Re: [MOSAIC] readers workshop help needed
I call that time Shared Reading. During this block of time you model/teach the strategies/skills you want students to apply when reading independently and during their guided reading lessons. Concepts about print, word attack skills, phonemic awareness (without the text), fluency, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension strategies...All the 5 Big Ideas can be modeled and taught during the Shared Reading Block. And you are right, by the end of the week, kids have another known book, poem or song to add to their repertoire. Kelli Thexton Literacy Coach Westside Elementary Rogers, AR USA Heather Wall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I agree with the person who posted below, but I also have another suggestion for those low non-readers you mentioned. I had a class very much like this a few years ago (except with many more non-readers), and it really helped to have a time of day to read big books - read aloud together several times chorally, echo, etc., act them out with puppets or props, be the words for key sentences, etc. By the end of the week everyone knew the book very well, even the strugglers. I made individual copies of the book for the kids (you'd really just need to do it for those lowest ones) so they then had a book they could read. After several weeks, they had a collection of their own versions of the big books in their cubbies. Meanwhile, I was making sure to read with their group daily in small guided reading gruops, using the Reading a-z books, so they also collected those books they could read. Pretty soon they had a cubby full of books they were reading on their own. Good luck! Heather Wall/ 3rd grade/ Georgia NBCT 2005 Literacy: Reading - Language Arts - Original Message From: Kimberly Stapert To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Listserv Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 9:51:58 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] readers workshop help needed I haven't processed your whole email yet, but I skimmed it. I saw your last paragraph on what to be teaching. I would be spending a lot of time on decoding, etc., but more... You really need to find out what they each know by doing a running record on each of them, then group them according to need (what they need to know next), balancing the semantic (meaning - what makes sense), syntactic (sentence structure - how we talk), and letter-sound, (and pictures, too!) strategies. Do you have leveled readers - six packs of books?? I group my kids (and regroup as they progress and I regularly do running records) and use those books (like from Rigby, etc.) I teach the comp. strategies but in a VERY strategic approach---over time. I first model, model, model text to self connections, then we do it together, and then they do it on their own- but I think that they need to be able to read some kind of text to do this ideally. Your non-readers aren't ready for that yet - in my opinion - at least independently (yes with a partner or small group or large group). I then move into text to text, but much after they get the text to self. Debbie Miller is one of my heroes, but maybe your class isn't quite ready for all the components of readers' workshop yet - it's still very early in the year... Kim On Sep 28, 2006, at 9:24 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: HI I wrote earlier this summer about being very excited to start readers workshop this year (first grade). No one else in my school does it and my classroom is supposed to be a model classroom for the school. I know it takes a while to get things running smoothly but I'm having a little more trouble than I anticipated and I need some help. First of all, my class is extremely chatty and fidgety. They have a very tough time paying attention and staying on task. I know thats not very unusual for first graders but they are definitely one of the chattiest classes I have had. Last year, I was very lucky to have a great class of kids that were very excited about learning. This year, the kids really don't seem too interested. I'm having a very tough time holding their attention during read-alouds and mini-lessons. I try to use all that great Debbie Miller talk to get them excited about their thinking but it's just not happening. Also, many children are not staying on task during independent reading time. I have done many lessons on rules and routines and rituals but it's still a real challenge. Also, I have 4 kids who are not reading at all (below A on the DRA). They are the ones who are having the most trouble staying focused. I have provided them with books at their level and have confered with them about using the illustrations to read their books but they aren't getting it. I know I need to do small group work or guided reading with them but how much time should I be doing that. Should they still be doing independent reading? Should I have them using the listening center instead? I can't meet with them all
Re: [MOSAIC] Fluency practice
Celeste, Have you tried using the Fry's phrases to help build fluency? I have the list on paper but I also have 10 power point slideshows where students practice and must read the phrase in the appropriate time span before the next slide appears. Now, for those who have trouble reading the phrases, there is a voice guiding them along, but when they get where they can read it, turn off the volume. I tell them an athlete warms up with stretching exercises and a reader needs to also warm up with reading exercises. Fry's phrases is one way to help with fluency. I do have these phrases on my email. So let me know if you would like me to email them to you. I would be glad to do so. Terri Celeste [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I teach 2nd grade and am looking for activities for parents/ volunteers to do with students to build and improve fluency both in the classroom and at home. What are some things you do with your students? Celeste Ü Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, That's why it's called the present ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
Re: [MOSAIC] Fluency practice
