I've included an introduction to this model as well as some checklists to use for assessment. The resource I am using is filled with a tremendous amount of material to use when differentiating reading instruction. Please review the handouts I gave you when you have time. This week's assignment is due by Sunday, 1/17.
<Read Pages 25-32 Implementing the Reading Strategy Curriculum in Your Differentiated Classroom --
Focus on the list of learning experiences. Which one is already in place and successful in your room? Which one would you want to develop more fully in your room?
What parts of the Management Techniques would best help your reading instruction flow smoothly?
Review the section on Management Tips for Journals -- compare your approach to writing journals with the description given by Laura Robb.
Notice Pages 87-88 -- The Read Aloud -- this is crucial to this program.
The remainder of the packet consists of model lessons before, during and after reading. Review and take what you can from them.
Pages 143-152 provides a lesson that covers all three parts (pre, during and after). Notice the difference between this lesson and the individual ones.
Finally, look at the grid as a planning tool. It is helpful to use it in developing both long and short term goals of instruction.
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Hello, everyone! I spent the first half of this school year as a leave replacement for a 3rd grade class and am currently serving as a permanent substitute. Therefore, my reflections for this class will be based upon the reading program I had established earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteOf the learning experiences listed, I feel that the guided strategic reading groups were the most successful for me. With a 90-minute reading block, I was able to meet with all 3 of my reading groups every day, and these opportunities for focused, small-group instruction were very valuable in terms of my getting to know the students as readers, fueling my assessment and future instruction. Students read text at their instructional level, and we would focus on developing one main comprehension skill per week, but of course discussing others in the students' repertoire as they applied.
Jumping ahead to the Management Techniques, I feel that part of what allowed my reading groups to be successful was the daily schedule I always had posted on the Smart Board. I created a grid template that was adapted for each day's instruction, where each reading group's agenda for the day was listed in one of three rows. For instance, my on-level group's schedule might tell them they would start out writing vocabulary definitions independently, then meet with me to begin reading a story, and wrap up by answering some comprehension questions on their own. At the bottom of the schedule, I always kept a list of activities that students could do when they were finished with their independent work. This helped to alleviate a lot of questions!
And going back to the learning experiences, the one that I would like to develop more fully would be journal responses. I have always been intimidated by them for fear of a pile of 20+ journals stacking up and taking a long time to respond to. My thought has always been that if a student takes the time to write a thoughtful entry, I should write an equally thoughtful response. I was quite relieved, I have to say to read Laura Robb's description of how she manages journals. Letting writing conventions go and responding to only one student-selected entry per time period seems much more doable than what I was envisioning. I also like the more structured approach to the entries, rather than simply telling students to "reflect" upon the text. A lot of students need that structure; I feel it would help to curb a lot of "I don't know what to write"s! Overall, her description of journals made them seem quite manageable and worthwhile.
LEARNING EXPERIENCES - In our 4th grade class I find that Read-Alouds are one of the best models for teaching reading strategies as well as a model for good writing. During a read-aloud, I often stop to reread something and then discuss the author's craft. We also have Guided Practice lessons in which the craft is modeled and then the children go to their Reading Groups to "try it out". This year we keep a reading/writing notebook and that's where the children write their responses to the skill or craft they're focusing on. There's is time for Independent Choice Reading but, if I can't finish the lessons of the day, this seems to be cut out. I would like to find a way to have independent reading time more often during the week (although the children are asked to read at home at least 20 minutes). We have had discussions about the theme of a story and I really would like to have more of these since the majority of the class seem to thoroughly enjoy the discussions and are anxious to participate.
ReplyDeleteMANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES - I use a daily schedule and think it helps me keep on schedule as well as provide structure for the children. The Independent Reading section is another technique that will help the children enjoy reading as well as improve their fluency and vocabulary. If they are comfortable with the text, they can then benefit from the book. Book talks given by the children, especially if they enjoyed a story, will encourage others to read that book. The idea of posting on the board what the children should do if they need help is good. Sometimes you can tell the class what to do, but they "forget". This way, it's up there for all to see!
MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR JOURNALS - I usually collect the Journals (our R/W notebooks) but not on an organized basis. I had a plan to collect and read about 5 notebooks per day so I could read the entries and it wouldn't seem like an overwhelming task, but I didn't stick to that plan! I like the idea of having the children write on paper after they've done some entries in their journals so then it's feasible to take the papers home. When I read their writing, I don't correct the spelling but I did circle any errors that I noticed. Then I give a mini-lesson on what I've noticed from their writing. The author doesn't make any markings on the page, which is different from the way I do it. (I guess it's my way of showing the children that I did read the piece).
Since I am not a classroom teacher, I do not have a 90 minute block in which to teach. I do modified versions of some of the learning experiences. We often do read alouds. They enable me to teach and discuss vocabulary. It also allows students to hear how English flows. I also do strategy sessions but they may take several pull-out sessions since I only have a 36 minute block of time. My students really need direct instruction in strategies and lots of practice using the skill. When children are learning a new language, they are often functioning slightly below or very below grade level, so the strategies with which they need help are often ones that were learned in previous grades. I assess their needs in order to prioritize the order in which I will teach the strategies and skills. Meaningful discussions are very important for my students because it helps them to develop their English language skills. My students also keep journals. We do not write in them daily; usually about twice a week since our periods are short. It would be wonderful to incorporate guided reading groups, but since this is a pull out program that needs to address many different skills and needs it is not practical.
ReplyDeleteThe management techniques are not practical for my type of program. My approach to journal is quite similar to the author. I want the students to freely write their ideas without worrying about spelling or writing conventions. There is a time and place for editing, but I also want students to concentrate on content. I don’t use a heading; journal writing in my class is informal. My students often ask to share their journal entries and we often use what they write as a topic for a discussion.
Week 1 due 1/17 Learning Experiences
ReplyDeleteI use several of the learning experiences in my room. I love read-alouds. I use the read-aloud to build background information about a variety of topics throughout the year. Picture books are an essential teaching tool. They model great writing and provide smaller texts for mini-lessons on specific strategies. I also use strategy lessons to introduce a concept and then follow up with practice. This technique can be used to introduce any concept from writing techniques to literary elements. After the lesson, I will provide guided practice with small groups that are based on ability usually. The skills that are practiced reflect the needs of a particular group.
Management Techniques- Well I love flexible grouping but with the districts push toward more ability grouping, I don’t get to use flexible grouping as much. I have 2-4 small groups running at the same time so it is important to be organized and have specific tasks for each group planned in advance. I provide each group with packets that I have created with activities to do for each novel or book that they are reading. I adjust the level of the book and activities for each group. It took a couple of years to accumulate all of the materials and activities to do this though. I worked with my students for the first two months of school to show them how to do my packets and what to do in reading groups. This also took time and some classes take longer than others.
ReplyDeleteReview the section on Management Tips for Journals- I appreciate the fact that the author does not bring home journals to mark. What a pain that is!!! I will correct spelling on a response that I feel has basic spelling/grammatical errors that the student should know. I correct it with the student and discuss the mistakes. Otherwise, I use journals as a place to “explore, clarify and develop ideas” like the author. Because I tend to use packets that I have prepared in advance, the journals are not used as often as they could be in my class. I tend to use them later in the year when I feel that the students have mastered the skills a bit better and understand my expectations.
ReplyDeleteLearning experience: Hello everyone. Currently in my fifth grade class I find read alouds to be very successful. You can find a readaloud for almost every topic. I find that it engages the students and I stop several times for the students to have a discussion, make connections and possibly brainstorm ideas. Read alouds are also wonderful when we are writing about a certain topic.The one I would like to develop is conferences. I always seem to meet individually in the beginning of the year and never have time to meet again. i feel this is so important and really need to make time. I even thought of meeting with one student a day. It's a start.
ReplyDeleteManagement technigues: I currently do 45 minute of reading and I post the schudule of what our goal is for that period of time. I have two flexible groups that we work on certin strategies. I evaluate the students after we finish a book and have switched them according to their needs. I am fortunate to have a TA full-time in my room so the students always have someone with them.
