Each classroom brings students of multiple learning styles and backgrounds. It is our job to provide opportunities that reach all of the many different learning styles that come to us. For this reason, it is
Check out these helpful tips for ensuring close reading success with your students. Free steps for close reading mini-book included.
Each classroom brings students of multiple learning styles and backgrounds. It is our job to provide opportunities that reach all of the many different learning styles that come to us. For this reason, it is
How to make reading comprehension instruction engaging with ideas from the book DIsrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst
Sometimes struggling readers need a bit more support to apply reading strategies. Grab free reading strategy printables to make a FREE take-home book!
Second grade is first in our hearts.
This FREE Main Idea Activity Pack is a great way to help learners work backwards at figuring out the main idea of a text. You might also like our Retelling Bundle – for both fiction and nonfiction! *The free download can be found at the END of this post post. Click on the teal download ... Read More about Main Idea Activity Pack
This goofy scramble book activity will bring laughs...but also some good, solid comprehension skills too!
Learn how comparing versions of The Gingerbread Man helped my first and second graders learn about central message, repetition and analyzing characters.
Howdy! Jen Bradshaw here from TeacherKARMA.com. You are going to LOVE these Interactive Reading Response foldables that are sure to build comprehension skills and assist students with targeting critical questions. Don’t forget to grab your FREE Reading Response Foldable. Best wishes! You Might Also Like:Reading Comprehension PassagesPracticing Phonics in the ClassroomInteractive Read AloudsGraphic Organizers Resource ... Read More about FREE Reading Response FUN to Build Comprehension
Last year was my first year teaching Read180 in a few years. I love Read180 and what I have seen it do for my kiddos so I was excited to get a chance to implement it again. But...the book projects included with the program are B-O-R-I-N-G! Sure, some of them are pretty good, but the directions can be questionable and I find myself using the same two projects over and over with my class. My students started to get frustrated (beyond frustrated) with the repetition so I promised them that one of my summer tasks would be to create new book projects, just for them. I mean, who doesn't just LOVE working on school stuff during summer break? You know we all do it! These book project ideas are a break from the traditional book report and can be used with any book! This one is pretty self-explanatory. The students can write a letter to the author. Depending on whether the author is alive or not, you students could actually mail their letter out! Wouldn't it be wonderful if they got a reply?!? All kids watch a lot of movies. They're exposed to movie posters every time they set foot in a mall or theater. The creativity you will see when they create a movie poster for the book they just read can be amazing! What kid doesn't love Diary of a Wimpy Kid or any other graphic novel? They're going to love creating their own comic strip using details from the book they just read even more! This is their chance to be honest about the book they just read. They can even give it a 5-star rating if they totally loved it! Timelines help kids practice sequencing and retelling. Timelines also have less writing and are more visual which is perfect for some of your kiddos! Your artistic kids will love redesigning the book cover. The catch is that they also have to rewrite the short summary on the back of the book too! Here is another visual project that will pull some of your readers right in! Imagine being able to see all of the places from your book on a map! Every book has a juicy part fit for the front page of a newspaper. Here is a chance for your kids to write an article retelling a specific event. Your kids will get a kick out of "interviewing" their favorite character. First, they will need to come up with some questions and then they'll need to answer them from the character's point of view. I find that when you add technology to just about anything, kids will gravitate towards it. I am sure they will love putting together a PowerPoint presentation all about the book they just read. What other book projects do you like to use with your students? I would love to hear your ideas! If you want to try alternative book projects in your classroom, I have expanded on these ideas and created directions sheets for each project for my students. Each project includes the task and the plan with detailed directions including "must haves" and "may haves". There is also a Do Not Forget section that give little reminders to keep your kids on track. I have also included two versions of a log to keep track of which projects your students have completed. The first one gives them choice and they just log their choice. The second one lists each project and the student has to complete each project once before repeating a choice. Do you use interactive notebooks in your classroom? No worries! I have reduced the size of each page so that it fits right into an interactive notebook! Are you looking for even more book projects for your students? Volume 2 was just released! I've even bundled them together at a discounted price! Thanks for stopping by! If you want to read more about how I use interactive notebooks with Read180 and pick up a freebie, you should check out this blog post.
