sutton007

When it comes to reading, what's better than sinking your teeth into a good book?   For me, and for many others, it would be sharing our thoughts and ideas about that good book. Well, it's no different for 10 year olds! This year I have seen the empowerment of  "shared" reading with my students via a "book club."   Over the years students in my class have participated in " Literature Circles " mostly with success.  Somehow though, the groups seem to be driven by me (with specific roles for each participant) or by the choices of books that are available in bulk.   A few weeks back a student approached me for a book recommendation during our Media time.   I led her to a personal favorite, " Stone Fox "  by John Reynolds Gardiner.  When another student overheard, I suggested they read together.  A third student overheard the conversation and wanted to join in. Fortunately, I have several copies of that wonderful book.  This idea of reading...

Grab your pogo stick and hop your way right into the Guinness Book of Records! That's what I think my students will be doing after our lesson on MAIN IDEA and supporting details.  The worksheet being used to review the skill had information about a gentleman who climbed up and down Mt. Fuji on his pogo stick.  Imagine the stamina and strength it would take to accomplish this feat! As the students continued reading they became fascinated by Ashrita Furman , the man who holds over a hundred other records in the Guinness Book of Records. The students started asking lots of great questions .  Why did he decide to break the records?  How many records did he break? Where is he from?  Why did climbing Mt. Fuji on a pogo stick bring inner peace? (the paragraph mentioned it brought Ashrita inner peace)  What is inner peace?  Is he still alive? Not realizing the interest this would spark , we decided to take a few moments to research this unusual record-brea...

Book bins with each child's name and books to start the year. Who knew some plastic bins from the Dollar Store could bring such joy? Okay, they are colorful plastic bins.  But that's not why they brought such joy.  During the summer I read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and The Daily5 and the Cafe Book by sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  These books became my inspiration and guides to how I will approach reading with my students this year. Following the authors' suggestions students will select their own reading books which will then be used to practice the skills and strategies being taught - true differentiation!  The Two Sisters suggested using Book bins for each student.   I hemmed and hawed about what to use and in the end (due to financial constraints) I chose some colorful, plastic bins from the Dollar Store. (I'm hoping they will hold up!) Since Tropical Storm Irene blew into town and gave the students in my district a delayed school ...

Summer vacation is here and already I'm hearing, "Mom, I'm bored, what can I do?"   In my daughter's defense it has been raining since school let out a few days ago.  Of course I suggested she start her summer reading project but was met with a huge "UGG!!" As a teacher (and mom) I know it is important to keep those skills current and avoid the ' summer slide' .  Many school systems have required reading and even math packets for students to complete during the summer break.  I'm going out on a limb by saying that although we want to keep our students' skills honed I'm not sure REQUIRED reading and math packets will do the trick.  It has always been a struggle to get my own kids to complete their summer reading.  We would be vacationing on Cape Cod that last week in August and I'd be hounding them to read their book.  Now, tell me how that instills the love of reading or promotes the retention of skills? So what is the answer?  H...

It’s a question I hear at ALL parent teacher conferences: What can I do to get my child to love to read?    Or What can I do to get my child to read?  These are also questions that educators wrestle with as well. As a teacher and parent I am still plagued by these questions as there are no definitive answers.  However, there are some steps that we as educators and parents can take to aid in the love of reading.  Be a Role Model: This is a tip from an article, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading .   Children follow their parents’ lead.  If they see their parents reading they in turn, are likely to read.  If watching TV is the preferred activity of parents, then children are likely to fall into that habit.   Likewise, children follow their teacher’s lead.  When the students are reading during DEAR time, why not read a book along with them.  Share something funny or unusual from a story you are reading.  Kid...

photo © 2008 Chris connelly | more info (via: Wylio )   “It ain’t over til it’s over” was the phrase coined by Yogi Berra .  Spoken like a true sportsman or classroom teacher!   We all know that even when the kids have finished reading a story they’re “ not really done ”.  We read. We discuss. We assess.  There are all kinds of other activities that we can initiate to make sure the students have made connections to their reading.  This is Part 3 in the "Activating Prior Knowledge" series.  In the Before reading post, it was suggested to use an Anticipation Guide .  If used, it would be a great (quick) assessment to see if the kids can answer those questions correctly now .  (They love getting them all right too!!).  Also, in the Before post as an alternative to the KWL chart - a Word Cloud was suggested.  How about make a new word cloud to share what was learned.  (The kids love comparing them!) ...

They're Reading - Now What? What are the strategies that you employ while your students are reading? Is there a way to incorporate technology as a way to help students with their comprehension? Focusing on making connections and activating prior knowledge DURING reading is just as important as tapping into the prior knowledge BEFORE reading . Check out these ' during reading ' ideas at All America Re ads . You probably already utilize many of these tactics. Using graphic organizers helps our students solidify their understanding through pictorial or structural designs. They aid our student's comprehension. One way to add a new twist to graphic organizers is to pair these time-tested tools with technology. Excel Spreadsheet: An Excel spreadsheet , for example could be created and filled in while reading. The example I have created below is about the characters in our reading story. Students can complete the charts individually, with a partner or whole group. ...

Do you remember “Back to the Future?” with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd? The unusual time machine Doc Brown rigged up was a Delorean car! It was just on T.V. last week. Why didn’t I think to use a clip from that movie as a way to activate my students' prior knowledge about time traveling? Or use a clip with Phineas and Ferb? Or share a clip from the Magic School Bus Goes Back in Time? These clips would have certainly engaged my students and had them really thinking about our next r eading story instead of me asking them: “Do you know anything about time machines?” Activating Prior-Knowledge or Building Background Knowledge is a ‘must’ and just good teaching practice for building comprehension. It can be done before, during and after reading in any content area. According to Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann “ It has been known for some time that one of the most effective ways to improve comprehension is to "activate mental files" b...