The Reading Workshop

Step for Reading Nonfiction

2012-01-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

Want an easy guide to reading difficult text. Here are steps to follow.

1. Skim the entire article FIRST
2. Look at the title, headings, subheadings, and bold print
3. Does the introduction give facts or just get the reader engaged?
4. Visualize and make connections
5. Stop and think. Ask yourself, “does this make sense?”
6. Reread sentences, paragraphs, or the whole article to help you understand
7. Focus, know when you don’t know
8. Wonder, ask questions, predict and confirm
9. Look for capitalization of names and other proper nouns
10. Find the W’s (who, what, when, where, why, and how)
11. Mark out and substitute hard words
12. Cross out words that don't matter
13. Highlight only the important parts (BIKINIS ONLY)

Vocabulary Games

2012-01-25T12:46:00.001-05:00

Want to play a little Pinball? Check out these Pinball Vocabulary games from Ms. Amanda's 6th Grade Language Arts Class.

Red A1	Red A1 cont.	Red A1 cont.	Red A1 cont.
Red A13	Red B7	Red A4	Red A4
Red A13	Red A15 Red A5	Red B9	Red A15 Antonyms Red B10 Antonyms
Red B7	Red A15	Red B9	Red A15 Antonyms Red B4 Antonyms
Red B7	Red A15	Red A3	Red A15 Synonyms
Red B7	Red A2	Red B9	Red A15 Synonyms Red A4 Antonyms
Red B7 Red A6	Red B1	Red A2	Red B9 Synonyms Red A4 Synonyms
Red A5	Red A13	Red A3 Synonyms Red B4 Synonyms	Red B9 Antonyms Red B4 Synonyms
Red A13 Red B1	Red B8 Red B10	Red A3 Synonyms Red B10 Synonyms	Red B9 Antonyms Red B10 Synonyms
Red A13 Red B10	Red B8 Red A4	Red A3 Antonyms Red B1 Synonyms	Red B9 Synonyms Red B1 Synonyms

Want to See What is Going on Here?

2012-01-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like a picture to show something soooooooooo if you want to see a daily picture from The Reading Workshop, just check out Ink361.com. You can also check out the photos on Flickr. If you have an Iphone, you can get on Instagram @jmcguire14 (you can download the free app) and see our daily photostream. Unfortunately Instagram is like everything else Apple and you can't access it from a PC or Droid.

Enjoy the pictures of our stars and more. :)

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called School 2012. Make your own badge here.

Are You Brave Enough to Dream?

2012-01-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

What do you want to do? What do you want to be? Do you have the guts to dream? Do you have the courage to make it happen?

Reading Workshop students, your assignment is to do a picture scrapbook on your blog of what your life will be in the future.

When I was a Star

2012-01-05T10:31:00.005-05:00

I have been reading Guys Write for Guys Read, a collections of stories edited by Jon Scieszka. These stories are from successful writers sharing their story of growing up trying to be a guy. Some stories are funny, some not so. Some stories are adventurous, others just make you think. But almost all of the stories are interesting.

One of my favorites is by Dan Gutman called Let's Go to the Videotape. In this story, Gutman tells the tale of himself, the skinniest, most unathletic kid in his school playing kickball. Through shear anger and luck he manages to kick a homerun and be a hero for the day. This moment of glory has stuck with him throughout his lifetime.

He says:

But sometimes, when I'm lying in bed at night before I fall asleep, I roll this mental videotape I have of the time I kicked a basket in gym class. In my mind, I watch myself kick that basket over and over again.

I'll bet every kid has at least one of those moments in his life when he did something really, really great, something really unexpected.

Close your eyes and think of that moment from time to time. Remember it just the way it happened. Never let that video fade away. Someday, forty years from now, when you're lying in bed at night, you might want to replay it.

What about it Reading Workshop students? Your assignment for today is to tell me of a time when you had a great moment. Tell me of a time when things went just right.

The Bloggers are Back

2012-01-04T13:01:00.002-05:00

Christmas break is over and students are getting back in the groove. Students spent some time today working on their blogs publishing drafts and working on new posts. Although we were all a little fuzzy-brained yesterday, the brain cells have awoken and quality work is coming out.

Molly posted over the break recommending a few of her peers' blogs. You can find links to blogs she thinks are great on her blog, Molly's Mystery Journal, or links to all of the students' blogs on the sidebar on the right.

Reading During Christmas Break

2011-12-19T13:30:00.000-05:00

Are you going to have a little spare time over the holidays? Want to do something enjoyable and earn some extra credit? All you have to do is READ!

If you complete two or more books over break, and comment on them, you will earn extra credit!

The best part is the more you read, the more extra credit you earn. And it will count as minutes on the next Read at Home assignment, too. A couple of years ago, one student read over 1,400 minutes during Christmas break. How many books will you read?

The Feeling of Christmas at My House

2011-12-12T10:57:00.001-05:00

As the holiday season approaches, family is what matters. At my house, the Christmas breakfast is where all of the greatness of Christmas comes together.

TheChristmas Breakfast

As the seasonapproaches

sentimentsturning to family

and theChristmas breakfast

eating together.

Steaming mugsof coffee

amid piles oftorn wrapping paper.

Thankfulnessfor all we have

and the joyof the day.

We come to the table

with warmth in the house

and in our hearts

and celebrate our lives.

The assignment for students is to pick one part of their lives that best reflects their family and the holiday season, and write a gift of poetry.

Some Student Poetry

2011-12-08T12:39:00.001-05:00

Here are a few samples of students' poems. To see more, just click on the links on the sidebar.

From A Daily Bailey
I Think I'm Going to Puke

I’m not really feeling well
It’s something that I ate
I think I’m about to puke
It tasted like fish bait

Uh oh!
I’m gonna spew
I’m really, really sorry
If I get some on you

It’s all over the carpet
It kind of looks like plums
Hey! What’s that thing there?
It looks like lots of thumbs

I shouldn’t have eaten that food
It looked like an old baseball mitt
I’ll never eat it again
Not even a little bit

It’s all over the room
Even on the couch
I’m sorry it got everywhere
No need to be a grouch

I went and cleaned up
Now it’s all gone
Next time I’ll go puke
Outside on the lawn

From Gabrielle's Gabby Page

Divorce, Divorce

Where do I start

It’s a course.

Divorce, Divorce

Why do our parents do that?

It makes me sad.

Divorce, Divorce

My sister and I

Had to cry

My Sister by Keifer

Inspired by Sara Holbrook

My sister is
a splinter
deep down in my skin

My sister is
a baseball game
one I can not win

My sister is
a rat
with her little mice


Keifer's sister is the sweet looking one on the left. Hhhhhmmm!

My sister is
a cucumber
one I want to dice

My sister is
a bug
one I want to crush

My sister is
an apple
that has turned to mush

My sister is
a bumble bee
always stinging me

My sister is
just mean
come on can’t you see

Are You Bored with School?

2011-12-07T07:56:00.001-05:00

Reading Workshop students, what do you think of school? Are you excited each morning to come to school? And, if not, if you think school is boring, whose fault is it?

Do you live every day to get the most out of it? Do you walk around thinking positive and ready to have fun?

Do you have a smile on your face? Do people look forward to seeing you? Do you look forward to seeing people at school?

Who is in control of you anyway?

Image from http://missrosemary.net/2010/06/

So Many Ways to Say it in Poetry

2011-12-06T11:19:00.000-05:00

How else can you say it? As we looked at one student's opening line of his poem, so many ideas for sharing were discovered. We started with Poetry is not me

And came up with this list:

Poetry is unreasonable
Poetry is not what I write
Poetry is not my thing
Poetry has something I don't
Poetry is not bad
Poetry is not understandable to me
We can't connect

We play phone tag
The call is never answered
The meal doesn't fill me up
The hot sauce is mild
Poetry doesn't add up
We can't be together
Poetry and I aren't alike
Poetry doesn't have Internet
Poetry is like a game with no Xbox
Poetry is like eggs without bacon
We are two peas from different pods
Poetry is like pancakes without syrup

Poetry never answers my phone calls
I don't go with poetry
Poetry doesn't pick me up
Poetry and I don't mix

Poetry won't get in the blender with me
Poetry isn't the ice cream for my milkshake
We just don't mesh
Poetry is the book with no words
Poetry is the gun with no powder
Poetry is like the butt with no gas
Poetry is like bird doodoo on your windshield
Poetry is a clock with no hands
Poetry is a clock out of time
Poetry is an IPod with no music
Poetry is a battery with no charge
Poetry is a sentence with bad grammar

When I ring the door bell, poetry never answers
Poetry and me don't fit
Poetry is like a shirt that is just too tight
Poetry and I don't see eye to eye

Reading poetry is a fistfight
Poetry is like an annoying little brother
Poetry is like Lane on a bad day at school
Poetry is like black and white TV
Poetry bullies me
Poetry is a charging bull (and I am a red cape)
Poetry punches me in the mouth
Poetry is a hole in the shoe of a snowy day

Poetry is like reading with foggy glasses
Poetry is the seed that just rots in my garden
Poetry pizza has no pepperoni when I get my order
We were never meant for each other
Poetry and I are breaking up
Poetry loves me but I don't like poetry
Poetry is like a crap sandwich for lunch
Poetry and I don't get along
Poetry is a pie with no crust
Poetry is a puzzle with missing pieces
Poetry tortures me with its bits and bangles
Poetry is the math that just doesn't add up
Poetry was never my type

I'm smile and poetry cries
Poetry isn't the girl for me
Poetry is not my sweetheart
Poetry is sweet to my sour
Poetry is the wrong kind of tissue for my cold
Poetry is night to my daytime

Poetry was never my thing.
Poetry just ain't my bag, baby
Poetry is a baloney sandwich
Poetry is like last year's fashion
Poetry is to reading like the Bengals are to football
Poetry is like my wife's shopping problem
Reading poetry is like kissing your sister
I don't exactly like poetry
Poetry is like shopping for groceries with mom
Poetry is like slipping on oil
Reading poetry is like having your mom pick out your clothes
Reading poetry is like shopping without money
Poetry is like playing with your sister
Poetry is like life without video games
Poetry is colder that my ex-girlfriend

Poetry freezes my heart
Poetry freezes my sun
Poetry freezes my turkey on Thanksgiving
Poetry is the dark side of the moon
Poetry and Pluto are twins
Reading poetry chills my eyeballs
Reading poetry is like being burried alive

Poetry is the cold water shock of breaking through ice
Poetry is like looking in the mirror before makeup
Poetry is a poor sport
Poetry is like a car that won't start
Poetry is a rainy day
Poetry is like lunch in the loo
Poetry is reading quicksand
Poetry is a green vegetable
Poetry is like a broken heart
Poetry is like a sauerkraut sundae
Poetry is more of a pain than my little sister
Writing poetry is worse than cleaning your room.

It's amazing how students that don't like poetry can come up with so many poetic ideas.

Want to Put a Little Ryhme in Your Life?

