Prose Constructed Response...Introducing Interactive Reader's Response Flaps and Show What You Know!

     Last school year I had the opportunity to attend a teacher in-service on Common Core writing for 4th-5th grade. The focus of the in-service was on Literary Analysis and Research. The presenter really made me think differently about the teaching of writing. The one thing she kept on stressing was that writing assignments should not be 2-3 weeks long focusing one only one kind of reader's response or essay based on one question. They should be shorter assignments that last 1-3 days maximum. The change was that it's all about exposing kids to different words and prompts, and teaching them how to respond to a question based on what they have read in text. They don't need to write large essays with multiple paragraphs for analytical response and research. They might write only a paragraph filled with explanation, and as long as the writing has structure within the paragraph they are showing they can formulate their ideas into written words that show understanding of what they have read. One of my biggest challenges has always been writing because of time, so this was a huge relief to hear. So I decided to take the information that I learned, what I know, and expand how I use my Reader's Response Notebook. I know that for students to learn how to write they need modeled instruction, anchors to view and time to practice, proofread, and revise. I have found that 45 minutes to 1 hour for writing/grammar instruction every day is best. If you can connect the writing with what you reading it connects the subjects, and with the new expectations of writing and CCSS you will need that when students begin taking the PARCC writing assessments.
     Analytical  response can be difficult not only to teach, but because there are so many different questions that students could be asked, and for 4th and 5th grade students all it takes is one word like describe, explain, or classify and they don't know what to do. So this past school year I began focusing on how to make this work for my students and this is what I did.
     First I expanded the use of my reading notebook to include R.W.I. - Read, Write, and Illustrate...Interactive Reader's Response Flaps with Sentence Stems. 

R.W.I. - Readers Response Flaps with Sentence Stems

These are reading prompts that include sentence stems that help guide students with their writing. I also included a space for illustration or mapping. I've found that some students need to draw or map out their thoughts first before they write, and the illustration box provides that space. It also adds a personal touch because students can add visuals and illustrations to guide their thinking.

     When teaching an Analytical Response lesson I modeled the expectations for these Reader's Response Flaps so students had an anchor on one side of their notebook. This helps them when they write a response independently on the other side. One thing that I liked about this was it saved me wall space in my room. I didn't have to create anchor posters for every response we wrote since the anchor was already in their notebook. Yes!

      Another thing that I did was modify the flaps. I had a few students last year that had spatial/coordination issues and folding paper was difficult. I had those students cut off the flap and glue just the prompt in their response notebook. I used this modification and it was much better for them; differentiation in action! You could also cut off just the flap and glue in the question, sentence stems, and illustration section, don't include the Reader's Response title.

     I'm really excited to have something like this for my 4th and 5th grade students because it will definitely make things easier for them and myself. 

R.W.I. - Readers Response Flaps with Sentence Stems

Maybe this is something that would benefit you and your students. Just click on the hyperlink above!

Show What You Know

     Another teaching source that I created last year and tested with my students was Show What You Know. This teaching source focuses also on analytical response as well, but it contains a scoring rubric on every page. I don't know about you, but I don't have time to create comprehension tests for every text that we read so this was a great resource for formative assessment and it's easy to grade. It also shows you which students need help with analytical response.

Show What You Know - Prose Constructed Response

     Maybe this is something that would benefit you and your students. Just click on the hyperlink above!

Synonym Lesson

Super Cute Sushi Synonym Rolls!

I know this might sound unusual, but I couldn't resist the alliteration of sushi and synonyms and who doesn't love sushi. I created this lesson to review how to use a real thesaurus, an online thesaurus, and what synonyms are and how they help us as readers and writers. My students work in a 1 to 1 environment with iPads which makes this easy for using online resources such as www.wordcentral.com and www.thesaurus.com. This made for a great wall display for the 5th grade team. We also watched a video on how to make sushi and what it's all about thanks to Wonderopolis. The students really enjoyed this lesson and it was fun watching them create their sushi. The nice thing about this lesson is that you can use the words that are already printed on each place mat or you can choose your own and have students write them in if you want other words. That makes it easy to differentiate.

You can find this at the link below. Have fun!

Sushi Synonym Rolls Activity

Reading Strategy and Skill Posters

Keep the Focus on Learning while maintaining organization...

So this is my newest creation for the school year, but it's not just a pack of posters. I made this to give my students the visual aid they need to remember what reading strategy or skill we are working on for the week or maybe longer. To be honest, sometimes I need that visual aid to keep myself focused with everything that is going on in the classroom. So...my idea is to use these posters as a focus wall that shows my students, as well as anyone else that walks into my room, what we are learning in reading and L.A. I also plan to use the strategy posters at my guided reading station. I have a dry erase board at the front and back of my classroom and bought magnets from the Dollar Store that I plan to use to create my Focus Wall. That way I can use my Expo Markers to easily write any needed info. right under the header for the other subject areas such as grammar, vocabulary, title, genre, or spelling. Once it's written my students will have that constant reminder and I'll have it as well. This is an example of what it might look like. 

