Reading Wands

The Teach Like a Pirate prop hook was a success again! I bought some glitter-covered leaves and pumpkins stuck on bamboo rods at Dollar Tree and I told the students they were reading wands. Yes, reading wands!

I used the wands during a Reading Workshop focus lesson. Students brought their Literacy Notebooks to the Meeting Area. They had four sticky notes prepared with the labels Tricky Words, Real Life, I Wonder, and Favorite Part. We had been practicing these types of jottings throughout the week.

 

As I shared a chapter from our read aloud novel, students would tap their reading wands onto the sticky note that matched their thinking. Students loved this because they were able to jot in their heads without writing a single word!

 

After the lesson, students used this same set of sticky notes to write their jottings during Independent Reading.

 

 

 

Just placing a simple prop in their hands motivated my students to improve their thinking and kept their minds and bodies engaged during reading. The lesson was taught over a week ago, but the students still use the reading wands every day. I guess I will need to look for new ones as the months and seasons change!