Read professionally. Read personally. Read. Read. Teach Reading.

Every teacher should read professionally.  Now that I buy books on my ereader, my kindle, the stack does not look as impressive.  I am quite pleased with the amount of reading I still do though.  Are you?

“Lunch Bunch” or Small Group Intervention or Try Again or “We Do” Group

When the teacher identifies a point for intervention, the teacher pulls a child or a small group of children together for a small intervention.  The teacher is coaching this group at the point of need. 

The top award-winning choir knows what it takes to accomplish greatness!  The choir director holds individual singing lessons for his students.  He also mandates alto, tenor, bass, and soprano lessons each lunch period to reinforce the separate parts to the songs. During the regular choir class, the whole group sings together.  During small group lessons, the singers learn to sing as a section.  During the individual lessons, each singer’s weakness is corrected and tweaked until perfection is reached. 

Once a concept is taught at the whole group level, some children benefit from a small group level, and some benefit from individual instruction. 

Whole group comprehension instruction

Before Reading

Explicit, Clear Teaching Point

Engagement of Students

Today your job is… (finish the sentence)

During Reading

All students read the text (on-grade level and below grade level text, varied depending on the day and the lesson) (How will I support my readers so that all readers will be successful with the text today?)

Format for Reading

Student Engagement

Reading not paper/ not dittoes

Read-Stop-Think-Talk

After Reading

Revisit the teaching point – how do I know that the students were successful today?

Small Group Comprehension Instruction (Lunch Bunch) (Let’s try this again) (We Do Group)

1. Individual children reread familiar books (at least 2, possibly 3) that have been previously read (while the teacher takes a running record on one child possibly)

2. The teacher tells the children to write from memory high frequency words that the teacher dictates.  The words might be one a white board, might be in a notebook, depending if you are tracking their progress

3. Small group of children make words using magnets (or does a Making Words Lesson by Pat Cunningham) Teacher Directed

4. Teacher introduces a new book, children read it.

5. Cut ups with the new book

6. Child takes home old book with cut up strips.

7. Child rereads 2 previously written sentence strip stories and matches the cut-up words.

8. Child writes a new story based on book today – writes those he knows, blends others, teacher support.  Read sentence, teacher writes on strip, and cuts out words.  Child matches twice and puts together twice without matching.

Individual Comprehension Instruction (Independent Reading / Self Selected Reading)

Anything in the small group instruction could be done one-on-one.

During independent reading, sitting one-on-one and conferring with students is effective.

Self Selected Reading (Independent Reading) Looks Like / Sounds Like

Just Right Books / Keep on Reading

 

Just Right Books

 

To help keep kids’ in seats instead of moving back and forth to picking out books during their self-selected reading time (or independent reading time), book baggies help.  Often, teachers will have their students place books that are at their level or are ‘just-right’ books into the baggies.  Some teachers will include nonfiction books, magazines, fiction books, picture books, even chapter books.

Charts assist students with procedures

Ways to Read

Chart Telling Students Who to Read With

The groups are posted on the board so that students know who to read with.  This way the students are not spending time deciding daily how to get organized instead of reading.  Every procedure that is well thought out and modeled allows students to spend more time actually reading.

Ramblings from Deb Renner Smith: Procedures for Independent Reading

Procedures for Independent Reading

We know that children need to read a lot during independent reading.  As classrooms start up this Fall, how do we ensure that our students are actually reading during reading? 

I wrote a chapter about read aloud in True Stories. 

http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/read-alouds-matter/

Read Alouds:  Each day the teacher includes at least one read aloud.  This allows students to have exposure to great books.  One day the teacher reads a story called, Petunia, by Roger Duvoison.  Petunia a character who does not know the there are words in books or that books should be open.  At the conclusion of the book, she learns, “Now I understand.  It was not enough to carry wisdom under my wing.  I must put it in my mind and in my heart.  And to do that I must learn to read.”      http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/self-selected-reading-procedure-books/           http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/read-wisely-like-petunia/        

Another day the teacher might read a book such as Wolf!, by Becky Bloom.        This book is a wonderful example of reading fluently.  As the teacher decides what books to read aloud each day there are different teaching points:  variety of genres, a chapter book series that your students are ready for, a chapter from a chapter book so students will want to read the book, books that you just love, books with specific teaching points, mentor texts related to writing or other topics, an author study, or theme books.  By planning our read alouds and thinking about what books will be read to our students, we make sure that our children will be exposed books throughout the school year. 