2011-12-01T13:37:00.001-05:00

We are working with poetry in Reading Workshop. We have focused on free verse poems, and a few concrete poems, but sometimes it is fun to write a rhyming poem. A great tool for this is at Rhymezone.

Pick a topic and see what you can do. Write something that makes the reader laugh, or cry, or both.

I knew from the first day,

these students were weird.

But partway through the year,
It's worse than I feared

I tried to help them,

they definitely needed steered

But partway through the year,

It was worse than it appeared.

I wasn't sure what to do,

Their brains had been cleared.

And partway through the year,

No senses had reappeared.

I gave them good advise,

because I knew they needed steered.

But partway through the year,

their brains were still smeared.

It could be the teacher,

at first I feared.

But partway through the year,

His efforts should be cheered!

Have a nice day students! You don't like my poem? Well show me what you can do!

Hey Students, Don't Hide

2011-11-29T12:34:00.001-05:00

Even though you think you are hidden, I see you. Don't be like this gecko, feeling like he can't be seen. When we have class discussions, you may not raise your hand. You may not look up. You may stare at the floor, hoping not to be noticed. But everyone knows you are here.

Maybe you are afraid your answer will be wrong. Maybe you are afraid someone will laugh at your opinion or think you are dumb. Maybe you are just quiet by nature.

Please do me a favor. Take a chance. Speak out. Raise your hand. Share your thoughts and opinions. Everyone will benefit by your participation. Classmates will learn from hearing your ideas. And you will learn more, too.

Image from Lorenzo Menendez/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T13:05:00.001-05:00

Have a great Thanksgiving break. Some of the Reading Workshop students and maybe even a teacher may be a little bit ready for a long weekend, but at least we can enjoy a few days off.

Come back Monday ready to work. :)

Vocabulary Practice and Help the World

2011-11-18T14:23:00.001-05:00

FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme. They offer an easy way to learn vocabulary, math skills, geography and more.

According to FreeRice

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide education to everyone for free.

2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site. Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide.

Want to learn in a fun and exciting way? Check out FreeRice.

The Best Thing About Computers

2011-11-18T10:17:00.001-05:00

Hey Reading Workshop students, share your opinion!

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

You can see the results HERE.

Poetry--I Ain't No Poet

2011-11-17T10:38:00.001-05:00

Staring at blank faces,
students whispering,
bored and uninterested
as we start a new project.

Trying to spark a fire
that energizes and makes believers,
hoping Love That Dog
will bring out a Jack.

The unbelieving boy, Jack
who couldn't write
and didn't believe
he had a message inside.

With several Jacks
looking so miserable
as thoughts swirl around
filled with dread.

But there's a writer inside
waiting to overcome
a mind screaming
I ain't no poet.

Veteran's Day

2011-11-03T14:53:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Austin for this Veteran's Day post. I couldn't have said it better, so I just used the post from his Reading Workshop student blog.

Many people may already know this but Veteran's Day is on Friday, 11/11/11. At my school we are going to have an assembly to honor them for their service to our country. I know a lot of people who were in the armed forces. More than I can name and count have been in the air force on my grandma’s side in the Lallier family.

My grandpa is going to be at the assembly. He was in the army in Vietnam. I think it was 5 or more people on my grandma’s side who were in the armed forces. Veteran's Day is a day to honor people who have died or served or still serve in the armed forces. So don’t forget to honor them and their service to our country.

Yes, Commas do Matter

2011-11-02T12:56:00.002-04:00

Take a breath, and then another, and another. How do you know when to pause when you are reading?

PUNCTUATION!

Or, as the picture says, save a life by using a comma. Besides, Grandma is probably old and tough anyway. No one would want to eat her.

Another example of the need for a comma is a song we are singing as part of building fluency in Reading Workshop. The song Crazy Girl by the Eli Young Band uses a comma that changes the meaning of the phrase crazy girl or crazy, girl throughout the song.

Crazy girl, don’t you know that I love you?
And I wouldn’t dream of goin’ nowhere
Silly woman, come here, let me hold you
Have I told you lately?
I love you like crazy, girl

So, Reading Workshop students, when there is a pause in a sentence, but not a complete new thought, be sure to put in a comma.

Hey Mean Boy, Get a Clue

2011-10-26T14:07:00.001-04:00

As part of our reading class, we are singing Mean by Taylor Swift which asks the question, "why you gotta be so mean?" The current read aloud is The Revealers and students commented about bullying on a recent Reading Workshop post about bullies. Every day for the last week the class has discussed bullying and not being mean to other students.

So tell me, what is up with this one boy? Why does he still think he can say mean things to other students? This class has so many kind and caring students. No one else acts like him.

He struts around like he is so cool, but then sneaks around and says mean comments that he knows will tear kids up. He is good at pretending to help when the teacher is watching, but watch out when he thinks no one can see him.

I hope as we continue to discuss meanness a light will click on and he will stop. I don't know if he realizes how many people see his sneaky ways of hurting others. Maybe once he catches on to that, he will try out kindness and compassion. I guess right now he is the only one in the whole class that doesn't get that everyone else gets that he is mean.

Reading Strategies, Making Connections

2011-10-24T11:04:00.001-04:00

Can you connect with the book you are reading? Can you imagine yourself in it? Does it remind you of things from your life? If not, maybe it's just not the book for you.

The process of reading is when a person reads text and their inner voice makes connections between the words, and their life and prior knowledge. The more closely the reader connects to the text, the higher the level of comprehension.

At times connecting is simple. At others, especially when the text is not in an area that the reader has background knowledge, comprehension is difficult. To be a better reader, think about how the story relates to your life.

Readers should concentrate on their inner voice and connections.

1. Visualize. Picture yourself in the story and think about how the setting and characters look.

2. Focus on the characters. Compare them to yourself and people you know.

3. Put yourself in the story and think about how would react, and how you reacted when you were in a similar situation.

4. Look at problems. How do they compare to problems you have faced?

5. Ask yourself questions as you read. Think about how the story relates to your life, and things that you know.

6. When reading nonfiction, think about ways the information relates to what you already know.

7. If you are reading a book, and don't connect with it, ditch it and find one where you can make connections.

Here are the start to connections.

Text-to-self:
This is similar to my life . . .
This is different from my life . . .
Something like this happened to me when . . .
This reminds me of . . .
This relates to me . . .
When I read this I felt . . .

Text-to-text:
This reminds me of another book I’ve read . . .
This is similar to another thing I read . . .
This different from another book I read . . .
This character is similar/different to another character . . .
This setting is similar/different to an other setting . . .
This problem is similar/different to the problem in . . .

Text-to-world:
This reminds me of the real world . . .
This book is similar to things that happen in the real world . . .
This book is different from things that happen in the real world . . .

Students, as you read today, what connections did you have?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfala/3368846439/sizes/s/

If Russell was a Student Here . . .

2011-10-18T11:01:00.002-04:00

Well, the easiest thing to say is Russell would be the same everywhere. But do you act the same at school as you do at home? Would you act the same at a new school?

But, you are who you are, right? No one really changes too much, do they?

As we continue the read aloud of The Revealers, share your opinion about Russell at Laurelville on the wall.

Get Your Grammar Right!

2011-10-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

Do you know which word to use? Let's see, is it to or too? There, their, or they're? Your or you're? Does is really matter? IT BETTER!

When you write online, your thoughts, ideas, and opinions can be viewed by everyone. That makes it paramount that you write correctly. The reader will only respect your writing if it is clean and error free. Part of your editing responsibility is to use the correct homophone.

A special thanks to Gineriella for allowing the editing of this video to use with sixth grade students in The Reading Workshop.

Bullying Revealed

2011-10-12T10:41:00.000-04:00

Every school has a Richie. He is bigger than most of the kids, and way meaner. Normal kids like Russell just stay away from him. Unfortunately, an attempt to be funny puts Russell straight in Richie's sites.

The latest read aloud in Reading Workshop is The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm. The book opens with Russell, the main character being harassed by Richie Tucker. Russell is already having a tough time with the start of middle school. Somehow, he found himself without a group. He was alone even though people were all around him.

This brings us to the question, if you were in the same position as Russell, what would you do? What can you do about a bully?

What, I Can Really Listen to Music in Class?

2011-10-11T12:55:00.000-04:00


You can see the shock on this student's face.

Students were amazed when I told them they could start listening to music as they read or worked. They had never heard of anything like this. First it was singing in the class. Now, I was telling them they could bring their IPod to class. This just had to be too good to be true.

Each students has his/her own computer, so each has a CD ROM at their desk. Or, if they choose, they can bring in an MP3 player. When I surveyed each class, the majority of students listen to music each night as they read and/or do their homework. Why not allow it in school? When I have done this before, it seemed to help a lot of students avoid distraction.

There are a few rules:

1. You put a CD in the computer at the start of class, and leave it for the entire class.
2. You cannot play it loud, or bother peers.
3. Once you hit play, you must work.
4. You cannot use class time to switch from track to track.

There are several benefits when students play background music while they study, read, or write:

1. increase attention levels
2. improve retention and memory
3. extend focused learning time
4. expand thinking skills
In the brain there is a band of white fibers connecting the right and left halves of the cerebrum called the corpus callosum. Very recently researchers have discovered that the corpus callosum increases in size when humans are exposed to music. This increases communication between the two halves of the brain which increases learning efficiency.

Yiftach Levy of the Department of Educational Technology at San Diego State University studied the use of background music in the classroom. This is part of his finding.

Davidson and Powell (1986) took up this exact subject in their study of American fifth-grade science students. They reported the observations of on-task-performance (OTP) of children in the classroom over 42 class sessions, with data recorded every three minutes (10 times) per session. Treatment, in the form of easy-listening music, was delivered in between two control observations (i.e., 15 sessions without background music, 15 with, and 12 without, in that order). They determined a significant increase in OTP for the males in the classroom, and for the class as a whole.

Image from http://dresslikenick.com/.

Letter About a Book

2011-10-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

Students in Reading Workshop recently had to write a letter about a book they were reading. Specifically, the letter had to address "If I was the Main Character . . ." and talk about how the book would be different if they were in the book.

Letters were graded using the Friendly Letter Rubric on the Wikipage.

Here is Lexi's letter, which is an excellent example of what I expected.

Dear Mr. McGuire,

I know you love to read and so do I. I’m reading this amazing book by Leslie Connor. It’s called Waiting For Normal. But this book pulls you into the actions that’s going on. Sort of like the books you like to read. It’s kind of a girl book but then again it’s not. I would recommend it to anyone. I think that you might like it. You should definitely read it!

The main character in my book is Addie. She is 12 years old. Her and her mom live on the side of a highway in a trailer. Addie doesn’t really care that’s where she lives but if I was her I would not live there for anything! They even live right next to a rail road and the train goes by often!

Addie also lives across from a mini mart. There is these 2 people that work there. Their names are Elliot and Soula. Addie becomes great friends with them! I would be friends with them too because they are really nice and they would seem like family to me if I was Addie. Soula can’t walk because she has cancer. Addie doesn’t mind that though. Actually I wouldn’t either. But in the end Soula dies! Addie cries and cries and cries! I would have too because Addie got really close to her!

