Adjusting, Revisiting, Discussing

As I worked my way through my test prep unit, I noticed some common weaknesses among my students. While I was conferencing with them, they were not discussing characters in the same light that they had during our character unit in the Fall. They were also getting a little bit lazy with their descriptions of theme, morals, and central messages. Finally, some common assessment results showed me that they needed more exposure to comparing and contrasting between texts.

My reading teacher brain turned mathematical...an equation developed in my mind...

strong characters + strong themes + comparing/contrasting books by one author =

 

CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG

 

I created anchor chart #1 to review the character elements we have used throughout the year.

 

The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg for minilesson #1

 

In the front of the book I wrote a large green sticky note with my metacognition stems. Throughout the book, I put green tabs at the spots where students would stop and jot using the stems. The large yellow sticky note lists common core ideas for talking and inferring about characters. Throughout the book I put yellow sticky notes with my jottings and questions that match the common core stems.

 

Student jotting with my conference note to add in evidence from the text.

 

Student jotting--plus you have to love companies like Harris Teeter and Renaissance Learning who donate sticky notes! 

 

Student jotting with my conference note to use synonyms instead of repeating thoughts. The student also added in text evidence.

 

I conferenced with several students about how to use shades of an adjective when describing characters. Their art teacher told me she was teaching the same thing with paints so we were able to use each other as examples in our lessons! I love a great coincidence!

 

We conferenced about citing evidence and using shades of an adjective. This is a reluctant writer who enjoys reading. I scripted his text evidence for him. It is a fine line to push him to write because sometimes it shuts him off to jotting altogether.

 

I asked this student why he drew extra boxes and he said he heard me conferencing about adding evidence so he added it in before he met with me!

 

adding evidence and reviewing synonyms

 

 

I found several theme anchor charts on Pinterest so I combined them and created anchor chart #2.

Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg for minilesson #2

 

In the front of the book I wrote a large green sticky note with synthesizing stems. Throughout the book, I put green tabs at the spots where students would stop and jot to show synthesis. The large yellow sticky note lists my common core ideas for developing and interpreting morals, lessons, and themes. Throughout the book I put yellow sticky notes with my jottings and questions that match the stems.

 

 

 

 

I used hot pink sticky notes to show my thinking that stretches between the two Van Allsburg books.

 

Student jottings and conference notes

 

 

During Independent Reading, this student found a copy of the book in our classroom library. He said, "this isn't my just right level, but can I please read it?" Of course!

 

 

The Wreck of the Zephyr--minilesson #3. I think it is important to make jottings about the cover of the book, not just the story inside.

 

 

In the front of the book I wrote a large green sticky note with inferencing stems. Throughout the book, I put green tabs at the spots where students would stop and jot to show their inferences. The large yellow sticky note lists my common core ideas for supporting thinking with evidence. Throughout the book I put yellow sticky notes with my jottings and questions that match the stems.

 

 

Once again the pink sticky notes show where I compare and contrast between the books. The orange flags note interesting vocabulary words.

Roadmapping

During our test prep unit, students learned how to create roapmaps on passages as a way to reflect their thinking as they read. They learned that roadmapping was a way of being active readers. Their roadmaps would help them to better understand what they were reading.  Lucy Calkins recommends starting a grade level below to teach the strategy so that students feel successful. I began by using  lexile passages from the end of second grade.

 

I told my students that learning how to roadmap was like learning how to ride a bike with training wheels. I would show them how to do it and they would practice on the same passage. As they get better, they will practice on their own passages. I will help them until they can do it on their own.
 



 

This student color-coded what the different characters did in the story.

 



 

This student listed character traits along with text evidence.

He also identified a cause/effect relationship.

 

This student summarized at the end.

 

This student used the boxes and bullets strategy.

 

This student drew an actual road map to organize her thoughts.

 

Repurposing Battered Books

Instead of throwing away books that have been taped, glued, and taped again...

 

Cut them apart and use them to make anchor charts!  I created this anchor chart from a well-read copy of a Magic School Bus book.

Marathon Reading Day

Our current unit of study in Reading Workshop is a test prep unit (click to link to a previous post about our materials and resources). We renamed it Journey Through Genres because we thought that sounded much more appealing. This also matched well with the students' reading passports (another previous post).

 

Lucy Calkins' A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop Grade 3 describes the need for increased stamina and volume during this unit. She refers to it as a Marathon Day which also fits in with our journey theme.

Tuesday is our Reading Marathon day. They get warmed up by listening to Eye of the Tiger while they get their book baggies organized and get their reading logs open. One day they ran a lap around the track with their baggies! 

The students read for 60 minutes. Yes, they do. They really do. Seriously!

 

The boy in the blue shirt was talking to a friend of his at the end of our first marathon and he told him this was the best day he had ever had in school. He said, "can you believe she let us read for 60 minutes?!"

