mgs: Q3 Week 3

This week, I wanted to share some ideas to get your students excited about writing about reading. I am a firm believer that students should not be exclusively answering written comprehension questions as their only written response for reading.

Students should be writing before reading, during reading, and after reading. I am going to break this idea up into sections and give you simple ways to get your students engaged in written response.

(The more you get them writing about their OWN thinking, the more comfortable they will become responding to texts.)

Pre Reading Writing:
Activate Prior Knowledge
Prediction Writing-Students can look at the cover of a book and write a prediction on post its. (Project the cover of the book on the smartboard.) Have them add those post its to a chart paper poster about the story. Be sure to revisit the poster during and after reading to discuss the predictions. Check out these fun and engaging ideas from The Lemonade Stand!

Or use this FREE writing sheet from JD's Rockin' Readers!
KWL: So GREAT for nonfiction! I think I used this every time I introduced a nonfiction text. You can have some serious fun creating a HUGE one for your class and then a smaller one for your students to write on. Here is one from my nonfiction unit on Sharks! Just be sure to revisit it during and after reading!

Table Top Twitter: Pose a question related to a book that you will be using in class. Cover tables with paper and allow students to answer the question on the table. This would work for predictions too! They can the do a gallery walk and read each other's responses before you read the book as a class.

During Reading:
Stop and Model/Make Connections
Visualization Draw: I LOVE to have students draw visualizations while they read. I have students come to the floor with a sheet of paper and a pencil. They fold their paper into 4 parts and I then begin reading. I stop throughout the story for them to draw their thinking and write a sentence to go along with it. (Just a quick sketch!) I stop 4 different times and then we do some sharing at the end.

Double Entry Journal: Double entry journals are a great way to get students to record their thinking and also locate the text evidence that supports their thoughts. All you need is a simple T Chart or this google slide!

After Reading:
Think and Discuss
321 Reading Summary Strategy: Allows students to organize their thinking after reading a text. Grab a FREE copy below. Also, check out the digital one I made in Google Slides for YOU!