Addie's mom isn’t the type of mom I’d want. I doubt anyone would want that type of mom. Addies mom will leave Addie alone for 2 to 6 days in the trailer! I would be petrified! But the only reason why she does that is because she found a new man and she didn’t tell him she has a twelve year old daughter! Addie's mom says she’s away for work but you can tell she’s not. Towards the end of the book mommers (Addies name for her mom) tells Addie she’s pregnant. Addie didn’t like that because she don’t take care of her, How would she take care of a baby too. I would absolutely feel the same way as Addie did. If my mom treated me like that and then said she was pregnant I don’t even know what I’d do!

In the book there’s also another guy named Dwight. That was mommers ex-husband and the father of her other 2 children. Dwight loves Addie dearly even though she isn’t his, and Addie loves him. Dwight knew mommers wasn’t very good at taking care of Addie so he tried to get custody of her but mommers wouldn’t let him. I would want to go and live with Dwight if I was Addie because Dwight is just way better than mommers and knows how to take care of kids. But in the end Dwight got custody over her because Soula called children services and ratted out mommers. I would have thanked Soula but Addie didn’t!

That’s the end of my letter. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading it! I hope someday you recommend this to one of your other students! Or you maybe even read it!

Sincerely,

Lexi

A New Way to Read

2011-10-04T09:17:00.000-04:00

Patrick Carman is changing the way students read. It started with the Skeleton Creek series which takes the main characters on one frightening adventure after another. But what sets this series apart are the online videos that accompany each chapter.

You can hear Carman tell how a multi-media books works in this video.

The latest book, 3:15 has eight scary short stories. Each one begins with a sound bite that introduces the story, characters, and setting. After reading the story, there is a video conclusion. These are chilling tales that grab the reader. The best part, with the multi-media support, good readers will enjoy them and struggling readers will be able to comprehend them.

Better Listen and Listen Fast

2011-09-30T11:26:00.001-04:00

Better pay attention! Why you ask? Because this isn't a teacher standing in front of the class and talking all day blah, blah, blah, blah, blah kind of class.

Have a look at this.

Now I am not going to teach quite like that (I hope) and I am not going to talk all day. This is a class with a five minute mini-lesson, and then students work hard and then work some more. As famous California educator, Dr. Harry K. Wong said, "the one doing the work is the one doing the learning." And of course, I want students to learn as much as is possible.

Please give me your attention. I'll keep it short.

Do You Know a Lot of Words?

2011-09-26T10:04:00.000-04:00

One of the most limiting factors in students' achievement and their ability to read is a poor vocabulary. If students want to learn more, comprehend better, and be a dynamic writer they must have an extensive vocabulary. Also, test scores almost always reflect a student's vocabulary.

With this in mind, we will focus even earlier in the school year than normal on vocabulary. We will be using Rags to Riches on Quia, classroom discussions, and other activities to help build stronger vocabularies. For easier access to the words assigned each week, take a look in the sidebar.

To see Reading Workshop Vocab lists, assignments, practice links and word meanings, go to the Reading Workshop Vocabulary Page.

Want Some New Books?

2011-09-16T11:25:00.000-04:00

Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: J3VGG

Now it's easier than ever to find the perfect books -- shop Scholastic's new online Book Clubs Web site. Choose from a much-wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card to pay.

Best of all, we earn a FREE book for the classroom library every time a parent places an order online.*

It's so simple! Here's how it works:

SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Register" button in the "First Time Here?" section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to me.
SELECT the books you'd like to order -- choose from thousands of titles -- many more than in our monthly flyers.
SEND your order to me online by the due date and your child's books will be delivered directly to my classroom.

Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure.

Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer. But why not see for yourself how convenient it is to order online?

Working Like Brady

2011-09-13T10:42:00.003-04:00

Tom Brady, MVP quarterback and three time Super Bowl winner for the New England Patriots has worked hard to make the most out of his career. Last night on Monday Night Football he passed for a team record 517 yards in a win against the Miami Dolphins.

In this video he discusses his road to success.

In your opinion, how does his success relate to success in the classroom? How can his ideas help you, as a student learn more, earn better grades, and be successful?

Collecting Information the Easy Way

2011-09-07T10:36:00.002-04:00

I need to collect blog titles and URL's from students to post links in the sidebar. Looking for an easy way to do this without having to type and link each blog, I decided to use a form from Google Docs. This will put all of the information in a spreadsheet and make it easy to copy and paste.

Check out the right sidebar for links to all of this year's Reading Workshop students' blogs.

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Excellence with Distinction

2011-08-26T09:56:00.001-04:00

Laurelville Elementary earned the rating of Excellence with Distinction on the Ohio Report Card. This is the result of high standards and much hard work by students and staff. This is the first year for this rating that follows several years of steadily improving scores on the Ohio Achievement Test.

Students at Laurelville are remarkable in the amount of effort they put into their assignments. Each year students amaze me with their effort and positive attitude. The great test scores from students in Reading Workshop year after year show a history of students' success.

Great job to all of the students and staff!

You can see the Laurelville Report Card here.

A New School Year

2011-08-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

It's a new school year and four days in, students are doing great. Most have started to adjust to their new school schedule and get back into the habit of getting up in the morning. There are some adjustments this year with fewer teachers and more students in each class, but we are already starting to get used to this.

This year's sixth grade classes are starting out working hard and have come in with a positive attitude. If they keep this up, they can be the best sixth grade class ever!

Welcome to sixth grade new students. Keep working your hardest and you will be successful!

Wallwisher, A Great Web 2.0 Tool

2011-04-26T14:58:00.001-04:00

My teaching neighbour, Mrs. Jayne Stevenson shared this great idea and Web 2.0 tool to allow students to post comments and/or answer questions.

Post Edited on April 28, 2011.

Although Wallwisher seems like a great program, there are problems. Students tried repeatedly over the last two days to access the program. After several million error messages, I changed my mind about Wallwisher. The first requirement for any web 2.0 program is reliability. The inability to post makes this program frustrating, and not at all worth using until the glitches are worked out.

The Life of a Test Grader & Your Test

2011-04-20T12:12:00.000-04:00

So Martha, the Test Grader is sitting in her cubical and opens your test. She turns to the first short answer and this is what she sees.

Needless to say, her headache screams out and she wants to be anywhere, rather than try to read this mess. But, she really wants to be fair so she starts to fight through the misspelled words, lack of organization, and off-topic response. She quickly realizes though, this just isn't worth it, scribbles down a 0 and moves to the next answer.

Within 3 - 4 seconds, she has decided this student does not deserve to pass any type of test. As she sorts through each extended response, she becomes more and more agitated at the obvious lack of effort. Sorry, but you failed.

Now it's time for the next test and here is the response.

Martha is smiling now. She is thinking, "this is from a good kid. This is so easy. Why can't all of the kids write like this?"

And little does she know, but somewhere in a state far, far away, a student is smiling as she thinks back to that day of the reading test. She knows she passed, because she did her best, and used all of the test taking strategies that her teacher taught her.

There is someone else smiling. As this student was taking the test, a teacher sat at his desk and watched her work. He knew she would pass. He watched her work hard all year. Today as he thinks back, he knows she did a great job, and anxiously awaits the test results that will show a real success story.

Life of a Test Grader, Continued

2011-04-19T09:55:00.000-04:00

OK, so Martha has your test and answer booklet. She doesn't know you, and doesn't care to. In fact, she doesn't even know about Reading Workshop, the name of the school, the town, or the state where you live. You are just a number in a stack. A tall stack of answer booklets that have to be graded before she can take a break.

Whether or not you pass this test means less than nothing to Martha. The things on her mind include sneaking out to get a diet coke, getting rid of this head ache, figuring out how to avoid listening to her sister complain about having to babysit, and about having to do laundry after work, or she will have absolutely nothing to wear tomorrow. She is also thinking about surfing and last summer's vacation.

Now it all comes down to you, the student, and your answer booklet. Will your hard work be in vain? Will eight months of learning be wasted? Or will you be a success story making yourself, your parents, your teachers, and your school feel proud?

The first thing, can she read it? Did you write legibly? Trying to strain her eyes and her brain to read cat scratches is going to irritate Martha. She probably won't even take the time to sort through it. She will just give it a big, fat, zero. Did you write neatly?

Next, if you restated the question and numbered your responses, Martha can easily find key words and information. Using a rubric to score short answer and extended response answers, Martha is looking for specific words and answers. Did you organize your answers to make finding key points easy?

Going back and finding specific details in the passage is paramount. Any time a questions asks for specific details, they are looking for examples word-for-word from the text. Did you go back into the essay and find specific details?

Another factor that makes grading easier is correct spelling. Most of the words that you need to spell are either in the question, or in the passage. It just takes a second to look back and find the correct spelling. Did you use the passage to help you with your spelling?

Did you use the basic test taking skills that you have learned in class?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/82881549/in/set-1618327/

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/2487248468/in/set-1618327/

The Life of a Test Grader

2011-04-18T09:41:00.003-04:00

Martha is a single mom, with a four year old daughter named Emily. Martha is just trying to get by day to day. This morning, at 6:00 AM, as Martha was getting ready for her job as an Achievement Test Grader in a state far, far, away, her babysitter called and said she couldn't watch Emily today.

After three phone calls, she finally reached her sister, who agreed to watch Emily for the day. The only problem was her sister lived 20 miles away, so Martha barely had time to get there, and then make it to work on time.

As she rushed around the kitchen, eating a piece of toast while she picked up, Emily spilled her cereal all over the floor. Five minutes later, after cleaning up the spill, Martha glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. She grabbed a cup of coffee to go, snatched up Emily and bolted out the door. She put Emily in the car, and jumped in her seat. As she reached across to buckle the seat belt, she spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. "Oh @#$#@@#$," she thought.

She unbuckled Emily and ran back in the house to change. She searched high and low, but there was nothing clean to wear. She grabbed her cleanest dirty shirt out of the laundry, shook it out, and slid it on. Once again, she and Emily headed for her sister's house. Naturally, she hit a construction zone two minutes from her sister's. After sitting for 10 minutes, she finally got through. She sprinted in, gave Emily a kiss good bye, and headed off to work. She had 11 minutes to make the 20 minute drive.

She was lucky, the construction only held her up for 5 minutes this time through. Unfortunately, her head pounded with a migraine from the stress of the morning. And work hadn't even started yet.

She reached work, late again. She stopped by the pop machine, but didn't have any change for her daily dose of Diet Coke. As she rounded the corner, there stood her boss, with a mean look on his face, and her daily stack of tests to score. "Late again, I see," he said with a scowl. "Don't even think about taking a break until you get this school's tests scored."

With her head pounding, no Diet Coke, and no time for Advil, Martha reached for the first test. Martha, the test grader opened your test.