Week 1
ReplyDeleteAs a reading teacher, I provide AIS services to students in grades 3 and 4. I have a pullout program and meet with small groups 3 times per week for 45 minutes. The reading materials I use are basically at my students’ instructional levels, below their current grade level. I try and find short stories or passages that we can complete in one or two sessions. I like to use stories from Highlights Magazine and develop specific reading strategies around them.
Learning Experiences: I feel that the Read-Aloud is vital to building students’ background knowledge while providing a window on how to apply a specific reading strategy. I use this when teaching main idea and supporting details. After reading a short passage I brainstorm aloud what I think it is mainly about. Together we determine which details support the main idea.
I use Highlights stories during the strategy lesson part of my teaching. I create Directed Reading Thinking Activities with designated stopping points that focus on specific comprehension strategies to help them understand the text better. My goal is to teach my students to be active readers. I customize the DRTA pages to introduce a new strategy or to practice one that the students are having problems with.
Management Techniques: Sometimes I have to combine two classes into one group. This presents a problem because we may be at different parts of a lesson. This is where it works to have directions printed on chart paper. The students will split into two groups and I will float between them offering support when needed.
For independent reading (whenever we have a few extra minutes at the end of the lesson) I do have baskets of books at various levels. The students feel comfortable choosing very easy books and sharing with their peers. They are having fun while developing their fluency at the same time.
I do not have journals. I have my students write short and extended responses that parallel the ELA. Most of the time we share these responses as a group and the students then revise.
Laura Robb’s description however did present realistic expectations. There is nothing worse than feeling overwhelmed with something that you initiated.
The model lessons were interesting and I plan on trying a few.
Hi everyone! My name is Ally Weiss Begley and I currently teach 5th grade at Shelter Rock.
ReplyDeleteLearning Experiences:
I use strategy lessons in my class before I teach active reading strategies as well as when I teach my students literary elements. I have had a student expert guide one group while I work with another. The students really enjoy becoming the student expert. This learning technique seems to help students at their level and reach more learners. I would love to incorporate more conference time during my reading time, but as we all know, it is difficult to fit it all in.
Learning Experiences:
ReplyDeleteHello all! As a fourth grade teacher, I feel it is very important for me to provide my students with solid models of my expectations. Therefore, I am constantly using read alouds to demonstrate new strategies, styles and techniques used in reading. Picture books provide me with an array of mini-lessons to introduce a new concept, such as humor and figurative language. Through a read-aloud, I have the ability to pause and probe the children to identify the given skill. I want the children to implement these strategies into their own reading experiences and learn how to read for meaning, not read just WORDS! Sometimes, I provide the children with short exempts from a text for us to analyze and identify the different crafts used by an author. My ultimate goal is to instill the need for children to become active in their reading and apply the given strategies independently in their daily life. It is now January and I am first seeing some light in their input during our discussions.
Hi Everyone! My name is Lauren Como and I currently teach 6th grade at Shelter Rock. We are more departmentalized in 6th grade, and this year I have the luxury of teaching Language Arts.
ReplyDeleteLearning Experiences:
I also believe that read-alouds are a great way to introduce topics. I often use them in my science classes as well to motivate and engage students in the topic at hand. We do not practice reading groups in 6th grade, but rather a whole-class Language Arts approach. We are currently studying Greek Mythology, so we began the unit with an in-class read-aloud to learn the background information of the myths. Then I modeled how to analyze a myth with the entire class. Since my class is an inclusion class, I was able to find a story "Arachne and Athena" on a few different levels, so my co-teacher and teacher assistant could work with different groups. This way the concept was the same throughout, but appropriate for the varied reading levels. I too used a strategy lesson to model analyzing the myths. When the students began to understand the task, they worked with budies or individually to continue reading different myths.
Management: Since we are limited to 50 minute periods, I often teach a mini-lesson and then provide students time to practice the skills on their own. I would also like to incorporate more conferencing time during reading time, as well as find time for a writer's workshop setting, but I am finding it difficult to fit it all in.
Laura, I agree with your point on reading groups. It truly serves as a strong component of differentiation. I love your approach to managing the groups -- posting the schedule is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMarsha -- the read aloud is so fundamental to Robb's approach. I, too, love it -- I think the kids love it too. Why not have the kids read independently while you're meeting with small groups. That way they're getting that independent reading time. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa, it's true that your program is somewhat different than the classroom. However, the read aloud is such a huge part of teaching and modeling reading strategies -- it's good you can incorporate that. Thanks for sharing.
