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!

GIST: Getting the GIST is a great reading strategy that also incorporates writing.  Perfect for summarizing! Grab it now from Mcgee's Middle!

A PLOT Map or Story Map: A plot/story map is another great way for students to record the action in a story on a graphic organizer.  

  

RACES Strategies FREEBIE!

Check out these FREEbies that hit all 3! 

From The Teacher's Toolbox

From iTeach1:1

All About Apples

Friends~It is almost APPLE season!  I love this time of year.  The air is crisp and the applesauce smells sooo good in the crockpot. There is so much learning that can take place with this sweet fruit!

Bringing apples into the classroom in September is the perfect way to ease your students into learning. One of my very favorite apple fiction stories is Apple Picking Time by Michele Benoit Slawson.  

It is the sweetest story about a young girl and her time picking apples with her family.  It shows real perseverance.  Check out a video read of the story below!

 One of my favorite activities to do with this book is to create purple punch cards for my students just like in the book.  As they work throughout the day, I punch their cards with an apple hole punch. Like the one below.  You could also use the a moon shaped one like in the story. 

Then I reward them with a sweet apple treat at the end of the day as they turn in their cards!

Here are some response questions for you to use during a book talk to help second grade teachers hit RI.2.1 I can ask and answer W questions. 

 This standard will also work with the nonfiction books below!

I also love to use the fable of the Magic Apple to hit my 3rd grade reading skill, RL.3.2 I can recount fables and determine the central message. 

Below is a video read of the book to add to your lessons. 

 

This file is great for unlocking folktales from Pearson!  Be sure to click below and save!

I love to bring in some factual information about apples too!  This video is a great lead into the nonfiction word of apples.  

Here is another video that is great for the life cycle of an apple!

It is so simple to put a fun life cycle craft together. See the example in the picture below. 

I love the Book I Am an Apple for this project!  Students can use this book to walk them through the life cycle. It is also a great book to talk with students about beginning print concepts.  Take them on a picture walk and discuss the title, cover, spine, illustrations, and words.  

RF.K1 I can understand print concepts. 

or grab this download of the story The Magic Apple for Kindergarteners! 

My favorite book for apple facts is Apples by Gail Gibbons.  

Reading both fiction and nonfiction books on a topic will allow first grade teachers to hit RL.1.5 Ti can tell which books are stories.