How will you score?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/173120800/

What are You Thinking About the Achievement Test

2011-04-08T13:53:00.000-04:00

Students have been working hard, preparing for the Ohio Achievement Assessment. They have done a kazillion (this is a very high number that students learn about in advanced math at the sixth grade level) problems until they are suffering from carpel tunnel. They are getting attacked by numbers in their sleep and there is no hope of survival.

In Reading Workshop, students have read passages, wrote and rewrote answers, and been rubriced into submission. They now know the disasters that await those that don't give specific details, quoted from the selection. They dream at night of back in the day when Reading Workshop was about reading and writing, thinking and discussing. There is no chance of them being a child left behind because they are getting whipped into shape.

Although we only focus specifically on the test for a month in Reading Workshop, in student years that equals seven lifetimes. But students are surviving. Not only are they surviving, but they are getting smarter. They are reading critically, and attacking questions to find the point. They are shredding selections to find those details that earn all 4 points on an extended response question. Best of all is they are learning words, and they are much better than the words they learned on the back of the bus in third grade.

Good job students! It will all be over soon and your success on the test will make me smile.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartpilbrow/3270138986/sizes/l/

I Wanna Be Perfect

2011-03-30T09:42:00.000-04:00

I am tired of making mistakes. I am tired of not knowing the right thing to say. I am tired of all kinds of problems. I want to be perfect. AND, I just found out a way to make it happen.

The latest read aloud in Reading Workshop is Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days written by Stephen Manes. After the first chapter, I got some really good news. Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish is going to tell me how to become perfect.

No more bad jokes! No more saying the wrong thing and upsetting people! Every student will learn all that they are supposed to every day. Life will be great and it all starts next week. In just a few days, you will see a new me and I WILL BE PERFECT!

What about you my brilliant young students? Are you going to join me and become perfect? Will you soon become flawless? How will that change things?

Oh, by the way, wanna is not a word and if I was already perfect, I would have said want to in the title.

Image from http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/teacher/covergallery/1989/be.jpg

A Fun Way to Learn Test Vocabulary

2011-03-18T10:23:00.000-04:00

Learning vocabulary is never fun for students. However, a large part of success when taking the Ohio Achievement Assessment is determined by students' working vocabulary. Looking for an interesting way to build the vocab of students in Reading Workshop led me to Quia. This is an online site that features games and quizzes.

There is a library of items created by teachers that are available to anyone to use. Creating new games and quizzes is easy to do when you want to use specific terms. My personal favorite is the Rags to Riches game which is similar to Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

To see the activities that students are participating in so far, you can visit my Profile Page.

Give it a try. Maybe you can learn a few new words and win a million dollars!

I Hate Grades!

2011-03-11T10:08:00.003-05:00

The end of the nine weeks is here. Work has been turned in and graded. But what if a student's average doesn't fit what they have accomplished? Should a teacher adjust it to reflect what the student has earned? Or should it be the result of vocabulary quizzes on Quia, Study Island, and objective scores on writing assignments?

Student #1

He has given everything he can possibly give to be successful. He started the year hating to read. Now, he reads almost every night at home. He pays attention in class and does his best on every assignment. He asks for help if he doesn't understand. He has turned in every assignment. Low Study Island scores have been a big detriment to his grade. Although his grades reflect his ability, his growth should earn him an A+.

Student #2

She is the model for all students. Her attitude and work ethic is unbelievable. She has always struggled finishing books. This nine weeks she has finished three of the last four she started. The book she quit was a bad selection, she recognized that, and found a better book. Her writing has consistently improved all year. Her blog posts have become more detailed and cleaner. Poor vocabulary quiz grades have lowered her score.

Student #3

The work he turns in is not close to his best. He completes assignments quickly, with the main idea being just to get them done. He is a pretty good student so his grades are good. He has not shown much growth, but does OK because school comes fairly easy to him.

Student #4

His attitude stinks. He has turned in most assignments, but not all. His grade is poor and does not reflect his ability at all. He should be on the honor roll but isn't due to lack of effort. As a reader, he is able to do high quality work. Even though he has a low grade, his ability is in the B range.

What grades did these students earn? What grades do they deserve? Are they the same?

Should grades be solely based on achievement? Or should a student's effort and attitude be part of the grade? Should improvement matter? Should missing assignments count even if a students has mastered the objective? Or should all grades be based on results of classwork and quizzes? Should students receive a class participation grade that reflects their in class involvement and work ethic?

What if the teacher knows with absolute certainty that a grade does not reflect a student's output for the grading period? Should the teacher adjust the grade accordingly?

Image from http://feeds.feedburner.com/legalgeekery

Sometimes You Have to Laugh

2011-03-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

A student downstairs in Ms. Wooten's third grade ask if she thought the world was going to end in 2012.

Her answer to that was that she didn't know when the world was going to end. She said, it could be tomorrow, it could end in 2012, or it could end a million years from now. I believe that there is only One being that knows the answer to that, and that is the big man upstairs.

The student, without missing a beat, promptly replied, OK, so I'll go ask Mr. McGuire.

If he only knew . . .

Predictions Make Reading Exciting

2011-03-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

You start reading and after a little bit, your mind wanders. After a few minutes, you are bored with the book, ready to quit it and find a better book. So you look through the books, find one that looks good, and begin to read it.

Later that night, you get out your new book for the Read at Home assignment. The first few pages are interesting and you really get into the book. After about 20 minutes, you start to get bored, and quit reading for the night.

What is happening? Why are you losing interest in books? Why is reading boring?

YOU QUIT PREDICTING!

Predictions are what makes reading exciting. As you read, wondering what will happen next is what makes you part of the book. And when you predict one thing, and something different happens--WHAM, that is what makes a book exciting.

Image from http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/img/education/bored-student.gif

Special thanks to Mrs. Tonya Blubaugh, Intervention Teacher for sparking the conversation that led to this post.

Should Students Be Ability Grouped?

2011-03-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

The current read aloud in Reading Workshop is Freak the Mighty written by Rodman Philbrick. Max, a struggling reader is placed with the "smart" kids so that he can be with Kevin, his disabled friend. Although the placement is based on the needs of Kevin, it brings to question the decision about placing students in classes.

Ability grouping is the practice of sorting students, mostly in elementary and middle school, into classes based on their ability level. Those for ability grouping claim it increases student achievement because teachers can provide instruction at the appropriate level that is neither too easy nor too hard for most students.

One of the main arguments against ability grouping is that it creates classes of low achievers who miss out on stimulating discussions with higher achievers. Labeling students may also communicate self-fulfilling low expectations.

Will Max benefit from being placed in the class with higher achievers? Would you prefer to be in a class that is ability grouped? Why or why not?

What Was the Author Feeling?

2011-02-23T10:00:00.002-05:00

Have you ever thought about what the writer was feeling? In most instances, great writing is the result of situations or problems that spark strong feelings. The writer is faced with an emotional situation and uses writing as an outlet.

Sometimes feelings of joy need to be shared. Other times relief in dealing with sadness or grief comes from sharing through writing. In this poem, Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes, he describes facing the challenges in life.

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

What was he feeling as he wrote this poem? How does that relate to your feelings as a reader? Do think there is usually a connection between the author's feelings and the reader's feelings?

Image from http://www.thewanderers.in/travel/recent/

How Does the Book Make You Feel?

2011-02-21T10:42:00.001-05:00

The writer sits at his desk with a purpose in mind. He just finished a chapter and then he reads back over it. He puts himself into your shoes. Imagining the feelings you get as you pour through his words. He is wondering, does that sentence work? Is that problem believable? Can you picture yourself as a character?

Good books separate themselves from poorly written ones because they bring in the reader. The reader lives the story in her mind. She pictures scenes and imagines being in them. The readers' feelings are strongly affected.

Good readers know that their feelings should be affected as they read. They expect it, and when it doesn't happen, they stop and think about the book. Why isn't it striking a chord? Why aren't their feelings jumping out of their heart.

What about the book you are reading? What kind of feelings do you have as you read it?

Reading Strategies, Connections

2011-02-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

Effective readers constantly connect to the text as they read. Their inner voice relates the text to their life, other books they have read, and prior knowledge. Readers with higher levels of comprehension consistently and constantly make connections between the meaning of the words, and background knowledge.

As students build their ability to connect with text, their ability to understand what they read increases. At times connecting is simple. At others, especially with difficult nonfiction text, connecting and comprehension is difficult. However, to be a good reader, students must relate what they are reading to what they know and what they have read.

Students should concentrate on their inner voice and connections. As they read they should picture themselves in the story and compare themselves to the characters.

This brings us to today's question. Reading Workshop students, as you read your SSR book, what connections did you have?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/dulcepericulum/8378493/sizes/s/

Igniting the Light of Success

2011-02-09T09:54:00.002-05:00

Does Katy Perry's song Firework apply to you? If there were no limits and you could accomplish anything, what would you do?

The latest song we are singing as part of Reading Workshop to help build fluency and vocabulary has a terrific message.

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will GLOW

And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine

Just own the night like the 4th of July

What about it Reading Workshop students? If you could accomplish anything, what would it be? Ditch the limits. Don't let anything stop you, because you can do anything if you set a goal and work hard.

Why This is a Great School

2011-01-28T14:19:00.000-05:00

The recent spotlight on school quality should help ensure a better education for all students. Everywhere you turn there is constant conversation about the need to improve schools. Newspapers, TV, and all over the Internet, people are screaming about how public education is a mess. But you almost never hear about what a good school looks like.

However, using one tool, and one as limited as a one or two day test doesn't accurately portray schools. Although test scores are important, rarely do you hear about examining all the factors that make a school successful.One paragraph doesn't tell the story of a book. Similarly, one test doesn't tell the tale of a school.

The characteristics that make Laurelville Elementary exceptional include:

1. Students Want to Be Here

Effective schools have a warm climate. Students know they are welcome and know that the staff cares about them. Although there is pressure to perform, it comes in a way that promotes learning, with an expectation that students will excel and the support is provided to make it happen.

2. Highest Expectations For the School, Teachers and Students

Only the best is good enough. Quality is expected, and nothing less is acceptable. Passion for excellence is a driving force each and every day. The staff works together, pushing themselves and their students to be the best. Failure is not an option for the teacher or the students.

3. Dedicated Teachers

Teachers work to improve their ability to teach. They read and explore the techniques used by others in a never-ending effort to better themselves and their skill. Effective teaching demands that the teacher be knowledgeable in the subject area. The teachers have a detailed understanding of what is being taught.

4. Effective Discipline

Discipline is not be an issue. Students respect others and failure to do so is not tolerated. Students understand school and class rules and expectations, and adhere to them. When discipline is necessary, it is not vindictive, but just a consequence when a student does not do what is required.

5. There is a Variety of Instructional Techniques

No two classes, or two students are identical. Laurelville is effective because teachers understand this and differ instruction to best help students be successful. Key concepts are presented in ways to enable visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners grasp it. Students are actively involved in learning with a variety of opportunities to grasp key concepts.