Patty -- flexible grouping is the best -- but can't we do it within the ability grouping? I like to pull groups for specific skills and mix up the ability groups. I love our idea of the packets -- what a lot of work you put into those. Thanks for sharing.
Laurie, I agree with you about conferences. I am really a bit lax on that too. I start off with great intentions and then....Although I believe the discussions in small reading groups are a close second to actual one-on-one conferences. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteEdwina, I love Highlights -- I used to use it often in 2nd grade (it was tough for them independently but great for teaching). Your DRTA lessons sound powerful -- I love the stopping points to show specific comprehension skills. Thanks for sharing.
Ally, I like the idea of the "student expert" guiding the group. I haven't tried that -- would love to. Yes, conferencing is a challenge -- when done the right way. I'm lagging in that area too. Thanks for sharing.
Kim, I love the read aloud too -- how do you have your read alouds set up? Are they by strategy or some other category? I would love to have my read alouds grouped by strategy -- although they probably all lend themselves to some reading strategy. Thanks for sharing.
Lauren, I love how you use the read alouds for science. What a great way to get content going. It's wonderful that you were able to find the same topic on different levels -- true differentiation!! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Everyone. I'm Karen Aaron and I teach 4th grade at Shelter Rock.I have a push-in special ed schedule this year, so I have more flexibility with my reading/writing time. But, I try to maintain a 60 minute schedule.
ReplyDeleteLearning Experiences
I have always incorporated Read-Alouds in my classroom. Whenever I start a new unit of study, I begin with a Read -Aloud ( usually a picture book). This introduces the topic, provides, key vocabulary and background knowledge, and provides a more relaxed/ interesting approach to learning than the traditional textbook approach.
Each month, we read a different genre of literature. My class is either divided into 2 groups according to ability or as in this month, all children are reading individual books based on a specific topic (i.e. explorers). The children visually present their books to their classmates focusing on the given reading strategy/element 1.e. main idea, characterization, etc.
My reading skills are presented as a lesson to the entire group/class. After the initial follow-up lesson, I meet only with those children who still have difficulty. My groups become smaller as the children "master" the given skill.
Sometimes, the children are asked to write a response, answer questions, complete a crossword puzzle,make a journal entry etc. But, I usually give them a prompt to keep the writing focused and on topic.
Management Techniques:
I do not correct the children's writing in their journals as I feel this stifles creativity. I believe there is a difference between creative writing and practical writing. But it is important to keep note of their errors. So, I keep a running record in MY L.A. binder of each child's spelling and grammatical errors. When I have some time ( when is that???) I conference with each child. Every few weeks, my students have spelling lessons( in addition to their regular unit words) based on words that they misspell in their own writing or on tests. Since I also have a list, they are rarely without words to study.These words are more meaningful and useful than those found in convention spelling books.
It is very important to keep records. When I find several children deficient in a particular skill, I hold a mini-lesson. The skills come from their daily assignments as well as our test prep materials.
My groups, therefore, are always changing. Whenever, I am meeting with a group, the others are independently working on a related task.
I no longer take their writing pieces home as I found that I go over the same assignment 2x - (once when I correct it and then again when I review it with the student.) So now, I just go over the writing with the child. I find this more meaningful. But, I wish some one would show me a quicker way to meet with all my students...
Learing Experiences:
Hello all. I'm Gigi Marasco, a reading teacher at Shelter Rock. I really liked the packet Liz gave us. It had a lot of solid information. One thing that I would like to look at, is a reference Robb gave to page 470, which had short texts....Liz, can I borrow your book, or is it coming in a later week?
ReplyDeleteLearning experiences: In my room, I use read alouds, strategy lessons and guided practice. Since my program is a pull-out with small groups, I use the time for direct instruction and then a practice session with the children. This year I am supporting the 2nd grade Reading Street curriculum so my strategy lesson is sometimes phonics based and then I use a book/passage/poem to practice the skill. I do not use journals although I believe they are a powerful tool for comprehension.
