I Mustache You a Question

Each afternoon our grade level has Reading Lab.  It should really be called Learning Lab because only two of us teach reading at that time.  The other 3 do STEM activities.  We also have an assistant and two kindergarten teachers who teach reading groups for us (we work as a team at my school). The students are split up according to their reading levels.

 

 

My Reading Lab group consists of twelve students who are level M and N readers.  They fall in the strategic group which is just slightly below-grade level. We meet from 3:00-3:40 which is at the very end of the day.  The children had a two hour literacy block, they ate lunch at 11:00, and they had recess at 11:30.  This means I have to find ways to hook them. Reading Lab is a great time for me to teach like a pirate and hook these readers who on the verge of taking off and being on-grade level!

 

This week we are working on questioning strategies.  I found some mustaches 6 for $1 at Target. They have sticky backs, but I hotglued them onto straws so the students could use them all week.

 

 

I began the lesson by using one of the props myself and said to the group, "I mustache you a question." They giggled and were immediately hooked!  They practiced reading their passage using strange accents and deep voices. I guess having a mustache just makes that happen!

 

 

They used the mustaches when they were making question jottings before, during, and after reading. They used them when they asked each other questions. One boy used his prop and asked, "I mustache you if I can go to the restroom!"

 

 

Yo, ho, ho...another simple and successful hook!