6/6/16
With my group of students, I use Times for Kids during some lessons. I started off just copying the text I wanted my students to focus on because of all the other content that is there is distracting when I have a focus in mind. As the year went by, I gave my students the full "magazine" and some time just for them to locate information that they were interested in. Their eyes would widen, their minds traveled - their engagement level was peaked. As stated in Close Reading of Informational Texts, they suggested allowing students time to browse through texts and enjoy them. I gave myself a pat on the back for that. As stated previously, students enjoy games - and this chapter suggested giving students a text feature hunt! Strategies That Work provided a laundry list of activities that could be used to respond to reading. As I was browsing them, I was thinking about trainings I've been in where they have made us do these activities and I felt myself cringe (sorry for the honesty!!!). If I, myself, am feeling this way - I can only imagine how the students feel. Recently, in trainings, the trainers have been incorporating technology for reader responses. We have been focusing on Kahoot a lot in the classroom and the kids don't even realize they're doing work!
Kahoot is a learning game that the teacher sets up (or uses one that's already created) made from multiple choice questions. Videos, pictures, and diagrams can be added as well. The students answer from their own devices, while the questions are being displayed on a shared screen (such as the projector). Going even further, students can even create their own Kahoot quiz with questions/answers based off a reading.
https://getkahoot.com/how-it-works
With my group of students, I use Times for Kids during some lessons. I started off just copying the text I wanted my students to focus on because of all the other content that is there is distracting when I have a focus in mind. As the year went by, I gave my students the full "magazine" and some time just for them to locate information that they were interested in. Their eyes would widen, their minds traveled - their engagement level was peaked. As stated in Close Reading of Informational Texts, they suggested allowing students time to browse through texts and enjoy them. I gave myself a pat on the back for that. As stated previously, students enjoy games - and this chapter suggested giving students a text feature hunt! Strategies That Work provided a laundry list of activities that could be used to respond to reading. As I was browsing them, I was thinking about trainings I've been in where they have made us do these activities and I felt myself cringe (sorry for the honesty!!!). If I, myself, am feeling this way - I can only imagine how the students feel. Recently, in trainings, the trainers have been incorporating technology for reader responses. We have been focusing on Kahoot a lot in the classroom and the kids don't even realize they're doing work!
Kahoot is a learning game that the teacher sets up (or uses one that's already created) made from multiple choice questions. Videos, pictures, and diagrams can be added as well. The students answer from their own devices, while the questions are being displayed on a shared screen (such as the projector). Going even further, students can even create their own Kahoot quiz with questions/answers based off a reading.
https://getkahoot.com/how-it-works
6/11/16
I believe a struggle my students have is finding a book that is "just right" for them. Chapter 5 from Strategies that Work zoomed in on this aspect. One student I have in mind always chose books that were above his reading level. He loved the pictures and after flipping through the pages, he would then be done with the book. The authors stated that if students only choose easy or challenging books, they won't get better at reading. I didn't think about the questions that could be prosed with these challenging books that the student would choose just based off the pictures. Even if he couldn't read the words, some questioning can occur where he would have to dig deep, make inferences or draw conclusions based off what he saw. Chapter 6 discussed teaching kids to read textbooks and how we need to help students understand the general format of a text. Previewing text not only shows the students how the text is organized, but also shows them what's ahead. I like to start my lessons by activating prior knowledge. We usually start with a game on the board where I list a subject we're learning and each student gives me a related word and we build an umbrella together. By thinking aloud and front loading some information before the text, I feel it gives my students confidence for class discussions after the text is read. After all, we're not trying to trick our students.. but to provide them the tools in order to be successful readers. Harvey Daniels and Steve Zemelman's Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading came up with some suggestions that we need to remember as we teach with textbooks and the first one stood out to me. Working with exceptional students, I feel a lot of regular education teachers forget this and it's something that needs to be shared.
1. Have empathy. You know the information in the textbook but kids don't.
I believe a struggle my students have is finding a book that is "just right" for them. Chapter 5 from Strategies that Work zoomed in on this aspect. One student I have in mind always chose books that were above his reading level. He loved the pictures and after flipping through the pages, he would then be done with the book. The authors stated that if students only choose easy or challenging books, they won't get better at reading. I didn't think about the questions that could be prosed with these challenging books that the student would choose just based off the pictures. Even if he couldn't read the words, some questioning can occur where he would have to dig deep, make inferences or draw conclusions based off what he saw. Chapter 6 discussed teaching kids to read textbooks and how we need to help students understand the general format of a text. Previewing text not only shows the students how the text is organized, but also shows them what's ahead. I like to start my lessons by activating prior knowledge. We usually start with a game on the board where I list a subject we're learning and each student gives me a related word and we build an umbrella together. By thinking aloud and front loading some information before the text, I feel it gives my students confidence for class discussions after the text is read. After all, we're not trying to trick our students.. but to provide them the tools in order to be successful readers. Harvey Daniels and Steve Zemelman's Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading came up with some suggestions that we need to remember as we teach with textbooks and the first one stood out to me. Working with exceptional students, I feel a lot of regular education teachers forget this and it's something that needs to be shared.
1. Have empathy. You know the information in the textbook but kids don't.
Cummins, S. (2013). Close reading of informational texts: Assessment-driven instruction in grades 3-8. The Guilford Press.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, S. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.