Management Techniques: My version of the "Daily Schedule" is a "To Do" list. I have the students for 1 period, so when it fits, I will make a "To Do" list and we check off the bullets as we complete them. I also use it when I am conferencing or administrating running records so the students can keep focused without interrupting me.
A management tip that isn't listed but something that I like to use this year, with my SMARTBoard is the timer. ( I have it saved on my desktop so I pull it into any Notebook lesson quickly and easily) I will give the students a "deadline" and set the timer for the appropriate amount of time. All the kids love it and it keeps my lesson moving. They are surprised that how much they can read in 5 uninterrupted minutes!
Management Tips for Journals - As I said earlier I do not use journals this year. I do agree with Robb that it is too consuming to answer all journal entries. I liked her idea to have the students pick one entry for her to read. When I was a classroom teacher, I would use "Buddy Journals" for parts of the year. This worked out great b/c the students had an audience so they were thoughtful about their responses. These days, however, this may need to be monitored so that appropriate information is shared. As for correcting spelling, I would write back to the student and use the word(s) that were misspelled so s/he would read them and have them spelled correctly. Sort of subliminal, but it seemed like a good way to correct them, without physically marking their writing.
~Gigi
Karen, I love your idea of keeping track of their writing needs. What useful information to have. The read aloud is so important. Since reading Robb I use it so much more. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGigi, you can take whatever you want from the binder. It is in my teacher's station -- I keep the original at home and made a copy for work. You're welcome to copy the whole binder if you want. I like the idea of timing their reading and the lesson. It really must keep everyone on track. Great idea to write to them using the correct spelling. Thanks for sharing.
Hi everyone, I'm Claire Maina, a reading teacher at the Middle School & Shelter Rock. This year I have a wide and varied assignment. I am teaching 1st, 5th, 6th,7th, & 8th grades. My groups range from two to twelve students. Even in my small groups I have a wide range of ability levels.
ReplyDeleteI love to use read-alouds, even in middle school. Often I use them to help build their prior knowledge. I use the strategy lesson then move on to guided practice. I would like to conference individually about their reading more. It is something I am striving to do as I feel it is very valuable. I do use fast writes and find them very useful. I use them to open their background knowledge, contemplate about a character or conflict. I find that they feel more comfortable writing like this when they know there is no wrong answer and they will not be graded. It helps them form their ideas before they share verbally. I think using the timer on the smartboard would be very helpful. I begin each class discussing what we will be doing, posting it becomes a problem in the elementary school, as I do not have a board. I’ll have to think about how to accomplish this. May of my students are disorganized, especially with their time. Modeling this is a good idea and would help the flow of the class.
Thanks Liz!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone, I am Michelle and I am a special education teacher currently working with fifth and sixth graders at Shelter Rock.
ReplyDeleteLearning Experiences: Currently, I use guided practice to demonstrate strategies. I am using a textbook called Making Connections. I started my modeling various reading strategies with the first lesson. As we progress through the lessons the students are expected to incorporate these strategies on an independent level with less guidance from me. I find this is successful because it allows me to monitor their progress and work with students who are in need of additional assistance. I would like to find more time to conference with students. I always start out with good intentions to do this, but then find I have so much to cover that I do not do it on a consistent basis.
Management: I currently have a one hour block for reading and writing. I always put our schedule on the Smartboard so the students have an idea on what we are to cover for the period. I often teach mini-lessons and then have students work on these skills independently. This allows me to time to work with individuals who need additional support with any skills.
Learning Experiences – I would say the strongest learning experience in my room is the read aloud. This year I have really tried to focus myself in regards to the read aloud. Last year, I always complained I never had time for a read aloud and this year I made time. Everyday after lunch and recess we have read aloud. I love having it at the end of the day because reading and writing workshop already happened. This way I can model the strategies taught during the mini-lessons. Students “turn and talk” to practice the strategies being modeled. I find they are becoming stronger independent readers due to the daily read aloud.
ReplyDeleteManagement Techniques – I currently do not incorporate a 90-minute block in my classroom. I have reading workshop in a 50 minute block and writing workshop in a 45 minute block. I separate them because I do a separate mini-lesson for each workshop. However, I think my management would improve if I did incorporate a 90 minute block. I love the schedule provided and think it might be a good change to make for next year.