Classrooms across America have been unpacked in August.  Teachers think about how to ensure easy access to books.  Many teachers buy or build lots of bookshelves, containers, and labels to organize their books. 

  

Teachers make sure that the students under the organization system in place so that the children can easily find the books they are interested in reading and return them to their proper spots. 

  Students are taught how to pick out a “Just Right” book.  I wear HOPE College t-shirts.  I HOPE you can pick a just-right right book.  http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/just-right-books/ 

Students need to stay in one special place while reading.  The no wandering rule must be reinforced.  http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/where-do-you-read/   

http://writingeverydayworks.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/just-right-books-awesome-lesson/

Writing Examples the Junie B. Way

Junie B. Jones book stories

http://www.amazon.com/Junie-Essential-Survival-School-Stepping/dp/0375838112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249954990&sr=8-1

http://becausethinkingmatters.blogspot.com/

After reading this book, I have not yet decided if I will read it aloud for writing ideas or read it aloud for enjoyment.  Have you decided yet?

2 gallon book bag holding independent reading choices

Why Read Aloud to Children? Let me count the ways…

Reading aloud to students is important.  Blah blah blah.  Reading aloud to children is necessary because otherwise they won’t read the books we love and think are important.  “Blessing Books” is when the teacher has read a little bit of a book to the classroom or touched the book and talked enough about the book to get the students’ interest and excitement up.  It is especially effective if the teacher is reluctant and hesitant about handing over the book.  Well, I don’t know if this is the perfect book for you.  You mean you love ….. (name any type of……..) books?  Really?  Sitting down and reading the first chapter or two to a class or a child will probably help the child to read the whole chapter book.

Summer Reading Matters

Summer Reading Matters

Summer reading matters because reading scores decrease when children don’t read.  Students need to experience ‘high success reading’, visit places with books, and have a ‘bring along a book’ plan.

Reading scores do not fall when children really read a lot of easy selections.  While my daughter was searching for the perfect book at Barnes and Noble recently, I overheard a parent looking for third grade books for her third grade child.  Instead of dwelling on the grade level, children need to read ‘high success reading.’  Past International Reading Association President, Richard Allington, defines this as, “reading at 99 percent word recognition and 90 percent comprehension.”  Students will keep reading and want to read if the books are not hard.  Hard reading does not lead to increased reading scores or even maintaining reading scores.  Instead, children should read books that they are interested in.  If your son wants to read every book in the Animorph series, then allow him too. If your daughter is crazy for Gooney Bird, celebrate that she is reading. 

Parents should encourage summer reading by purposeful planning. Students benefit when they visit libraries, bookstores, or order books on-line.  Many schools and libraries have summer reading programs.  My children always have a list of their next book that they want to read.  My daughter is constantly swapping books with her girlfriends and attending midnight book release celebrations at the local bookstore.  My son reads through a series and gets Amazon notifications that the author has written a new book.  When students have books, they can read them.

I encourage parents to plan ahead so the reading can happen.  Parents should teach their children how to ‘bring along a book’ so reading is possible.  My teens grab a book or the Amazon Kindle as they are walking out the car along with their cell phone and ipod.  This works because they have been experiencing the ‘bring along a book’ lifestyle since a young age when they would grab books, their blanket and a snack.  Regardless if we are waiting for a dentist appointment or in an airport waiting for a plane ride, or a sporting event to start, my kids have a book to pull out to read. 

Reading happens in children’s live when it becomes a lifestyle instead of an assignment.  When parents read and children read and books are discussed, a book immersion lifestyle happens.  The side effect is reading scores stay the same or are even increased.  It is true that practice makes perfect.