Hi! I teach second grade and use several techniques to enhance fluency. Each student keeps a poetry journal. Each Monday, a new poem is read aloud and glued into the journal. The poems usually relate to the time of year or topic of the week. This same poem is sent home that day to be read and reread with a parent as part of the weekly homework. Many parents also keep the poems and start poetry journals at home. A poetry binder is kept in our classroom library and added to each week. We highlight parts of the poem (eg. if we're looking for repetition or rhyme, etc.) We reread the poem later in the week, too. Often, the students write their own poems in the journal based on the format of a particular poem. Poetry reading for fluency is very helpful. Also, I do a lot of reader's theater. We practice in class and reread the different parts. The reader's theater script is also sent home for rereading as part of homework. Sometimes, I send home the script on a Monday for home practice and we perform it on Friday.We did one on Johnny Appleseed and will now do one about Halloween which we will perform at our party.The children love using masks or signs or puppets as they read. Also, I send home little books that can be photocopied from diff. publications and these are to be read and reread three times or more at home to be an expert. The children check off each time the book is read or you can use star stickers, etc. to indicate rereading. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
Re: [MOSAIC] Comprehension Toolkit
Hi Diane, We have gone through similar struggles with students at our school. There are some (and I can relate to them) who want to read it all first--then peel it apart. I do it like this: 1. During short lessons like the ones from the toolkit they must participate AS we read because of the nature of the turn and talk. I think it is not too much to ask because in the toolkit we are dealing with short text AND often the text is difficult enough to demand stop and think from all readers as they go. 2. During class books--especially if the students are higher readers--they may read the whole thing and return for a second look --posting and noting with us on their second round. They may not give away things to other readers. 3. I also, at least once, give them a text that is too difficult for them so they can see the benefits of stopping as you go in order to figure out what is happening. Often, I think, they are resistant to the stopping because the text is not much of a reach for them and they feel frustrated with the slower pacing. Once they see what it looks like with a harder text, they begin to understand why we might do all the stop and talk. Did your student even want to read the Stealing Beauty article without stopping? -- Sincerely, Bonita DeAmicis California, Grade 5 -- Original message -- From: Diane [EMAIL PROTECTED] I did the first two Comprehension Toolkit lessons (by Stephanie Harvey Anne Goudvis) this week. They went really well. The students were very engaged and really enjoyed the lessons. I was surprised at, and very impressed by, the level of discussion among my fourth-graders. They made the same kinds of comments that were made in the demo lesson provided in the toolkit. (I tend to view demo class lessons with a little bit of skepticism, wondering how true-to-life they are.) I am so encouraged by how well the lessons went. I only have 60 minutes for the lessons, so I have to move pretty fast. I was able to pack it all in during the time period. Even the Stealing Beauty lesson went very well. I only read the first few paragraphs of the article as indicated in the demo lesson. (I wonder if some who had trouble with this lesson read the entire article.) We had great discussions with only the excerpt. These students were not taught comprehension strategies in an explicit way in the lower grades, so I'm very inspired by their progress. I have been modeling the strategies in our read-alouds but haven't done a full-blown lesson on them. They must have connected with the modeling much more than I knew. I have one gifted student (and an excellent reader) who complains about the stop and think sessions. She told me that she wants to read the whole story THEN discuss it. I told her that I will give her the opportunity to read through books will we read together beforehand. The drawback is that she isn't able to participate with predictions and some inferences because she has/will have already read the books. I am certain that her participation would be beneficial to our discussions. Suggestions? Just wanted to share, Diane/4th http://www.comprehensiontoolkit.com/ ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
[MOSAIC] this from Diane Sweeney
I offered to let you all know about Diane's new adventures. Ginger moderator Dear Colleagues, Since writing Learning Along the Way, I have become passionate about creating school communities that are about learning for both teachers and students. This work is so important, and I truly believe that teaching is far too complex to be done alone. I believe in the importance of support for teachers that is rigorous but also humane, and my work in this area has surfaced a substantial collection of beliefs and practices related to school-based coaching, the role of the principal, and teacher leadership. What's exciting is the incredible response from educators across the country when they are introduced to these ideas. They find that what I bring is deeply rooted in the fact that I am an experienced practitioner (coach and teacher) and that these ideas make an impact at the student level. I am thrilled to announce the creation of my private consulting business, Spark Innovation. Spark Innovation works K-12 with principals, district leaders, school-based coaches, and teachers and we truly hope to make a difference in their lives as educators. I'd like to invite you to visit my brand-new website at www.sparkinnovate.com. It includes a blog designed to help educators share ideas, strategies, and thoughts related to their work in schools. I invite you to join the conversation and get others involved as well. To find the blog go to www.sparkinnvoate.com, click on OUR IDEAS+BLOG and you'll find your way. If you'd like more information feel free to contact me directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (303) 332-6791. Best regards, Diane Sweeney ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