This focus wall shows the two pieces of text we will read that week, the genres of the text, the reading strategy of making predictions, vocabulary words and grammar. Below shows what some of the other posters look like and I also made them in three different colors.

I also made a set of posters that explain what readers do before, during, and after they read which I plan to use at the beginning of the year, and during shared and guided reading. Again, just another tool to help students remember and and a great reminder for myself as a teacher.

You can find this at the link below! I hope it helps you. Good luck this school year!

Good Readers Strategy and Skill Reading Posters

I also included another link for this product that was made with a different font.

Reading-Strategy-and-Skill-Posters-for-Guided-and-Shared-Reading-2650435

New School Year

So the end of the school year is upon us, and while I pack and clean my room I begin to think about what I can do in preparation for next year. I always try to get a head start for the next school year, so I started making some new posters. I figure if I make them now, I won't be waiting in line to use the laminator at the beginning of the school year.

I have always been into sticky notes and find them quite useful during guided reading or any small group instruction. The poster shown below shows how I use "Think Marks". I have my students read independently and they write think marks on their sticky note. Sometimes I assign the think mark and sometimes they get free choice.

After students read and write their think marks on their sticky note, we share our ideas about the text. Sometimes we use the app Socrative to share our think marks and students vote on them as well. This also gives me a type of recorded formative assessment. I plan to make one more think marks poster and add a few other reading strategies and skills.

I hope you can use this!

Genre Unit for Fiction and Non Fiction

I created this unit to expose my students to various fiction and non-fiction books and text features. My students were exposed to over 30 different genres of books from realistic fiction, graphic novels, and fantasy to encyclopedias, periodicals, and biographies. This unit got them reading different genres and they had an opportunity to explore books they rarely looked at. It took work and effort, but overall I'm ecstatic about the results. They went on a genre sort, genre search which was like a scoot/scavenger hunt activity, completed activities in their interactive notebook, completed a compare/contrast activity, and took an assessment.

The students really enjoyed it!

This is the fiction flip book and part of the fiction sort activity.

This was a part of the fiction search/scavenger hunt. Students traveled from station to station looking at books and determined what genre each station contained based on illustrations, text features, and descriptions.

If you are interested I included the link for this unit below.



Genre Activities Sort and Search

Interactive Notebook and Hatchet 5RL1, 5RL2, and 5RL4

So I finally have about 2 minutes to post and share some other ways I used my Interactive Notebook with the novel Hatchet. I used it to teach 5RL1, 5RL2, and 5RL4. These are all 5th grade standards. My students enjoyed the novel. I was able to cover every 5th grade standard for Reading Literature which is a huge relief and now I feel confident in continuing that instruction with partners and independent work for Literature. Yes!

Check it out! I modeled theme, making predictions and inferring, and making meaning of similes and metaphors in text.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Readers-Response-Journal-or-Notebook-for-4th-and-5th-Grade-CCSS-473182

Interactive Reader's Response Notebook and Hatchet

So this week I will begin incorporating my Interactive Notebook into the classroom and wanted to share a few of my first lessons. My students are going to begin reading the novel Hatchet, I hope, still waiting for the books to arrive. My fingers are crossed. So I began making a few lessons from the material found in my interactive notebook and this is what they look like. My interactive notebook is a resource you can use to guide your instruction of the 4th and 5th grade common core. Last year I taught 4th and I'm teaching 5th grade this year. You choose text and create your lessons based upon what strategies or common core standard you want to teach. I begin with vocab, and model what good readers do, read...read...read... and then model some more, partner work, and eventually then do it on their own. I also grouped 4th and 5th grade together because the material is similar. 4th grade teachers could use 5th grade material to extend and go beyond.

Day 1...Begin by taking notes of RL5.4 and what good readers do when they come to a word that they don't know. Read the first 6 pages and model the strategy aloud of stopping and figuring out the meaning of words using context clues or a source.

Day 2...Review what was read the day before and model how to use the strategy of context clues by reading the words around text. Complete the organizers together and glue or tape into your book. Finish reading chapter 1.

 

Day 3...Review the context clues strategy and have the students work with a partner to complete one on their own and glue into their book.

 

 

 

Day 3...Continue taking more notes on RL5.4 for figurative language. Students color the shapes, cut them out, and attach them to their book. I had them tape it on the side so they could fold them over and write the definition underneath. Also write an example of the type of figurative language and discuss its meaning.

 

 

 

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Readers-Response-Journal-or-Notebook-for-4th-and-5th-Grade-CCSS-473182