The buckets are packed with goodies, and the kids were soooooo excited to start our new guided reading groups this week. I have 5 different groups with 4 students in each group. Each group will be reading a different Jerry Spinelli novel: Wringer, Report to the Principal's Office, Maniac Magee, Loser, and Fourth Grade Rats. We do guided reading each day, and all groups work at the same time. My resource teacher works with me during this time, and she meets with (runs) the same group each day - she works with my below grade level group. I meet with two different groups each day (I read with one group, then I work on the task with a second group). This way, I meet with each of my four groups every second day, and my group that needs help the most has teacher support every day. Our overall focus for the next four weeks is Literal Comprehension (this is our division focus for my school). Each group also has a subfocus they are working on in their groups (vocabulary, phrasing, expression, accuracy, and conventions). I know conventions isn't a typical guided reading group focus, but for this particular group, it is a necessity! On Tuesday we built our Literal Comprehension Anchor chart - establishing our learning goal and building our success criteria. Each student copied this chart into their reading journals. This is one of my student's journals. I was WOWED by it - such attention to detail! (Now, if I can just get her to stop spelling summary with an 'e' I will be one happy teacher!). Each day after reading the students have two tasks. First, they need to answer literal comprehension questions from their reading. They can discuss their answers as a group, but each student is responsible for writing their own answers in their journals. The next task is something new I started this year. I created a Summary of Learning sheet for each group which I posted on my bulletin board. Each sheet has the novel name and the groups' subfocus written on it. After each day of reading, students are required to write one thing they learned from their reading each day on a special coloured sticky note. This should relate to their group's subfocus. They then post their notes on their sheets on the bulletin board. I created a special "Summary of Learning" section in my guided reading binder to keep track of all these sticky notes. Each day as I take down the old sticky notes so the students can post their new ones, I will add it to their page (a piece of blank paper inside a page protector). It will be so neat to see the growth in their reflections. Happy Thursday!!! Reading Comprehension Strategy Bundle Book Report Bundle Building Better Reading Responses Reading Concept Posters Bundle InLinkz.com
These easy to use techniques can be used by teachers for students in upper elementary and middle school to develop stronger reading comprehension skills.
Hey there! Jen Bradshaw here from TeacherKARMA.com Teachers, can you believe that you actually have to tell your students to THINK WHILE THEY READ? Reading is Thinking Resource has the perfect anchor chart for working on: predict infer visualize make connections question the text summarize Grab your FREEBIE over at Teacher KARMA. Best wishes! Jen Bradshaw You Might ... Read More about READing is THINKing – Comprehension Anchor Chart
Teachers can make the most out of independent reading time in the classroom using these simple activities.
This reading strategies bulletin board set highlights 14 reading strategies for improving reading comprehension: Visualizing, Questioning, Inferring, Making Predictions, and more. It's a great back to school bulletin board because you can keep it up all year long to refer back to these reading strategies. Each reading strategy also includes a brief description of the skill. The reading strategies in the bulletin board include: Visualizing Making Predictions Questioning Connections Inferring Summarizing Synthesizing Evaluating Determining Importance Clarifying Finding the Author's Purpose Monitoring Compare and Contrast Using Prior Knowledge You can use all of the 14 reading strategies, or select which best support the needs of your learners in your classroom. If you later choose to change bulletin boards, you could continue to use parts of the bulletin board as posters for reading strategies. The bulletin board also included 3 printing options for the title and words. The first option is for black letters on a white background on pages 20-32 (most printer-friendly). The second option is for yellow letters on a white background on pages 33-46 (can use to print on different colored paper). The third option is yellow letters on a black background on pages 47-60 (which would use more ink). Note that two separate versions with different fonts are also included. Please choose the font that works for you and your learners. More Reading Strategies Materials { Reading Comprehension Lessons } { Reading Comprehension Thinking Stems } { Reading Strategy Task Cards } ***************************************************************************** Tips for Customers! Click on the ★ above to follow my store! If you have questions or problems please contact me through Product Q & A and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Disclaimer: These resources and materials are for supplementary support/education purposes and not intended as a replacement for counseling, education, or other necessary supports. Educators, parents, counselors, and others who utilize these materials are encouraged to seek out additional support, as needed. *****************************************************************************
I am pretty excited to share with you something I have been working on all summer! As a first grade teacher, I have had parents tell me t...
Reading researchers have told us for forty years that allowing students to choose their own books is among the most powerful moves we can make as teachers. For new teachers with little experience to…
How to make reading comprehension instruction engaging with ideas from the book DIsrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst
15 reading fluency activities you can do in minutes a day with strategies to improve reading fluency in your slow, choppy reader. Reading fluency games online, printable reading fluency games, reading passages and more! Education ideas - what are the 3 components of reading fluency? Wanting to know how to help your child read faster? Check out these ideas for reading fluency games, printable reading fluency games, timed reading games, plus reading fluency activities pdf format to print. If you find yourself asking - I want to know how to help my child read more fluently, check out these reading fluency activities, games, kindergarten fluency activities games, and other strategies to improve reading fluency.
