I was at an NCTM conference when I came up with this idea. I was actually working a booth for Renaissance Learning and during my down time I would walk around and visit the other booths. There was a booth selling beanbags for $0.50. They were advertised to be used with the Smart Board (which is also a great use), but another idea popped in to my mind.
This is a very versatile activity. It can be used in the classroom or outside. Students can work independently or with a partner. You can use it as a center or during Guided Reading. Here are some ways to use the beanbags:
- I wrote author's purposes on the beanbags. I doubled up on to inform and to explain because my third graders struggle with distinguishing between those two the most. I include a variety of laminated passages. Students spread the reading materials on the ground face up. They scan them and read the titles. They look at any graphics or illustrations. Then they toss the beanbags onto the reading passages that match the author's purpose on the appropriate beanbag. They check their answers by flipping over the passages (where I wrote the author's purpose).
- Write content vocabulary on the beanbags. Write the definitions or an illustration on index cards.
- Write Marzano's Questions on the beanbags. Spread passages or books on the floor. Toss a beanbag on a piece of reading material and answer the question after reading.
- Write BOOK and HEAD on beanbags. Write questions on index cards. Students use QAR strategies to decide what type of question is on the card. They toss the corresponding beanbag onto the question cards.
- Write genres on the beanbags. Spread out a variety of books. Toss the genre beanbag onto the corresponding book.
I am a huge proponent of integrating literature into math lessons. I have compiled a library of fiction books that relate to math topics from K-5 grades. In this center I placed a canvas folding chair (like you sit in at a soccer game). Student choose a book from the math crate. They sit in the fold-out chair and read the book. I wrote some QAR and Marzano questions on paint sample cards and stuck them in the middle of the books. Students discover the questions while they are reading. They record the book title they read on the record sheet.
Ideally I hope the students find a book to read that relates to what they are studying in math. I move the books to the front of the crate that relate to their current Math topic. When a student is in this center I will often stop and conference with them and encourage them to tell their math teacher about the book. This is an excellent way to have a 1:1 mini lesson about making text to world connections between literature and math concepts. I will also discuss the hidden question that was inside the book.
Whenever I go to a tourist destination such as an amusement park or outlet mall, I grab extra maps of the location. They provide an authentic application of mapping skills for children because they are usually written in a reader-friendly format. My favorite map I have snagged is of a Harris Teeter grocery store when it had a grand opening celebration. I put the maps and some books related to maps in a bucket so the materials can be easily carried.
Students choose a map from the bucket. They write questions using information from the map. They use their Marzano question stems and also their QAR cues to write their questions. For some of the maps I have questions premade. I will put these in the bucket if I assign lower level readers to this center. Then they exchange questions with a partner.
This center is meant to be used with independent readers. I have a bag filled with books, magnifying glasses, and question stems based on QAR.
Students choose a book from the bag. They silently Buddy Read the book. Students tap each page to show their partner they are finished reading. Then they place their magnifying glass on part of the story and the partner must read that part out loud. Finally the partners ask each other one "in the book question" and one "in your head question."
I designed this center the year I taught fourth grade literacy. Teachers tend to think that literacy centers are for primary grades, but this is a higher level activity for independent readers. I took an activity that students liked doing socially and turned it into a learning activity. The questions in the cootie catcher are taken from Marzano's levels of thinking, QAR Question Stems, and the North Carolina Thinking Skills. This is also an easy activity to have around for novel studies and Guided Reading groups.
Students read a book from the bag that is in the center. They answer 3 of the questions found in the cootie catcher that is also in the bag. For a challenge, students can make their own cootie catcher and write questions on the inside flaps. They can give their cootie catcher to someone and have them answer the questions after reading the book. I change out the books in the bag to relate to a subject we are studying.