6. Students Individualized Needs are Met

The staff understands differences in students' abilities and needs and considers this as part of instruction and intervention. The teaching and interactions with students reflect the needs of each, with the understanding of each as an individual.

7. Leadership

The building principal, Vicki Scott has the respect of students, parents, and staff with a vision, high expectations, and the ability to help others succeed. The school leader must be a person that can understand people, and motivate them, creating a positive attitude throughout the building. Successful schools have a sense of trust built on the back of an honest and caring leader.

Being a teacher is an amazing career with many rewards. Working in a school like this makes it even better. Each morning when I walk in the building, I am grateful to be part of something so meaningful, working with a dedicated staff, and superb students.

Image from http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/imager/b/magnum/1262364/f774/greatest_feat_0110.jpg

Survey Says. . .

2011-01-26T13:58:00.000-05:00

Want to know the results of the Midway Survey. Just look on the wikipage at Midway Survey Results.

Thank you for all of the parents that took the time to sit down with their child and complete the survey. Many of the goals are well-thought out, appropriate and attainable.

Congratulations to all of the Reading Workshop students for the successes you have achieved so far this school year. When you look at the list of the best thing that has happened in Reading Workshop, you see an amazing list of accomplishments.

Whose Goals Are They, Anyway?

2011-01-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

I was sitting in the chair, getting my hair cut, having the typical casual conversation with the woman cutting my hair, when I noticed the post-it note with Nicole's weekly goals. As I looked it over, I started wondering about these goals.

Finally, I couldn't stand it any more. I just had to ask, and the following conversation took place:

Me: Did you write that?

Nicole: Uhhh, no.

Me: Your boss write it?

Nicole: Yes.

Me: So they tell you what your goals should be?

Nicole: Yep

Me: Hmmmm, I'll bet that motivates you.

Nicole: Oh, I don't really pay any attention to it.

And then I started thinking about students in Reading Workshop. I wonder how often my goals for them really don't have anything to do with their goals for themselves. When I am pushing my agenda of positive attitude and hard work equals success, I wonder how many students have other priorities?

As the teacher, I have a responsibility to have goals and expectations for my students. But if they are going to be meaningful, there must be some ownership on the part of the students and their parents. With this in mind, and reaching the halfway point of the school year, it seems appropriate to ask students to evaluate their year so far, and set some goals for the rest of the year.

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What Tools are in Your Reading Toolbox?

2011-01-06T07:51:00.000-05:00

If you were building a house, would you use a hammer for every task? It would be more than a little difficult to measure a board with a hammer. Cutting it in two would be even more challenging. Imagine finishing the cement in the garage with only a hammer. House construction requires a variety of tools, each appropriate for a given task.

Similarly, reading requires many tools, each which helps in a certain way, with different situations. Recently in Reading Workshop, we have been focusing on reading difficult, nonfiction text. We have focused on what matters and what doesn't. We have also looked at specific skills that contribute to comprehension.

What is Important
1. W's (who, what, when, where, why, how)
2. Main Points
3. Ideas that relate to the gist

What is Not
1. Supporting Details
2. Examples
3. Interesting Stories or Opinions
4. Most Adverbs and Adjectives

But remember anything that helps you understand what you are reading is ALWAYS IMPORTANT!

Strategies for Reading Nonfiction

1.Skim

2.Adjust your reading speed/slow down when needed

3.Read and highlight only the essential information

4.Substitute easy words for more difficult ones.

5.Think about the writer and the writer's purpose
6.Connect to prior knowledge
7.List W’s
8.List facts

What should be added to the list? What strategies do you use when reading difficult text?

For more information on reading check out these posts:

What's the Deal With Details?

How Fast Do You Read?

Reading Strategies, Using Prior Knowledge

Learning to Read Adult Style

Connections When Reading

Image from http://www.stockvault.net/photo/107135/hammer

Traits Needed by a Teacher of Reading Workshop

2010-12-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

Teaching Reading Workshop requires a different style than the more traditional teacher-centered lecture-based classroom. As I was reading a recent post about qualities of a teacher that enjoys project-based learning on Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog, I thought of how well this fits with Reading Workshop.

Teacher traits it takes to make Reading Workshop successful.

1. Be comfortable with a loss of control over time, the final product, and “correct” answers. If some parts of the curriculum don’t get “covered,” if conflicting evidence causes confusion, or a controversial solution to a problem is suggested, these teachers roll with the punches. They have the intellectual confidence to handle ambiguity.
2. Accept active students rather than passive students. They have developed new rules of behavior that stress student responsibility, and have trained their principals to differentiate between active learning and a classroom out of control.

3. Believe that given enough time, resources, and motivation, all students are capable of high performance. It’s not just the talented and gifted student who can make choices, solve problems creatively, and complete complex tasks. These teachers know that most students rise to the level of performance expected of them, and that great ideas can come from anyone in the class.

4. Recognize that your expertise must be in the learning and research process not just in a subject area. No longer are these teachers just information dispensers, but guides for information building students. The happiest teachers are co-learners in the classroom, especially when learning new technology tools. Students get the satisfaction that comes from teaching as well.

5. Understand your personal enthusiasm is more important than ever. The best projects I have seen have always designed by teachers who are enthusiastic about what they are doing and how they are doing it. The downside to this is that it is very difficult to create recipes for or give examples of specific projects that can be easily adopted by other teachers. A project, no matter how well designed, is going to work for every teacher and every group of students.
6. Know that any project may not always work the first time. But these teachers keep trying.

Thanks for the reminder Doug, and for giving me something to ponder.

A Christmas Gift of Poetry

2010-12-10T13:27:00.006-05:00

Students are writing Christmas poems as a gift of writing. No gift means more than a heartfelt poem. Students are writing a free verse poem for a family member to give over the holiday.

This list has ideas for topics that students brainstormed.

Food	Family Time	Traditions	Memories
Christmas dinner	Family together	Christmas Eve	Special gift
Christmas breakfast	Shopping	Getting up early	Cutting down tree
Nuts and bolts	Traveling	Christmas morning	Special time together
Cooking together	Things they do for me	Hanging stockings	Visitor
Making cookies :)	Decorating the house	Decorating the tree	Trip
Baking together	Wrapping presents	Opening presents	New Pet
Homemade noodles	Christmas party	Playing euchre	Accidental Openings of gifts
Oyster dressing	Putting up lights	Visiting Family
Making smokeys	Playing with gifts	Waking up parents
Spicy pretzels	Playing games	PJ's on Christmas Eve
Chips & dip		Family Picture
Pies		Stockings First

Are You the Annoying One?

2010-11-30T13:54:00.002-05:00

It was almost time for Thanksgiving dinner. We sat watching football, anxiously awaiting the turkey, mashed potatoes, and dressing. Unfortunately we were having trouble concentrating because my 17 year old niece and 14 year old nephew were wrestling around on the couch. Finally, their mom couldn't stand it anymore.

She yelled Cut it out, both of you!

Luke whined: But mom

Leah whined: But mom

Luke whined: But mom, she's so annoying.

Leah responded: Get off of me!

Do you get the picture? Leah had been sitting on the couch minding her own business when Luke came over and sat on top of her. He started pestering her until it ended in the screaming match that got their mom involved. But in his mind, she was soooo annoying.

Naturally this situation made me start to think about the students in Reading Workshop. I know that their teacher is never annoying :) , but what about them. Do they ever blame someone else, before looking in the mirror?

What do you think? Are you the annoying one?

Image from http://www.vrkmphoto.com/sister/brother-and-sister-love/

Hey Students, Here's Some Thanks for You :)

2010-11-22T09:56:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving is here and there are a lot of turkeys in this neighborhood and I am thankful for all of them. Well, I am thankful for most of them. Well, I am thankful for some of them. Well, I am thankful for a few of them.

Well anyway, the things I am thankful for include:

Sara's big smile walks in my door every day.
I have this really weird class that wants to be here.
I can do a little of the Cupid Shuffle with the class and I don't even need Advil.
Lucas #3 is just as nice as Lucas #1 & #2.
I can blog and eat oreos at the same time.
Mrs. Scott stops by every day for a little aggravation.
I have some oreos.
Thelma is still cooking in the cafeteria.
Hines #4 (or is it #5) works just as hard as all of the others.
Ridge sings better than his siblings.
Megan, Tyler H., and Andrew really are that nice.
Brook and Dawn are actually starting to talk.
Kyra smiles and dances and shakes and makes all kind of weird motions when she sings.
Heath likes to read.
Caitlin has such a super attitude.
Jessica and Cassie are becoming a great writers.
Austin, Tyler, Alex, and Jakob are working so hard.
Dylan laughs at my jokes (at least he did one time).
Belle can still think even though she spends half her time upside down.
Danny's name keeps popping up in the lyrics of songs we are singing.
Shala is an assistant teacher and helps everyone with their blog.
The little Queen hasn't been too bossy.
Sabrina is in a good mood today, and yesterday, and the day before, and...
Students are selling candy bars for camp so I can put back on the pounds just in time for the hollidays.
Ms. Bowlby is still teaching here so I am not the oldest teacher in the building.
Ms. Fraley is teaching here so I am not the weirdest teacher in the building.
Mrs. Stevenson is still teaching here so I am not the grayest teacher in the building.
Mrs. Griffey is still teaching here so I definitely am not the biggest drama queen in the building.
Nick and Cade aren't as hot as they think they are (otherwise their chairs would catch on fire).
Students love blogging (that makes them work hard and they don't even know it).
We got some $$$ to buy new books.
Diet Mt. Dew is a health food.
The arm Mark broke chasing his girlfriend has healed.
Lindsey's brain transplant surgery was successful.
Heidi smiled at me last week.
The Bengals have the worst team in the NFL and T.O., Chad O., and Pacman play for them.
I can look out the window, from my desk and see two flags waving in the breeze.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Image from http://www.uvm.edu

Describe Yourself Based on Your Partner

2010-11-17T11:16:00.002-05:00

What does the person I paired you with say about you?

Students in Reading Workshop are constantly working in pairs, and small groups. Almost every project has at least one part that requires teamwork. Sometimes this might be a brainstorming session. Other times partnership might be for revising and editing a piece of writing. Frequently it is just a couple of minutes to share ideas.

Although occasionally students are paired randomly, most of the time partnerships and teams are put together in a way to ensure success.

Reasons students are partnered might include:

A strong-minded uncompromising student is put with a similar student just to force both to work together to be successful.
Quiet, easy going students are put together to build leadership skills.
Students strong in a certain area are paired with a student that is struggling.
Students struggling might be partnered to work through troubles together.
Students that don't care are partnered to force them to deal with common attitudes.
Natural leaders are grouped in situations that allow them to utilize their strength.
Creative students are placed together to stretch their limits.
Creative students are separated to allow leadership and growth.
Boys and girls are partnered so that differences in thought processes can increase chances of success.
Reluctant learners are joined with enthusiastic students to motivate them.
Enthusiastic students are partnered to allow them the chance to immerse themselves in a project.
Friends are put together just so they can be with each other.
Students that are not friends are put together to help expand their circles.

