Close Reading

Last week I presented a professional development session on Close Reading to my own staff. Though I've presented dozens of times before, I was nervous this time. I like to have some knowledge of my audience and their needs, and I felt pretty uninformed. Because I started at my school at the very last minute, I hadn't even met all the teachers! And I was presenting to all teachers, K-5.

I was provided with a partner, who would present with me. That made me even more nervous, because I hadn't met her until two days before the presentation, either! It can be challenging to present as a team, especially the first time.

As it turned out, I needn't have worried at all. It was a great day, great presentation, great audience! I was amazed that my partner and I worked together fabulously, as if we'd done it many times before.

So have you had a chance to learn about Close Reading? Not even sure exactly what it is?

Watch this: VIDEO of Douglas Fisher

Read this: ARTICLE by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

Read this: ARTICLE from ASCD

And if you're hungry for more, order this book:



 

It's a great resource!

Close reading is just what it sounds like: Reading something closely. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, but a name that matches the strategy is a great start!

When teaching a Close Reading lesson, there are a few components to keep in mind.

1. The lesson should use short passages. Of course the definition of "short" varies, depending on the age of the students. For my kindergartners and first graders, a few sentences can be appropriate, but for older students, it might be a few paragraphs. The text can be something that stands alone, or it can be an excerpt from a longer piece.

2. The text should be complex. The whole point is to help students learn skills and strategies for deep understanding, so the text should be challenging.

3. The teacher should provide limited frontloading. In recent years, there have been times when teachers have been encouraged to spend a lot of time helping students get ready to read. But in a Close Reading, students are expected to do more of the work. There may be texts that require a bit of frontloading, but there shouldn't be too much. Students are learning how to understand text on their own.

4. There should be opportunities for repeated readings. Students should read and re-read and re-read. Each time they read, students will have gained a little more background knowledge from the previous reading, and they will understand more.

5. The teacher should be asking students text-dependent questions. This is all about providing evidence from the text to support their answers, which is what the Common Core Standards are all about.

6. The students should be annotating what they read: highlighters, Post-It notes, circled words, and notes in the margin are all appropriate! This is one piece of the Close Reading lesson that requires some guidelines ahead of time! If students don't know what to highlight, they might highlight everything! I began my close reading lessons with a mini-lesson on how to highlight, especially the idea of one line, not "coloring." If older students will be numbering paragraphs to aid in discussion of a text, they'll need to know how to number paragraphs (in our presentation, a few teachers didn't number the paragraphs correctly, which led to confusion!)

One part of all of this that some teachers expressed a little anxiety about: asking text-dependent questions. I created this handy bookmark/guide that teachers can use to help them generate text-dependent questions. It's perfect for the Common Core!



You can download a copy HERE.

Have a great Monday!

I Hate to Even Mention This...

I saw this on Facebook a few days ago.



I looked twice to see if was actually a photo of me! I've been exhausted for weeks. First, I had the crazy start-of-the-year school change, and all the recovery and unpacking and time-consuming work that went along with it. I'm absolutely still glad I did it, but I've not yet recovered in the sleep department.

Next, I've gotten seven new students since the first day of school. Seven. SEVEN. Did you hear me?!  They are lovely children, but they all have above-average needs. And they have nearly all been kindergartners. It has been very challenging. And disruptive. And time-consuming.

And a few other additions to my sleep deficit: professional development I was asked to provide for my staff last week (I was happy to do it, just not thrilled with the timing!), some parenting challenges, a two-week virus that wiped me out, too many meetings after school... you get the idea.

But now... I get a week off. How beautiful is that?

My district has a Fall Break.

Have you ever even heard of such a thing?! I never had. But I'm totally on board with the idea now!

I've worked every day since the start of school. Most weekend mornings, I've grabbed my laptop first thing, and spent at least a few hours planning, prepping, creating... Until this weekend, that is. I didn't do a shred of work yesterday! Omiword, it felt so good. I slept as late as I could, had a leisurely cup of coffee, went to my son's swim meet, lunch, errands... I bought new running shoes (I had been putting that one off due to lack of time!) and looked for a geocache with my daughter and watched some TV and truly enjoyed spending time with my family. OH. SO. GOOD.