These Fix-up Comprehension Strategy Cards and Posters can be used during individual reading conferences or guided reading small groups. If your students are struggling with comprehension and they need to 'fix-up' their reading, these cards will get them thinking as they read. These cards are adaptable to various grades. Some (not all) may be used as early as first grade! Now, a larger size is also included for classroom display purposes if needed. In this resource you will receive visual cards (student mini-flip rings -pictured- and 8.5" x 11" posters for classroom display) with an explanation for the following strategies: ★Re-Read ★Make Connections ★Read Aloud ★Make Predictions ★Read Ahead ★Create a Mental Image ★Use Context Clues ★Ask Questions ★Look at the Pictures ★Stop and Think ★Summarize If you have a favorite strategy that you like to use with your students and it is not included, please email me and I can add it. Want to Stay in Touch? The Creative Apple Teaching Resources Blog The Creative Apple Teaching Resources Facebook The Creative Apple Teaching Resources on Pinterest The Creative Apple Teaching Resources on Instagram
Increase reading comprehension with these 5 strategies. These reading strategies will help students better understand a text. Grab the freebie!
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
Pre-reading strategies to help guide intervention and therapy activities for vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension. Download a free guide.
Learn to teach phonics with these FREE phonics reading passages! Easy to prep and are engaging for all early readers.
One of the things I do every year that really makes a difference in my students’ learning is having them use notebooks to store notes, examples, work, and basically house all of the learning they have done that year. Having these notebooks makes it so easy to spiral content because the students have a ready-made […]
💡 20 Things for Students to Do with Informational Text 💡 https://t.co/DsKHcop7vI via @juliemconlon #ela #edchat #reading #edutwitter
Clever classroom solutions for busy teachers! Tips and tools for elementary classroom management, student behavior, reading, math, and more!
As teachers, we all know the correlation between the amount of time that kids spend reading and their reading levels; quite simply, the more kids read, the better they will be at it. Studies consistently show the key role that reading volume plays in the development of comprehension, vocabulary, general knowledge, and cognitive structures. In Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller states that "we cannot overlook one truth: no matter what standards we implement or reading tests we administer, children who read most will always outperform those who don't read much". Even though we know this to be true, I have found that many teachers struggle with fitting in independent reading time in their classes. With standards to meet and tests to prepare for, independent reading is often something that falls to the wayside... and this is so sad! Why should independent silent reading be practiced in our classrooms? In his book, "Building Student Literacy Through Sustained Silent Reading", Steve Gardiner states that "a significant number of research studies have examined sustained silent reading programs, evaluating their effectiveness with students from primary grades to graduate school... and most of these studies show that SSR is successful in promoting and improving student literacy". Later is the book, he goes on to state: "Giving them time to read is clearly the most important thing I do with my students. It: -builds vocabulary; -connects to writing; -develops an understanding of the qualities of good readers; -meets needs the teacher might not know about; and -gives students a chance to connect with reading is an unstructured situation." Every time our students pick up a book, they are faced with new ideas, words, and sentence structures. Every minute spent reading builds upon the next, making reading easier and more enjoyable for our students. Some of the additional pluses I have found while allowing my middle school students time for silent reading include: -Opportunity for student choice - Most reading done is school is assigned. Independent silent reading allows students to read material they choose on their own. -Builds reading confidence - As silent reading time is meant to be uninterrupted, they must work through trouble spots on their own, which helps them to become confident readers. -Students actually want to read more - Reading, sharing, and talking about books in a positive way encourages students to want to try new genres, experience different authors, plow through the next book in a series, and ultimately read more! Some tips for setting up a silent reading program in your classroom. As you can probably tell, I am a huge advocate for silent reading in my middle school classroom. For the past 10 years, I have been having my students complete 10-15 minutes of independent reading time at the beginning of each class. I will admit that it took a lot of trial and error for me before I turned silent reading time into something I felt was both beneficial and personally meaningful to kids. Below, I have included some of my best tips and tricks for setting up a successful silent reading program for middle school learners. 