sticking out everywhere. They used the sticky notes to write “ah ha” moments, changes that they saw in characters, predictions, questions they had, and many other things. Through working closely with the students and conferencing with them about their reading often, I found that the sticky note method was incredibly effective with them. And I think it could be a great way to jump start your student’s ability to understand texts and get more out of what they are reading.
Well now that I kept reading your questions I see that you already plan on using sticky notes. Clearly I think they are a really great tool :)
I also think a great way to implement high quality literacy instruction is by doing something that our group already likes to talk a lot about- beginning with the end in mind! Showing the students what the end product is and what you are expecting I think will really help them in learning the new strategies and concepts you will teach them.
For your writing workshop, when I was reading the “Writing Essentials” book, one part in chapter 7 really stuck out to me as something that you could incorporate into any writing situation. Starting on page 169, there is a whole list of strategies for all writers, especially struggling writers. I think these could be really helpful because if your classroom is anything like mine and Tracie’s, there is a wide range of writing abilities and I think these strategies could be implemented into lessons to help all writers.
Katie K. & Tracie, I figured I would just respond to you both at once :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read through your responses, I saw that you are doing just-right book with strategies to help comprehend them. Seeing that my class has started and almost finished discussing these very topics, I think that you will both agree that this is a fun topic to teach. As I was going through your ideas, I noticed an idea that you both could possibly incorporate into your lessons. To work on interacting on the same level book while sharing and discussing, you could use partner reading. For a short amount of time each day, you could pair students up with a peer reading the same level book and have them partner read. This allows for them to discuss and ask questions about the plots, characters, and the use of strategies during their reading.
I also love the sticky note strategy, and think that it is a great idea as well!
Tracie, I also like the idea of the exit slips you plan to use. It creates a concrete example of exactly what they know and it is individualized to each student. I also think that using conferences would assist in your assessments with students as well. This would just give an alternative style of assessment, possibly for those students who may not succeed in a written retell.