Re: [MOSAIC] Fluency practice
On Oct 1, 2006, at 8:21 AM, Celeste wrote: I teach 2nd grade and am looking for activities for parents/ volunteers to do with students to build and improve fluency both in the classroom and at home. What are some things you do with your students? In my not so humble, sometimes cynical opinion, the best (and maybe the only) way to increase fluency is to read read read read read. What I would do is have these parents/volunteers sit with students one-on-one for a short time with a book that is just slightly easy for the child, and read together, out loud. When I say together, I mean. well together! Both voices reading aloud simultaneously. And the important part of this is not speed as much as it is expression, especially making note of punctuation and focusing on phrases rather than words. When parents are not available, I would have students spend at least part of their independent reading time reading books that they know well, that are easy enough for them that they don't have to stop to decode, etc. Renee We are here to infiltrate space with ideas. ~ Ramtha ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
Re: [MOSAIC] (no subject)
what do you mean? Quoting melissa skellie [EMAIL PROTECTED]: How do I access the files that used to be at Mosaic? ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
[MOSAIC] FW: Gina's reflections-grading
With Rick's permission, a conversation he initiated with me offline. I invited him to join our list and he is interested. Lori Hi Lori -- It's fine with me for you to post any portion of our conversation. I don't mind getting enrolled in the Mosaic listserv, but I will probably only check in once a week. I belong to several other listervs that take a lot of my time. If you get the chance, please find out how I might join. Thanks. Wow, I'd be very interested in how they guide teachers to grade the student as a life-long learner. Do they suggest any evaluative criteria you can share? Preferably, there would be a separate column for such aspects of learning as cooperation, habits of a life-long learner, etc. because if those aspects are woven into the grades for knowledge and content of fractions, anatomy, geography, writing, etc., then the grades for those academic areas are diluted in accuracy, and thereby close to meaningless. Sure there's a correlation between high achievement and life-long learning habits, cooperation, etc., but they should be reported separately in order for grades to be an accurate portrayal of mastery. One of the bottom-line indicators of a successful differentiated classroom is that the curriculum is developmentally appropriate. If the standards for the special education inclusion children are inappropriate as indicated by the special education specialist advising the regular classroom teacher, then the teacher should be allowed to indicate somehow - usually in the cumulative folder -- that the student was taught an adjusted or a modified curriculum. If the standards are appropriate, however, the teacher has a responsibility to find the right path for the student to learn it and to prove his mastery of it -- both of which may be different than that of his classmates, but just as legitmate. I'll have to disagree with you on one point. I think we do a disservice to spec. ed. inclusion students when we soften the grade's accuracy by padding the academic grade with positive influencing factors like working hard and other solid work habits. A better situation would be what I alluded to above: an academic performance column and a work habit column on the report card. If the student has low academics but great work habits, that would be a red flag to teachers that something was wrong and needed changing. This would also be the case if the child had high academic performance and really low work habit grades -- the child should be moved to something more developmentally appropriate. The greater gift to the student and his family is an accurate portrayal of mastery, not a distorted portrayal based on a subjective evaluation of the student's efforts. We all do this, of course, but we need to stop grading in light of a student's background or context if we are truly standards-based. The standard is the standard and if it's appropriate, students either don't yet achieve it, achieve it, or exceed it. Many of us consider some students' learning situations -- LD, ESL, gifted, impoverished, ADD, etc. when grading, but we don't do this with other students. When we do it, however, grades become even more relative and subjective. -- Rick Wormeli Rick Wormeli Teacher/Author/Presenter [EMAIL PROTECTED] My phone number here in Herndon, VA, USA: (703) 620-2447 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 9:09 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Gina's reflections-grading Rick, Thank you for responding! Actually, we are required to teach to both standards and outcomes. One of our outcomes is related to lifelong learning. Oh, I know, what an outcome. Believe me, I won't be attending any funerals to try put a grade on that one! However, most of our teachers do include work habits as an element of grading, as it has to be present in lesson and unit plans. Granted, it still doesn't measure 'lifelong reading' but it does at least satisify our requirements to address habits of lifelong learning. Another outcome which we must teach to is that cooperative learner, so that one element of project rubrics that I included was simply the ability to work in partnership. However, at the primary level (K-5) our teachers are tied to the four point NCLB rubric (basic, below basic,etc.) and many teachers, myself included, find this probelmatic with special needs children. If many were capable of obtaining proficiency and advanced status with relationship to grade level status, they would not need special education in the first place. Having some rubric evidence of work habits and effort truly helps soften the blow of thos negative report cards. Your response is very helpful. I hope mine in someway makes an effort to explain why effort is included in rubrics throughout our district. With your permission, I would love to share our conversation with the list. If you are interested in signing on, let me