These are just some of the reasons students work together. Regardless of the reason, working together and the cooperation this demands is an extremely important skill. How students deal with a partner, or contribute to a group is always reflective of their attitude and work ethic.

What kind of a partner are you? Describe yourself based on your partner.

Image from http://vik.podbean.com

Please Be Nice

2010-11-10T10:25:00.001-05:00

"Did you have fun with your partner?" she whispered with a sneer to the girl in the seat next to her. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, because the comment wasn't meant for me to hear.

Shala just looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't know what to say. It never occurred to her to be upset about her partner, or make fun of him. And that is exactly why I put her with that student. I knew that she would treat him with kindness and respect. She would help him stay on track and both of them would successfully complete the assignment.

The students in Reading Workshop had been working on a letter writing project. I wanted them to take a couple of minutes with a peer to discuss their letter--how they organized it, what was going well, and what parts of the project needed help. I chose a partner for each student, forming teams that would succeed. This is something we do frequently, and students are used to working with many different peers throughout the year.

This comment has banged around in my head ever since I heard it. I keep thinking about the connotation behind, did you have fun with your partner. This sneaky form of bullying, trying to get a classmate to join in ridiculing a student is what makes school so difficult for so many students.

I'm not really sure which student I feel most sorry for--the boy being laughed at, or the girl that feels the need to be so mean. The boy is a bit of a social outcast. Unfortunately, he irritates peers and causes them to loose patience with him. He also tries to gain attention too often by acting out and saying things to set himself apart. He isn't mean, but he does act that way sometimes when he gets picked on.

The big question to me is why the girl feels the need to be so mean. She is no stranger to trouble, and I am sure teachers have talked to her about this behavior before. Yet she continues to be hurtful, even enlisting a student like Shala who would not act this way under any circumstance. Will she ever figure out that actions like this, and the negative attitude behind it will create problems until she finds the strength to be a stronger and kinder person?

Image from http://www.comicvine.com/forums/off-topic/5/the-creepy-thread/574156/

Letter Writing

2010-11-08T10:27:00.004-05:00

I like getting letters, so the current project in Reading Workshop, write a Dear Mr. McGuire Letter on the topic of Reasons Why I Like the Book I am Reading for SSR is one of my favorites. Plus I get to hear about the books students are reading and their thoughts and opinions on them.

Knowing the proper format of a friendly letter is important. Also, students must set the tone in the opening, put facts and details in the body, and wrap it up in the closing. A good letter, like any writing must have must support with specific details.

Introduction/Beginning

This is a good example of a W's introduction.

This is Justin's beginning:

The book I am reading is called The White Fox Chronicles. The author's name is Gary Paulsen. Gary Paulsen writes a lot of action/ survival books. The main character's name is Cody Pierce. Cody is a 14 year old boy.

This is an opinion/persuasive introduction.

This is Kari's beginning:

I am reading the book called The Revenge Of The Shadow King. I found this book to be extremely good. Especially if you are into fairy tales, mysteries, and thrillers because that's what it's all about. If you like those kinds of books you may be really attached to this book. I really liked it mainly because I like to read fairy tales and thrillers.

Body/Middle

Shelby does a great job comparing the main character from Heartbeat by Creech in this paragraph:

Another thing that Annie and I have in common is we both have baby brothers. We both love our baby brothers. I think that Annie loves her brother a lot because she was so scared that the baby would get hurt. Annie and I also were scared at first to hold our baby brothers. She was scared that she would drop him, I thought that I would not hold him right and hurt him.

Katie helps us understand the character Bookworm from Max the Mighty.

My favorite character is Bookworm. Bookworm is also called Worm sometimes. She is my favorite character because she loves books. Worm is about eleven or twelve years old. Worm doesn't like her step dad. She doesn't like him because he hates T.V and he hates books. I think that Worm plays a really good part in the story and I like her because she and her mom have to deal with a lot of problems, and somehow she always makes it through.

Conclusion/Closing

Molly does a fabulous job wrapping up her letter.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, because I think a lot of girls could really relate to the main character, especially most of my friends. Also I would still recommend this book to boys, because even though it's a girl's book, it's not about being girly, and all about girls. Some boys may be able to relate to the three boys in the story! The book Spells & Sleeping Bags is one out of my two favorite books. Also, I think the author is very talented with writing her books. She's my absolute favorite author. I think Sara Mlynowski is very talented because I can really get inside the characters mind, and really get into the book as if I were the main character.

Parts of Sarah's letter were shared in a previous class with excellent examples of an opening and closing on this post.

Letter writing is a skill that is used throughout life. Although this project focuses on writing about a book, these basic skills will apply to any letter written for any purpose.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarazamith/3552122301/sizes/s/in/photostream/

What a Relief, the Levy Passed

2010-11-03T08:13:00.002-04:00

As said on the Logan Elm Local School District website.

Thank you voters! We appreciate your support. We promise to be good stewards of your tax money. Thanks for supporting the students of Logan Elm. What a great community to live in.

and

Levy Results FOR: 2908( 58%) AGAINST: 2093 (42%).

With so much hanging on the balance, this is such a relief. Class size will stay at 20 instead of going to 30+. Extracurriculars will continue and families won't be moving out of the district. Academic programs that have led to Excellent Ratings will be continued. Peers will not be losing their jobs and students will continue to have special classes like music, PE, and library.

Thank you to all who supported our school!

How Technology is Making Students Better Writers

2010-11-01T13:02:00.000-04:00

Have you used Twitter lately? Currently there are over 160 million registered users. More than 90M tweets are written per day. Yet this communication tool that so many people have found so useful is similar to one that many teachers claim is ruining students.

It used to be adults worried about kids spending too much time watching TV, but those days are gone. Today, teachers worry about another type of screen time. Kids are either texting, IMing (instant messaging), or else on social networking sites like Facebook. Many educators are concerned about the impact technology is having on students' writing.

Should they be concerned? Is all of this time texting ruining the writing of students? Some teachers feel that the slang, or casual language used extensively in texting and IM'ing will have detrimental long term effects. Most seem to ignore the fact that kids today are writing constantly. In fact, putting thoughts into written words is part of the natural lives of kids today. Anyone who cannot share their thoughts through texting is at risk of becoming a social outcast.

Students don't see the constant use of slang as a problem. They know the difference between casual language between friends and formal language used in school and business. According to Pew Internet's Teen Writing Survey, 83% of students feel there is a greater need to be able to write well in order to be successful now when compared to twenty years ago. They also found that 85% of students write in school at least several times each week.

Another worry, especially at the secondary and collegiate level is how students spend class time texting instead of focusing on the lesson being taught. However, forward thinking instructors have begun to use this to their advantage by engaging students in real-time dialogue and assessment.

In many classes today, students are participating in online learning and communication using blogs and wikis, web-based collaborative projects using Google Docs, and various other computer uses throughout their school day. Often students are much more motivated in class where video and interactive Smart Boards are integrated into the curriculum.

Obviously, the students of today have lifestyles, both in and out of the class that are much different than in the past. Although some educators are concerned about the affects of these changes, some are embracing the changes and celebrating the advancement of education. Their goal is to open doors and encourage students to push forward using every tool available for a more interesting and challenging learning environment.

Everyone changes their spoken language based on the audience. At a very young age children learn to speak differently to their parents than they do to their friends. Doesn't this make it only natural to expect the same in their writing? When students walk into a classroom spending hours each day putting their thoughts into words, it can only make them better writers.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/outlandos/63607103/sizes/s/

Student Blogging Stars

2010-10-29T12:57:00.002-04:00

Student bloggers have made an excellent start, displaying their writing, sharing their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. As the first nine weeks comes to and end, the students in Reading Workshop were given the task of evaluating their blogs.

Next, I looked at their responses, and took them into consideration as I graded their blogs. For the most part, students and I agreed on how their blogs should be scored. A few students met all expectations, publishing work that any sixth grade teacher would be proud to display.

Jessica wrote interesting posts, had great detail, and pictures to support her points. And, she even took time to have a little fun at her teacher's expense.

Megan always links to relevant sites, shows pictures that fit with the topic, and writes extra detailed posts.

Sara writes in detail and spends her own time writing extra posts to make her blog interesting and informative.

Alex's blog looks great. Her content is good too!

Shala posts every assignment and a lot of extras too. She is also the first to help peers when they need it on their blog.

Tyler is a sports nut and his blog shows it. Go Browns!

Ridge works to make his blog right. He posts in detail, finds pictures that fit, and links to relevant sites. Plus, he writes extra posts.

Great job to these students for their excellent work!

Image from http://www.uwicsu.co.uk/content/440693/membership_services/representation/stars/

Students, Grade Your Blogs

2010-10-28T09:26:00.000-04:00

As the first 9 weeks comes to an end, it is time to grade The Reading Workshop students' blogs. This is a chance for students to have input into their blog grade. With this embedded Google Docs Form, students can evaluate their work.

We will be using the Blogging Stair Steps to Success from the post on Grading Student Blogs as a basis for this evaluation.

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How Hard Do You Work?

2010-10-26T10:37:00.001-04:00

How hard do you work? Would others around you agree? What do peers think of you as a worker? What do your parents think about your work ethic? Do teachers see you as a student that works your hardest? On a scale of 1 - 10, how would you score yourself as a worker?

As we study poetry in Reading Workshop, and look at To Be of Use , these questions came to mind. This poem is a favorite of teachers because there is absolutely nothing teachers admire more than a hard worker. This is also a character trait discussed frequently in Reading Workshop.

To Be of Use
Written by Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Comments are allowed to be in the form of poetry.

Image from http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/06/hardwork/

2010-10-15T11:03:00.000-04:00

The Huffington Post has provided the opportunity for bloggers from the education field to share their views. This is an excellent source for all the latest news, views, and opinions.

I have been invited to write and look forward to contributing ideas and opinions, especially as they relate to The Reading Workshop. The post, Superman 2, The Other Side of the Story discusses the generalization of education in a crisis as outlined in Waiting for Superman.

You can find an archive of my posts here.

Reading Poetry

2010-10-12T10:46:00.002-04:00

Poems are built on ideas, experiences or emotions in a condensed form that makes the reader search for understanding. The reader should slow down, think about each line and the words in it, and then reread and reconsider.

However, to understand poetry the reader must not go gently, but should attack. As we begin to spend time in Reading Workshop with poetry/word study, students must overcome their fears and dive into the language of poetry. Whether it be as a reader, analyzing the work of others, or when revising their own work, students must go full speed ahead. They need to take the advise given by Eve Merriam.

How to Eat a Poem

Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice
that may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.

What is Merriam's point? What about the poem makes you think that? What thoughts do you have when tearing into her poem?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdot/10362168/sizes/s/

Honestly, Why Didn't She Just Lie

2010-10-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

Students have to read at home 180 minutes each week to earn an "A." When she turned in her paper, she had read for 170 minutes. She's a bright girl and could easily have fudged a few minutes here and there to get up to 180. So why didn't she?