1) Make the time - With all of the other things we have going on as teachers, it can be difficult to carve out an additional 10-15 minutes of class time in our already busy schedules. However, with all of the research showing how effective independent reading is in the creation of life long readers, we really do need to find a way. This reading time gives the kids the opportunity to actually apply all of the reading strategies and skills that you have been teaching them, and is crucially important. Once you have found the time in your schedule, make sure you make the time a priority. Kids need to see that this time is valuable and important, and won't learn this if you cancel it when "more important" things come up. Show the kids that their reading time is worthy of protection, and never sacrifice it. 2) Allow for choice - As most of the reading kids do in school is assigned to them, independent reading time is the perfect opportunity to let them make their own choices about what they read. Many teachers at the school I previously taught at would allow students to bring in their own books from home for this, or would give students time to sign books out from the library. In my room, however, I have my students select books from our classroom library. My classroom library is quite extensive, with a wide variety of authors, genres, lengths, and reading levels. I am an avid Young Adult literature fan, so the added bonus of having the kids choose from our class library is that I have actually read all of the novels myself. This allows me to have great discussions with the kids about what they are reading, and also helps me to make recommendations to kids who are struggling with finding the right book. Because I have read all of the books, I know that they are quality literature choices, that are highly engaging. Yes, this does mean that I require myself to read YA lit like a madwoman, seeking out the best new titles. And it means that I spend quite a bit of money on investing in quality books for my classroom. But, as this is something I really think is important, I make the time and find the money. I will discuss some tips and tricks for setting up your own classroom library, and some of my favorite book choices for middle school kids, in an upcoming post. 3) Provide time for discussion - At the end of your 10-15 minute silent reading time, allow some time for class discussion. This doesn't have to happen at the end of each silent reading time, but it is great if you can make an effort to do this a few times a week. This is a great time to bring the class together and show them what you have been reading, introduce a new author or genre, or to give a quick book talk on a few new titles you have picked up for your classroom bookshelf. You can have students share some of their favorite reads as well, or even have a guest staff member or parent come in and talk about one of their current favorites. Our school librarian is always game to come in and share some of her favorites, and I have even had our principal come in and give a quick book talk. These discussions can really motivate other students - I have found that kids will often choose their next reading choice based on recommendations by their peers, and a new book I have shared in class rarely sits on our book shelf for long. It is amazing what a little advertising can do! Allowing time to talk about books shows kids that reading isn't just a solitary activity. 4) Celebrate Reading! - Sometimes reading can get a bad rap. Kids can come into your classroom saying that they hate reading, and that it isn't something "cool". As a teacher of reading, it is your job to make reading cool again! Make reading in your classroom something to celebrate. Give book talks, hold mini conferences with your kids to talk about what they are reading, and get excited about new books in your classroom library. Your enthusiasm about reading really will rub off on them! One of my favorite ways to celebrate reading in my classroom in by throwing a "book feast" at the end of the year. Have your students choose a favorite independent reading book, and bring in a themed snack to share with the class. On the day of the feast, have the kids discuss their books and the way the snack ties in. I clearly remember a group of boys one year who were hooked on the "Hunger Games" series - they brought in "Cinna"-buns (cinnamon buns), Nightlock Berries (blueberries), and Po-"Cato"-Chips (potato chips). Such a fun way to get kids excited about what they are reading, and to share that enthusiasm with others. 5) Model, model, model! - According to Gardiner, independent reading time "allows an adult to model the habits, choices, comments, and attitudes good readers develop". Kids need to see that reading isn't just something that kids are assigned to do, but something that is enjoyable to adults too. It can be very, very tempting to use this quiet classroom time to get some much needed work done, but try not to. Pick up a book, practice what you preach, and show kids you value the time as well. 6) Hold the kids accountable - I know some of you will disagree with me on this one, and it is probably the area that I most struggled with when setting up my silent reading time. I am all for reading for reading's sake, and fully agree that reading with a mandatory worksheet attached can suck the joy out of a reading experience. That being said, kids are kids, and not all of them are going to buy in right from the start. I found that without the accountability, I had some kids who would hide their phones and text behind their novels, or who would simply grab the first book they came across each day, resulting in them reading the first two pages of about 30 different books on our shelf. They were not investing their time in a novel, and therefore could not get excited about them. The way I stopped this from happening was that I created a series of Reading Comprehension Strategy Poster pages. At the start of the week, the kids pick up a new reading comprehension strategy page from the front of my room, along with their silent reading book. Throughout the week, the kids are required to work on these during their silent reading time. Each page contains a few questions that can be applied to any novel they are reading, and which focus on specific reading comprehension strategies. They can work on these at their own speed throughout the week. The pages should really only take them 10-15 minutes to complete, so they don't take very much time away from their actual reading time, which I think is really important. When the kids are done, I have them glue them into their Reader's Notebooks. These are great to have on hand to refer back to when we talk about the different reading comprehension strategies in class, and give the kids some additional practice with these essential skills. Then, throughout the week during our independent reading time, I call a few students up to my desk for a quick conference. I keep the conference very low key, and simply talk to them about what they are reading and have them show me their completed reading comprehension strategy pages in their Reader's Notebooks. This really helps to keep the kids accountable to what they are reading, and has made a huge difference in the success of my independent reading time. I think that engaging the kids with what they read really helps them to think about and make sense of what they are reading. If you are interested in trying out these reading strategy pages with your own class, you can check them out in my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here or on one of the images I have included. 