Today I'm going to shop a little. I want to go to Athleta and Loft, among other places, and I'll probably stop by Nordstrom for a fresh pair of Toms. I'm going to run, and bake some pumpkin cookies, and clean out my closet, and wash the mountain that our laundry hamper has become. I'm going to lounge on the couch and watch some more TV. (I heard there was a Modern Family season premiere this week, but I missed it, so Hulu Plus, here I come!)

I might even get out my laptop and do a little work. I have some projects to work on (requests from TpT followers) and I want to organize my data binder and transfer all the little Post-It note information onto my calendar.  But I don't have to, and that makes it seem all the more appealing!

And I'm sorry if you're working this week. Here are a couple ideas for you!

Last week we did lots of Apple-Themed activities:

We read books about Johnny Appleseed, talked about the different between fact and opinion, and then students wrote.



Get that activity page HERE for free!

My kindergartners had a great time during math last week. They put number cards in order (1-12) and then build unifix cube towers to show each number. They worked in groups of two or three, and they loved doing this! I'll repeat this activity during math workshop time with different number cards and different manipulatives.



And I really like using this book with beginning readers. There is a poem for each sight word. I never go in the order in the book. I choose based on theme.



 

I started enlarging the pictures on each page, and letting student color them for our big, shared reading chart a couple of weeks ago. Six or eight students get that honor each week-- and they love it!  After we've practiced reading for a few days, I provide the students with their own copies. They trace the sight words, color, and add to their "Rhymes to Read" notebooks. But the chart stays up in the room.



Happy Sunday, Friends!

My Classroom Library

A year or two ago, my son was going through a difficult period and needed some activities to distract him from his own challenges. So I gave him a few jobs around the house and in my classroom. He fixed a couple of things, moved heavy furniture, ran some errands, cooked some meals ... and then I had him count the books in my classroom library. Haha! What a job!

My classroom library is organized into five sections. First, I have a lot of books that are sorted by level for guided reading instruction. I keep them in bins near my reading table, and I give them to students (and then students store them in bags inside their book boxes) when appropriate. Second, I have a collection of books that I use to teach lessons. I generally don't let students have access to those books. I know, selfish! But this set of books is very carefully organized and that's just how it is.

So two of my five sections? Really just for me. The students are exposed to all those books in some way, but they don't get full access. It's okay, though... there are plenty of books that the children have access to all the time! According to my son's calculations... there are nearly 4,000 of those books!

The third section of my library is organized by author. I have 19 book boxes, each one filled with books by the same author: Tomie DePaola, Kevin Henkes, Mo Willems, Audrey Penn, Patricia Polacco, Keiko Kasza, Steven Kellogg, Mercer Mayer, David Shannon, Dav Pilkey, Eric Carle... This picture only shows eighteen boxes, but I promise there are nineteen!



The next part of my library is organized by character or series... Pete the Cat, Berenstain Bears, Clifford, Magic School Bus, Dr. Seuss, Angelina Ballerina, Arthur, Curious George, Jigsaw Jones, Nate the Great, Magic Tree House, Franklin...



I store the coordinating stuffed animals in the boxes, and students are allowed to read to them at certain times.

The fifth and final section of my classroom library is organized by subject/genre/type. I have books about food, weather, friendship, families, frogs, mammals, reptiles, holidays, birthdays, math, inventions, bears, school... there is a Joke Book box and a Fairy Tale box and a Word Book box. One box is filled with Rhyming Books, and another holds all the ZooBooks.



Each of the three sections for students is organized in alphabetical order, either by last name (authors), character name or topic.

There are a total of 96 book boxes. How ridiculous!

I started collecting the boxes about five years ago. They were $2.95 at Lakeshore, and I never bought even one without a coupon of some kind. Most of the time I had a buy one, get one 50% off coupon, so the boxes were around $2.25 each. Not as cheap as the dollar store, but they are unbelievably sturdy. After a year or so (I had purchased about 20 boxes), the price went up to $3.95, but by then I felt pretty committed. Luckily I had a very large PTA fund that year, and I bought most of the boxes then.  Now the boxes are $4.99 each, which I think is pretty outrageously expensive. I have no plans to add new boxes. And if I really feel the need, I will likely regroup and use a box I already have (I could put all the Magic School Bus books into the Science box, or move all the Halloween books into the Autumn box.) I never would have chosen these boxes if the price had been $4.99!  That said, however, these boxes will last forever! They are in perfect condition after five years.