 

After they completed their first Reading Marathon, they earned gold medals at the end of the 60 minutes. Some students will wear them on Tuesdays now.

 

Students keep 10-12 books in their baggies now. They have a variety of genres including magazines and some passages we use in minilessons. Students also select some books that are slightly above and below their Just Right levels. This was decided on by the students because some of them found some books that "they just really needed to read please!"

 

 

My special needs students do not read for an hour,

but EVERYONE reads on Marathon Day.

No Better Feeling in a Teacher's World

I have a student this year who is The Little Engine That Could. He came to 3rd grade unable to speak coherently. He would babble animatedly and we would have to listen very hard to initial consonants to try and figure out what he was saying. We knew he was an identified exceptional needs student, but after one day of school we knew we would be digging into our toolboxes to help him learn.

He was a nonreader. Now he is a level F. He wants to read all of the time to everyone he sees! He used to use the string of letters eyeyeyeyey no matter what he was writing. Now he has published 2 books--one personal narrative book about swimming and one nonfiction book about flies. I wrote a previous post about this student titled The Reason.

I pulled the student over yesterday to conference during Reading Workshop. I asked to see his My Reading Life Log. He brought it over and proudly told me that he was filling it out all by himself.

His log in September

 



His log yesterday, April 18

 



 

The entire date (M-D-Y) is written by him. The genre is not correct. The book levels range from a C (read independently) to an H (read to). The titles are written by him. His time for reading ranges from 20 to 45 minutes! His page numbers are sometimes inverted. He has a variety of read to, read with, and read independently.

 

Everyone who knows this student is excited for his progress. The special needs teachers who work with him celebrate his growth. His speech therapist shares his progress. The literacy facilitator writes him notes. The principal gives stickers when the student comes to his office to read to him. The secretary claps when she hears him read. The teaching assistants congratulate him when they see him read.

 

There is no better feeling in a teacher's world than when the reading spark ignites in a student. This is why I love teaching reading.

Using Tests as a Teaching Tool

Tests should be used as teaching tools. They should not be administered, graded, and then put away. Students should be able to dissect the test and learn from it. Yes, this does not happen with standardized tests, but a classroom is a place of learning. In my classroom students see their tests and review them to learn from their mistakes.

I took our last assessment and tore it apart based on the data results from my students. On the cover of the test, I wrote out the steps that I use to review the test with students. I wrote out the steps for one of the instructional assistants at my school so that when she comes in my room to help students she and I can be on the same page regarding instruction. I know what I am doing, but I want her to be familiar with my process.

 

I set up work stations in my classroom. I wrote the students' names that we are working with on index cards. I am working with the neediest students and my assistant is working with the midlevel students who need some practice with strategies to give them that boost to be on grade level. I also placed a basket of sticky notes, pencils, and pens (students think work is so much more fun with pens, right?).

 

 

Beside each question in the test I wrote the percentage correct that each of my blocks earned. This lets me know on which questions I need to spend more time. If both blocks scored poorly, then I need to do a whole class reteach. I also mark which answer most students selected to help me understand why they struggled with that particular question. Finally, I write notes to myself about teaching points.

Passport to Reading

My team decided to call our Test Prep Unit "Journey Through Genres" because that sounded more appealing and exciting. To carry out this theme we designed a passport filled with genres. Each child is working towards earning a sticker on each page after they read 5 books from each genre.

When children go  book shopping, they make sure to choose books from a variety of genres. They can also choose authentic literature such as magazines and cookbooks.

Test Prep Unit Anchor Charts

I created the anchor charts for our Test Prep Unit using the information in A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop Grade 3 by Lucy Calkins. Below each chart I cited the page numbers that correspond with the information.

 

Students should continue developing more stamina as they read during this unit by having one day a week where they have 60 minutes of independent reading time (p. 112).

 

 

In addition to using close reading techniques, students will be practicing how to use road-mapping when they read passages (pp. 121-122).

 

 

These are tips to remind students what they can do to be successful readers (pp. 114-118). This anchor chart will be posted in an area of the room that students can reference during both independent reading and small group instruction.

 

There will be students who will struggle with standardized tests because they are below grade level. Obviously if a third grader is a Level L, they are going to have a difficult time reading and comprehending end-of-the-year third grade text. This chart will give those readers little tips to help them stay resilient and focused (pp. 122-125)

 
 
Teaching Points:  This last set of charts will help me stay focused on what I want students to learn during the Test Prep Unit. This unit is designed to help students use what they have learned as readers throughout the past year.   This unit is not designed to show them how to pass a test. Unfortunately there is currently no way to get around these tests. My students have show tremendous growth as readers this year and the end-of-grade test will most likely not showcase all of their learning.