7) Allow kids to give up on a book - When we read as adults, we will often stop reading when a book doesn't interest or engage us. Let kids have the right to do this too! As I mentioned above, I really don't like to see a kid picking up a new novel each day only to read two pages, but if a kid has honestly given a book a try, and has not found it enjoyable, they should be free to pick something else. Independent reading time is supposed to be fun, and kids should be thoroughly enjoying what they choose to read. Having a large classroom library, and the ability to recommend the right book to the right student, greatly reduces the amount of books kids give up on. 8) Provide Flexible Seating - Whenever possible, allow kids to sprawl out and really get comfortable with their books. Bring is comfy cushions, exercise balls, or anything else you can get your hands on to facilitate this. If it is a nice day, and your administration is on board, you can even take them outside to lay in the grass. In the past I have been known to bring in a class set of yoga mats, move the desks out of the way, and let the kids lay out on the floor. While I haven't let the kids set up blanket forts just yet, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea! I certainly wouldn't argue about the importance of many of the things we do in our classrooms on a regular basis - in depth novel studies, writing instruction, and group work are all essential parts of the language arts classroom. Clearly, however, we can see the importance of getting books into our students hands, and for allowing them to read independently during the school day. No matter what instructional methods we choose to use, our students need time to actually apply the reading strategies and skills we teach if we want them to become skilled readers. To do this, our kids need time to read! Silent reading time is really just another tool in our arsenal for developing life long readers, who thoroughly enjoy the reading process.
By the time my friends reach 4th and 5th grade, there are some things that should be non-issues. There are some things I should not have to spend instructional time on. Basics. Thus was born the No Excuses list. Each year, after the first couple of weeks of school, I do a quick intro to the No Excuses list. This is a chart of things that, by the time they get to 4th or 5th grade, a student can reasonably be expected to be responsible for doing. Things like starting sentences with capital letters and putting endmarks on sentences. It is not unreasonable to expect those things of my students. However, I find so many of my friends do not have automaticity with them. They should be no-brainers, but my friends have shown (year after year) to be very lax in doing them. To intro the chart, I have the chart done with just the title. I explain what a No Excuses list is. I tell them that this chart will have on it the things that we know every 4th and 5th grader has been taught in previous grades and can be expected to do when reading or writing. These are things your teacher this year should not have to teach again because you learned, practiced, and did them in 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd grade. I then have the kids brainstorm a list of what they would put on the chart. THEY KNOW! They know what they should be doing! Without fail, every year, they come up with the exact things we need to have on our list. I usually start with the top two; capitalizing sentences and using endmarks/end marks. (I always write endmarks as a compound word. I've seen it both ways band have just always written it as a compound word. Spell check does not agree!) We add teach item to the chart and in the bullet, put the date we add them to the chart. On my chart, the 27th and 28th were actually both added on the same day, but I was talking and writing at the same time and wrote the 28th by mistake. Except for those two items, I usually add items one at a time with at least a week or two between adding an item to the chart. This gives my friends time to work on each without being overwhelmed. What makes the chart work is the rule. Once it is on the chart, from that date forward, it is expected to be done on all work. No Excuses! If a paper is turned in with any of these errors, the student will get the paper back to fix or redo. Or, if I notice it on the paper before they turn it in I will say that I can't accept that paper and they need to check the No Excuses chart. I find that it is usually not that kids can't do these things. It's more that we don't, at some point, draw that line in the sand and say, "Okay, this is now on you! You have been taught and/or retaught these things year after year and now it is your responsibility to do them without being told. No excuses!" I know this might sound harsh to some, but I promise you after just a couple of weeks you will see a dramatic drop in students forgetting to do these basic things. I find the key for me is to stick with the expectations and be consistent in not accepting work that doesn't meet the standard. Now, I also know there may be some students you need to make exceptions for. But, in general, if something makes it on to your No Excuses list, everyone is usually expected to do it. What you have on your list can be tailored to the grade level, students' abilities, and the expectations you set in your classroom. You know your students best, so you have to create a list that works for you. The list can be added to as the year goes on, but I generally focus on things that have been taught in previous year(s) and are reasonable expectations of my students. Is this something you think would work in your classroom? What would be on your No Excuses list? Or, do you handle this issue in another way that might be good to share?
Use different sentence frames to increase text connections. Help students