Actually, I have one more collection of books. They are organized by level, and they are for students to borrow and take home. I'll talk more about how I manage the take home books at another time.

Four. Thousand. Books.

Where did they come from? Many were acquired for free... public library giveaways, school library giveaways, the "free" section at garage sales, Scholastic bonus points, books my own children's friends grew out of. Most were very, very cheap... from RAFT or thrift stores or from clearance shelves. One nearby thrift store sells most of their books for 19 cents... and they frequently have 50% off sales. I've walked out of that store with 70 books for $7 plus tax on a number of occasions.  A few books I purchased from Scholastic (and then earned more free books), some are from Amazon, lots I cleaned off of my own kids' shelves.

One of my daughters organized all those boxes. Which was another job in itself! She sorted and alphabetized for a couple of hours and all it cost me was $30 in Think Geek t-shirts! What a deal!

 

 

Where Did the Week Go? Rain, Math, Library Mouse, and Essential Questions for Kindergarten!

Last week flew by... I was so ridiculously busy that I barely had time to do anything! It was a "Jamba Juice for dinner one night, and Freebirds for dinner the next night" kind of week! I've got some delicious vegetarian curry simmering on the stove right now. I'm already planning meals so I won't be wandering the aisles of Whole Foods with the "Five O'Clock Crowd," wondering what's for dinner next week!

Yikes!

I had so many meetings last week! A few conferences with parents just to check in, a couple of district meetings regarding evaluations and Common Core Language Arts (one of my FAVORITE topics!) and a grade level planning session with my amazing kindergarten team! I got home so late every night it was nuts. And I was just getting over whatever cold/virus my sweet little students shared with me so it was exhausting.

But that's okay. I'm recovered and ready to go!

Today, I spent some time with my husband and two of my kids, took a drive across the new Bay Bridge...



...had some quality time with Rose Kitty...



... and ran three miles. Funny... I had decided not to run outside today. I love the beautiful streets and trails in my town, but I love the data that the treadmills at the gym provide, too! So I opted for the gym. Good thing...



It started pouring! It just so happened that I was on the treadmill by the window, so I snapped a picture of the pouring rain while I ran. Silly, yes! It's been so long since it rained, I had forgotten what it looked like!

So last week... a few highlights...

Math journals... we have been working on shapes, and I created this little activity for my students to glue into their math journals. Specifically, we've focused on standard K.G.A.2 for the kinders and 1.G.A.1 for the first graders. For this journal page, I created a little "lift-the-flap" activity. Students listed defining attributes on the front, and then drew objects from the world that were the same shape underneath each flap. They loved those little flaps! Magical!



This is a picture of the supplies that I keep handy when I'm working with small groups during guided reading. I also squeeze a little guided writing into that time, and sometimes we create a small book together. A friend had asked for a picture of my basket o'goodies, so I thought I'd share here, too!



In that basket: scissors, glue, pencils, markers, highlighters, crayons, twistables, and paper. Also in there is a white board that I can use and some little handwriting "write and wipe" notebooks that I picked up at Target last year for a dollar each. Money well spent!

And a great moment from last week... my youngest daughter re-created the tissue box/meet the author box from Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk.



 

Just like in the story, I put a sign on the door of the classroom that said, "Meet the Author Today," and I left out some tiny books, tiny pencils (golf pencils and a few short ones I had saved for this!) and the box.



I tucked a little mirror inside the box, just like Sam did.

And when my students came in the door that morning? What happened, you want to know? Well, they went absolutely nuts! They peeked into the box over and over again all week long, and they never stopped looking for Sam. I just love that they feel so connected to a book!

And the last little thing today...

I created a set of Essential Questions for the Kindergarten Common Core Standards! They are pretty adorable, if I do say so myself! I spend a long time getting every little graphic just perfect!



The set has a question for every single standard, and the strands are color-coded. And to save space in our classrooms, the questions are just the right size for posting in pocket charts! A giant blank wall won't be necessary!

Click on the cover page above, or click here to get your copy!

Have a great week, friends! If all else fails... remember that a smoothie from Jamba makes a great, quick dinner!

 

A Very Useful Organizational Idea

I didn't have one of those amazing student teaching experiences that some people rave about.