The Read at Home assignment is based on the honor system. The only real check is whether or not students comprehend the book and can write about it. Parents don't have to sign off. Students fill out their reading times. And students clearly understand that the more they read, the better their grade.

So why didn't this girl, who is extremely driven by grades, add on enough time to get an A? Last year we discussed integrity and I was a little surprised and a lot pleased with students' responses. I thought of this again, and felt good about today's students.

Although Cassie didn't get an "A" she earned a whole lot more. She got my respect and my appreciation. For herself, she got a feeling of satisfaction in knowing that she did the right thing, and she is an honorable person.

Why didn't she just lie? She's way too smart and has way too much integrity for that.

Image from http://simplecomplexity.net/data-integrity-what-does-it-really-mean-why-is-it-important/

Write Right!

2010-10-05T13:11:00.001-04:00

As published writers, students in Reading Workshop must recognize the importance of writing well. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills still tend to trip up many writers. We have stressed PUGS (Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling) on a daily basis. Part of the challenge for learning writers is recognizing just how much of an impact mistakes have on the reader.

This video makes it quite clear the problems with poor writing, whether from errors, negative tone, or using slang and abbreviations. Often times, we teach the how, and not the why. Occasionally, something comes along that really points out the reason most of us take writing correctly so seriously.

With permission from Sister Salad, this edited version of their video, "Yo Comments Are Wack!" points out the disastrous commenting seen on the web and in a humorous way explains why writing well matters.

Reading Strategies, Making Predictions

2010-10-04T10:43:00.004-04:00

Effective readers use pictures, titles, headings, and text—as well as personal experiences—to make predictions before they begin to read and as they are reading. They think ahead while reading and anticipate what will happen in the text.

After making predictions, they read the text, decide if they were right or not, and make new predictions. The process of reading should be a continual and repeated process of predict and confirm.

Making predictions often is based on asking questions. Students must wonder, examine, doubt, and inquire as they read.

Examples of starts of predictions might include:

This problem . . .

In the end, she will. . .

I wonder what will happen when . . .

He has to . . .

That character will . . .

She will solve the problem by . . .

They are going to . . .

I think __________ will be the one to . . .

Surely they are going to . . .

Next, the author will . . .

If I was there I wonder what . . .

Students, as you listened to the start of Watchers Rewind today during read aloud, what predictions did you have? What will happen to Lianna, Ripley, and Adam? What part in the story will the Watchers play?

Image from http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n6/n30544.jpg

No Call for Superman from Here

2010-09-30T09:06:00.000-04:00

Education is in a crisis. Set off the alarms. Students and parents everywhere are desperately Waiting for Superman to come and save the day. Oprah is shouting a wake up call to America. The only good schools are charter schools. Public schools are failing to educate our students.

But wait, students here seem to be doing well. Parent surveys show high levels of satisfaction with this school, and the district. The school just earned an excellent rating from the Ohio Department of Education. So what is the truth about the status of education today?

I know, let's do like they did in the movie and talk to some students.

Logan was a student here in Reading Workshop four years ago. He didn't like school, and he had to work hard, but managed to get through with a lot of effort. This year he enrolled in the carpentry program at the local vocational school. He is excited about learning a trade, and the fact that he can learn something that really interests him.

Colby is a senior this year. His grades are good and he plans to attend Hocking College in Police Science. He wants to be a patrolman.

Julie was here last week as a substitute teacher. She was a student here eleven years ago. She has graduated from college and is certified to teach primary. She enjoyed her day here and hopes to have the opportunity to be hired as a teacher.

Rebekha graduated last year. She is attending Ohio Dominican University and plays softball there. Her younger sister, Rhianna is a currently a student here. You can read more on their story on Rhianna's blog.

Sara is currently a student at Laurelville. She has videotaped her first movie. She is writing daily, and sharing her thoughts on her blog, Sara's Secrets. She is the third of four sisters to excel at Logan Elm.

Now I am really confused. Everywhere that Davis Guggenheim looks, he sees failure. The five students he chose for his movie have tragic stories. I'll bet he is coming here to film Superman II just to be fair and show both sides of the story.

These Kids Today

2010-09-29T15:01:00.003-04:00

Ashlee walked to school today. For a lot of students that is not such a big deal, but Ashlee lives 2 1/2 miles away. This eleven year old walked along a busy state highway, with no sidewalk. She was a little late, red faced, and slightly out of breath, but she made it.

For some reason, the bus stopped a couple minutes early today. She wasn't there, so it left without her. Two minutes later, Ashlee starting watching for the bus. After 20 minutes of waiting, with both parents at work, and no one to call, that is when Ashlee decided to walk to school.   This may not have been the best decision, but it showed a determination to get to school.

I started thinking about all the comments we hear about kids. Things like, kids today don't have the work ethic . . .these kids today just don't . . . and all kids want to do is play video games or kids just don't care about . . .

The people who make negative comments about today's students are comparing a slower paced less challenging time with today's high speed world. They are missing the fact that success today looks different than in the past.   In school, the expectations for students in this test-driven time is stressful and often stymies creativity, but students persevere.

These people are so wrong about these kids today. They are not in a classroom to watch kids day after day give their all until they succeed. Students today are smart. They are creative.   They think critically. They have the courage to question. And as Ashlee showed, they have the ability and determination to solve problems.

I think the next time I hear someone talk about these kids today, I will ask what he accomplished by the time he was eleven. The students in Reading Workshop write and publish blogs that are read worldwide. I think that says a lot about these kids today.

Image from http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/pedcrossing-sign-cameo.jpg

Why This Inner Voice Thing is So Important

2010-09-24T10:15:00.001-04:00

We just discussed the Queen of Fake Reading, and no one wants to be her. In fact, everyone knows that I am talking about someone else. Surely no one can be like that, can they? Does anyone really do that? YES, a lot of students (and teachers) fake read.

Fake reading usually takes place when the inner voice volume button is on mute. In other words, the reader is not listening to his inner voice. Usually the reader just skims the page, not focusing on the ideas, or trying to relate to them. There are no connections to prior knowledge, people, problems, or places.

The inner voice is what gives words their meaning. Knowing the definition of words doesn't mean the reader understands the text. Meaning comes from the relationship between the words on the page and the reader. The inner voice controls and drives that relationship.

To better use your inner voice, and understand what you read you can:

1. Stop reading and think

2. Pause at the end of the page

3. Question what might happen next

4. Compare what the character does, to what you would do

5. Slow down

6. Compare the setting to some place you know

7. Reread if you suddenly realize you don't know what you just read

8. Make a prediction

9. Read slower

10.If some of this list sounds like it is repeated, thank your inner voice for paying attention.

Students, what advise do you have to help readers hear their inner voice?

The Queen of Fake Reading

2010-09-23T10:18:00.002-04:00

Almost every day she goes to the book room during SSR. She "just finished" reading her book. If there are 30 minutes of reading time, she will spend 24 of them searching for just the right book. After all, she wouldn't want to waste her fake reading time on a book that wasn't the best.

She can read a 200 page book in just a day or two. In fact, she could make a speed reader look like he was in first grade. And she understands the book. She can tell you everything in the blurb. Whenever a teacher corners her and wants to know more details, she has a ready list of excuses, and then wants to go back to the book room to get a new book.

Unfortunately, this year has been a bad start for the Queen of Fake Reading. In Reading Workshop, she is expected to understand the book and the characters. She must use specific details to support her thoughts. She has to compare specific aspects of the book with her life. She has to discuss the setting and problems intelligently with references to the story to support her points.

My oh my, what will the Queen do? She has this fake reading thing down to a science. She is the master. BUT, she is in a foreign country where fake reading doesn't work. Stay tuned for further updates as we see how the Queen of Fake Reading responds to the challenges of Reading Workshop.

Image from http://www.fillmoregazette.com/files/imagecache/640wide/files/Childrens-Reading-Recess-Queen.jpg

Students Share "Why I Read"

2010-09-22T08:10:00.002-04:00

In this video, students in Reading Workshop share their thoughts about "Why I Read."

Hey Readers, Catch Your Brain in the Act

2010-09-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

Your brain is a sneaky thing. The whole time you are reading it is thinking things without you telling it to. It sneaks around making connections to your past. It compares the problems in the book to situations from your life. It takes the characters and examines them and matches them with people you know. And it does it without your permission. In fact, you can't even stop your brain if you try. This inner voice has a mind of its own.

The process of reading is when a person reads text and their inner voice makes connections between the meaning of the words, and relates it to their life and prior knowledge. The more closely the reader connects to the text, the higher the level of comprehension. So, the key to being a good reader is learning to hear and control that inner voice. What is it telling you? How does it relate to the book?

At times connecting is simple. At others, especially when the text is not in an area that the reader has background knowledge, comprehension is difficult. As students build their ability to connect with text, monitor their understanding of a passage, and compare it to things they already know, their ability to understand what they read increases.

Do you want to be a better reader? Get control of your brain. Listen to your inner voice. You are the boss of your brain. Take charge of it when you read.

Why Do You Read?

2010-09-17T09:39:00.000-04:00

The biggest reason I read is because I can't not read. It is totally impossible. Books, magazines, newspapers, and online more and more, but I never stop reading. Sometimes it is because I want to know. Other times I am curious. I read the paper every morning with breakfast just to see what is going on in the world.

Reading for enjoyment and entertainment started in fifth grade. I have been hooked on books ever since. Traveling away into a story in another place, as a different person, in a different time keeps me reading. I love to live out the story in my mind.

As a teacher, I read to learn. Every day there are ideas from other teachers, and reading about them makes me think about Reading Workshop and how I teach. It is the main tool I use to improve and grow.

Take a look at these people and consider how they compare to you and why you read.

What about it? Why do you read?

Do Students Feel the Glee?

2010-09-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

As I sat watching the rerun of the Glee season finale from last year, it reminded me of the reason that matters most when teachers walk through the classroom door. Teachers want to make a difference.

When we get on a student about not giving his best, it comes from seeing the gap between potential and performance. We know that success comes from working hard, and never giving up.

When a student disrupts class and we discipline him, it's because we know it distracts others, and keeps them from learning. We know students must be able to concentrate for learning to take place.

Watching the Glee Club students relate their successes, even knowing it was just a TV show, made me think about Reading Workshop this year. When students leave, I wonder how many will have a story to tell. I hope they recognize their potential, and work to reach it. Then I will be the one singing about a great year.

Reading Rambunctiously

2010-09-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

Put some life into your reading. Make the words and the voices scream out. Don't just read it, live it. If the beautiful princess and the ugly frog have the same voice, you are not getting it.

When you sing a song, you listen to the music and your brain automatically tells you when and what to sing. Reading should be similar. As you read the words, your brain should be seeing a picture, hearing the sounds, making connections to what you already know, and comparing the story to them.