Hi everyone- I'm Colleen Malone. I am a reading teacher at Shelter Rock. I work mostly with first grade students but have some second and fourth grade students as well.
ReplyDeleteLearning Experiences:
Since I work with small groups of AIS students, it is easy for me to manage guided reading groups. I introduce and model a reading strategy for 15-20 minutes, engage the students in meaningful discussions and then encourage my students to practice this skill or strategy independently. A challenge I face continually is trying address or manage a range of needs within my small AIS groups. Some students are poor decoders while others may struggle with weak comprehension. I am trying to find reading material to meet their diverse instructional reading levels centered around a current concept or strategy. At this point, I am in an “Experimental” phase-definitely a work in progress.
Management Techniques:
When I was a classroom teacher, the most challenging part of my reading program was getting my reading groups to work independently while I met with a small group of readers. When I speak to colleagues today, many share that they struggle with this management piece as well. I like Robb’s suggestion of posting and enforcing behavior guidelines. I think these guidelines provide structure for the students and can help to increase their accountability.
I definitely connected to Robb’s reflections on how overwhelmed she felt as a new classroom teacher taking journals home to read on her weekends. There never seems to be enough time! I like the idea of having the students turn down a page that they would really like the teacher to read. Another alternative would be to have the students share their journals with each other. When I read my students’ reading responses, I keep my anecdotal notebook out so that I can jot down both strengths and concerns which I can touch upon in future lessons. Some of my best observations are captured here.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to wrap up the rest on my comments:
Management Techniques:
For managing techniques, I use a combination of flexible groups and a modified daily schedule. I use more of a checklist during my reading workshop of the concepts that will cover during the workshop. In order to reach each of my students, I will have flexible groups: sometimes grouping by the active reading strategy a student needs to work on while other times grouping by reading level. I like to change my grouping of students because as the year progresses students develop and their needs change.
Management Tips for Journals:
I read through my students’ journals weekly to monitor comprehension skills. I also will have students respond to an inference style questions, so I may quickly focus on just that particular question. I always try to divide my groups in 5 students per day, so that I can read each student reader’s journal throughout the week. Unfortunately, I still need to work on this management technique because I find to difficult to read journals as well as monitor group discussions. I have recently tried to move to reading journals every two to three weeks: approximately in the beginning of a novel, mid novel and at the end of the novel.
Ally :)
Hi all. I have really fallen behind on all of this and I apologize. I really thought I posted my comment on Week 1 but don't see it here. I must have done something wrong! So here goes again:
ReplyDeleteI have long been a subscriber to mini strategy lessons and usually begin my reading lessons with a strategy lesson which includes a read-aloud. I often use picture books but sometimes I find a short sotry or selection which better fits my need. I work with one of my groups, focusing on applying that particular strategy. We also use some time to discuss the text and apply some strategies that we have been working on.
I have been able to have some different groups because I had some short-term groups doing legends and picture books in between novels, but basically my groups have been ability based and not flexible.
The management piece is a big one for me in my fourth grade class. I do not have an assistant in the room and therefore, the group who is not working with me is on their own with the reading, discusion questions I have created or the activity, oftentimes response but also packet oriented questions of all types including inferential. They problem solve together, but being fourth graders they are often unable to resolve their difficulties without teacher input which totally interrupts my lesson with the group I am direct teaching. I try to make my assignments to the independent group meaningful, but sometimes they just can't manage without interrupting my lesson. I intend to try the Need Help? chart and see if this will resolve the problem.
I wish I could have a 90 minute block of time for my Language Arts lessons. It just isn't possible in our schedule. It would resolve so much of my frustration.
In my classroom I use spiral response journals. As part of their reading assignment, I ask students to reflect on certain aspects of the selected reading, but not every day. That becomes tedious and the quality diminishes if over used. I do find that I have to structure their responses. Most of the students are not ready for "Write what you think." I don't read every journal response. Sometimes we share in small groups and I listen to as many as possible. At other times I collect them and read them. I like to respond to their thinking. I think it's important even though it is very time consuming. Reading their responses really guides me in understanding how they are interacting with the text and helps direct my mini-lessons.