It's been years since I was a student teacher, but I still remember all the challenges pretty clearly. I am organized. I'm a "place for everything and everything in its place" kind of person. I worked at a Montessori school in college. But when I was placed for student teaching, I ended up in my polar opposite's classroom. This teacher was very kind, welcomed me, offered to let me hold the class rats and guinea pigs, and told me I could just put my stuff "anywhere." The disorganization in the room was unreal.

Throughout the few months I was there, I always felt pretty awkward. Our personalities and styles could not have been more different. My master teacher was a very nice person, and I do remember her fondly. She was always very encouraging and nice to me, but it just was not a great learning experience and we were not a good match. Thankfully, she encouraged me to spend some time observing other classes in the school, and I found lots of inspiration in other classrooms.

The one, fabulous tip that I did get during my time as a student teacher? Make a class list that's alphabetical by FIRST name. The teacher I worked with made her class list  on little strips of paper. And then she left them all over her room for handy reference. (or more likely, because she hadn't thought of a place to store them! Giggle!)

I've made these kinds of lists every single year since then. One year I made eight lists to a page, in portrait.



The next year I had more students, so I made them in "landscape" setting, with four lists to a page.



I chop those lists into individual strips, and store them in a few strategic places around my room. I keep a stack of them on my teaching easel. I put a pile of them in the baskets my parent helpers use. And I keep several in the wall pocket that is hanging right by the classroom door. I can grab them at any time!

I use the lists for lots of different things. Sometimes I will attach to a pile of papers that students have turned in. I can quickly check off the students who have completed an assignment. I use them for checking off students whose parents have returned forms, and I keep the list attached to the forms. When I have yard duty, I might take a list so I can jot down a few notes while I'm outside (like check off who can skip) and I've also used them for checking off who has had a turn on the computer. Endless possibilities!

I use one of my little class lists once a day at least. They are so convenient and useful! One fabulous idea from student teaching!

Happy weekend, friends!

 

Nearly Everything Links to Literacy!

I love books. I love teaching reading, and reading to my students, and talking about books. I love the Scholastic book orders, and all the choices there. I love the stuffed animals I have that are characters from books.

And so, without even knowing it sometimes, I connect things to literature.

A few years ago, I saw the idea of making a caterpillar to count the days of school. A friend of mine added a new segment to a caterpillar each day, and had a gigantic pastel-colored caterpillar that wrapped around one side of her classroom. I made a mental note to do something similar the following year. But, me being me, the idea had morphed a bit by the time the start of the next school year came along.

I decided to make my caterpillar be The Hungry Caterpillar.



And I decided to change the color of the caterpillar segments for each set of ten.

And I ended up with something like this.



Last year, the caterpillar wound up and down across two walls. The year before, it scurried straight and was on three walls. We'll just have to wait to see what happens this year...

My students this year have gotten onto the idea that that hungry caterpillar is gobbling up days of school!

Another way that I've incorporated literacy into areas of my classroom... my table groups.

This year, I have five table groups: Pigeon Table,  Lilly Table,  Pete the Cat Table, Rocket the Reading Dog Table, and Hungry Caterpillar Table.



I will sometimes say, "Pigeons, you can go line up for lunch," or "Reading Dogs, it's your turn to go get your book boxes." I excuse them for recess or to get supplies by tables, frequently. And sometimes I get a bit casual.

Last week, I cracked my class up. I'm not even sure where it came from, but I said, "If you're a Very Thirsty Caterpillar you can go get a drink now." They loved it! Silliness!

I've also decorated the bathroom that's inside my classroom with book jackets. But I won't post a picture of that!

Literacy and literary references... gotta love it!

 

Three Ways to Read a Book ... with a Pete the Cat Bookmark!

Last week, I described how I get started with reading workshop HERE. Part of the plan with kindergarten and first grade students is giving them some options when they are not able to decode the words. So I teach students to 1- Read the pictures, 2- Read the words (any words they can find that they know including "a" and "I") and 3- Retell the story.

After several lessons to model, teach, outline and explain each way, my students are getting to be pros. I have some first graders who can decode pretty darn well. But I also have some kindergartners who are doing well with reading the pictures. And that's just fine.

Today, I taught my students how to use a bookmark. Wild, right?! ...Because using a bookmark isn't intuitive. Students don't know what to do with it unless they are explicitly taught.

And I gave my students these bookmarks to keep in their book boxes with the books they selected. I had them write names on the back to avoid confusion later.



 

Click HERE to get these bookmarks for your students!