All of this starts with hearing the characters' voices. So practice reading rambunctiously. Read as if giving a performance. Be a beautiful princess (good luck boys) and then switch to an ugly, little frog.

Rambunctious--energetic, boisterous, lively

Details	last edit by MrMcGuire Dec 8, 2008 10:48 am - 3 revisions
Tags	none

The Frog Prince
Edith H. Tarcov version

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. She had a golden ball, and it was her favorite plaything. She took it wherever she went. One day the princess was playing in the woods, near a well. She thew her ball high into the air. It fell-splash-into the well. The princess watched her golden ball sink deep into the water of the well, and she began to cry. She cried harder and harder.

Suddenly someone said, ''What is the matter, princess? Why are you making so much noise?" The princess looked around. She looked into the well.

An ugly little frog was looking up at her. The frog asked again, "what is the matter, princess?"

"Oh, it's you old water splasher," the princess said. "My golden ball had fallen into the well. That is why I am crying."

You can read more on The Reading Workshop wiki at The Frog Prince.

Image from http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DP1DptN-_7M/0.jpg

Why You Need to Live the Book

2010-09-07T10:49:00.002-04:00

Good readers are one with the book. They know the characters, strive to understand them and relate to them. They picture the setting, comparing it to places they know. They smell the aromas, living them like passing a bakery in the early morning. They hear sounds, from the softest whispers to the loudest screeches.

Thinking, wondering, questioning, disbelieving, and doubting occur continually as good readers go page to page. Why did that happen? What is coming next? Question after question drives an interaction that controls comprehension. Connections with the story build with the plot. Interest in the story grows with each question, both the answered and the unanswered.

The bottom line--get your brain involved. Think about what you are reading. Get your senses involved. See, hear, and smell. Live the book and get all you can get out it, and it will give you back a great story.

So Reading Workshop students, as you read today, were you involved?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/4626893025/sizes/o/

C'mon Bored Boy, Reading Should be Fun

2010-09-02T10:58:00.000-04:00

He was looking at the ceiling. He was looking at the girl beside him. His head rolled around and then settled on his pencil. He poked his paper. The girl beside him asked him to stop, so then he bugged her. He glanced at his book, turned the page, and then looked around the room. He turned another page, and then looked around the room. And this was just in the first five minutes of SSR (Sustained Silent Reading).

After watching this for the last 4 days, I couldn't take it any more. I took him out in the book room so we could talk.

Me: Are you getting your book?

Student: Uhhhhh, not really.

Me: Let me guess. You never really get the book you are reading, so you hate to read because it is so boring.

Student: Well, yeah.

Me: And this has been going on ever since you learned to read?

Student: Yes

Here's the message to all students in Reading Workshop

Reading should be fun. Reading should be exciting. Reading should be a story in your mind where you can't wait to see what happens next. If it is not this way, here is what you should do:

1. Get a different book

2. Try an easier book

3. Try a different author

4. Try a different genre

5. Ask a friend for a recommendation

6. Ask me for a good book

7. Pay attention to when you stop getting a picture

8. Reread, a page, a chapter, or the whole book until you get a picture.

Reading should be fun. Reading should be exciting. If you hate it, then talk to me about what is going on with your reading. You will be reading a lot this year. Find a good book that makes you smile, excited, happy, sad, mad, scared . . . There are a lot of great books. Find one!

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117655@N07/4448376213/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Nothing Like a Blog to Get Them Working

2010-09-01T15:07:00.000-04:00

Walk into the Reading Workshop classroom and it is so quiet. Students are intensely focused on their screens. About the only sound is the pecking on keyboards. Occasionally someone will ask a peer for help, which is quickly given because the helper wants to get back to their post. At times, students will skim through their book, looking for correct spelling, or a detail that will support a point.

Students created their blog the first week of school. A lot of the second week was spent learning the basics of Wordpress and blogging. As students begin posting, once again the value of integrating technology into the curriculum shows. Discipline isn't an issue. Everyone wants to get a post written so their peers can read it and comment on it.

Fake reading during SSR is limited. Let's face it, if you know all of your peers are going to read what you write, you better make sense. And how can you write about a book if you haven't read it and/or don't understand it?

Technology contributes in many ways to the success of students in Reading Workshop. The greatest benefit though is motivation. Students are working, doing their best to produce a great blog. And with the way they are working, I have no doubt they will succeed.

Super Teacher, EEEERRRR Maybe Not

2010-08-31T10:37:00.001-04:00

It was the first day of school, and like every teacher, this Super Teacher wanted to get things started off right. You know, start the year with a BANG! I needed to get kids involved and motivated. Reading Workshop was going to be THE CLASS!

With a little time on Youtube, I found a great video that featured Nick Vujicic. I knew this would grab students' attention. And then there was the read aloud of Swear to Howdy. Even the most reluctant student would be engaged after the first chapter of this book. I would rap it up with a motivational speech about putting forth a lot of effort, don't worry about mistakes, just keep trying.

The power went out for about an hour, right as we started class. So much for my great plan. Even when it came back on, there was no Internet service for the rest of the day. So much for the awesome video.

The read aloud went as planned until the discussion. Seth raised his hand and said, "Mr. McGuire, is your shirt on inside out?" So unbelievable, but so true. And so much for my day as Super Teacher. This poor guy can't even get dressed right.

The best part was the response. All of the students, teachers, and Mrs. Scott, the Principal got a good laugh. And to top it off, the next morning 3/4 of my class showed up with their shirts on inside out. Obviously, another great start to a great year for Super Teacher. :)

Image Inside Out Shirt courtesy of donnyb.

The Motivation to Succeed

2010-08-24T08:10:00.001-04:00

No excuses. No whining. No complaining. Success and nothing less.

Do you have the will to succeed?

You can find out more about Nick Vujicic at his website, Life Without Limbs.

Welcome to Sixth Grade

2010-08-23T17:20:00.001-04:00

Do you like to be "in the know?" Do you want to know what is going on, and when it will happen? If so, this is the place to check for sixth grade at Laurelville Elementary and for Reading Workshop.

You can find contact information if you need to email me about a comment, question, or concern. Just click on the link at the top, or on the top right sidebar, on the email link.

You can follow assignments and homework, by looking at the sidebar. Daily classroom assignments will be posted here. Long term projects will be mentioned here. Also, homework with due dates is posted in the homework section.

If you want an idea of class topics and general discussions, checking The Reading Workshop Blog will keep you informed. Also, using the links at the right will allow you to go to your child's blog, and see his/her daily work.

To see what book your child is reading, just go to the SSR Book Page. This will also let you compare your child's reading habits with those of his peers. If you want to find a good book, this is a good place to start.

If you want to be involved in your child's education, this blog makes it possible. If you check it regularly, you will find endless details about our class, and what we are doing. It makes a great starting point to having a discussion with your child about school. So, stop by and if you have a comment, don't hesitate. All visitors are welcome.

Image from corrections.ky.gov

Downing's Visit Shows the Importance of Web 2.0 in the Classroom

2010-05-20T14:39:00.002-04:00

Author, Erin Downing visited The Reading Workshop blog last week. She commented on a book talk about Prom Crashers by Hadley. This was an extremely important event for all of the students, and especially for Hadley.

Students have worked throughout the year, with technology being integrated into everything they do in language arts. I have continually stressed the importance of high quality work, and we have had many discussions about how work published on the Internet can be viewed by anyone. This was never more evident than when Downing took the time to watch the book talk, and then comment.

It's ironic how so many little events led up to this memorable one. Several years ago, computers became a tool used daily in Reading Workshop. We started with word processing, built a class wiki, used Study Island online learning, and eventually started student blogs. This year, after I watched a session on Book Talks by David Hayward from ITSCO, I started having students use a Flip Video Camera to film their book talks.

Although there are many benefits to using Web 2.0 tools for learning, none can top having the author of a book take the time to comment on a student's work. It shows the power of blogging and how an online presence can contribute to students' education and motivate them to the highest level of success. With the use of technology in the classroom, an author can visit online and have a positive impact on students that read her book.

Thank you Mrs. Downing for making the effort to interact with The Reading Workshop, and for recognizing the work of Hadley. A few minutes of your time helped make a memory that will last a lifetime.

The Schwa Was Here Book Talk

2010-05-20T12:23:00.000-04:00

The Schwa was Here, written by Neal Shusterman is a story of friendship with a twist of invisible. This book talk is presented by Hadley. To see all of The Reading Workshop book talk videos, you can visit The Reading Workshop Book Talk Wiki page.

Does Integrity Matter to a Sixth Grader?

2010-05-13T13:56:00.000-04:00

Integrity--Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

The Mad River Theater performed at Laurelville on Wednesday. They did a play written by Bob Lucas about Lewis Latimer, an African American Inventor who lived in the late 1800's. The play recapped Latimer's life, his struggles and his successes.

The performance ended with the song, Honesty, Integrity, and Pride. These character traits were representative of Latimer's life. This prods the question, does integrity matter to a sixth grader? Should it?

Thinking back to the read aloud of Freak the Mighty, and having watched the film, The Mighty, I was thinking about Kevin's view of integrity. How does it compare to yours? In a few words, does your integrity guide how you live?

What's Your Story?

2010-05-04T12:36:00.001-04:00

In Reading Workshop we are continuing the read aloud of The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm. In this story about life in middle school, three students, Russell, Catalina, and Elliot are drawn together due to being targets for bullies at Parkland Middle School.

As the aggression heightens, Catalina decides to share her story. She reveals that she was forced to move to the USA from the Philippines when her parents divorce. She comes to America with her father based on the chance for a better education.

This brings up the question for Reading Workshop students, what is your story? If you were new to the school, and wrote a story for peers, what would it say?

Writing a Fictional Narrative

2010-04-28T11:12:00.005-04:00

The next project in Reading Workshop will be to write a fictional narrative. Students will begin with some pre-writing and planning activities. Then, their stories will be told chapter by chapter on their blog.

The first step to writing a story involves making some decisions.

How many characters will there be?

What are the names of the characters?

Who is the main character?

Where does the story take place?

When does the story take place?

What will happen in the story?

What problems occur?

How will the problems be solved?

What moral or lesson will be learned?

Start Here

1. Create your characters and develop their characteristics and physical traits. Is there a villain and what is he/she like? How does the bad guy impact the story?

2. Create the setting. Where and when does the story take place. How does the setting impact the story?

3. Create the problem or conflict? What minor problems will build tension leading to the climax? How will the main character react when faced with the main problem/conflict?

4. What crisis will occur at the last minute which will grab the reader and give the main character a last chance to solve the problem? Plan for a fingernail biting moment.

5. How will the main character solve the problem? What positive attribute like courage, creativity, or intelligence does he/she possess which will help him succeed?

6. Finish with style. What lesson does the main character learn? How will the reader connect and learn from the moral?

And now, WRITE!

You Can Do It!

2010-04-26T09:34:00.001-04:00

You have been reading and writing all year. You have practiced every imaginable type of test passage. Your vocabulary has improved tremendously. You have proven your ability on Study Island. Every sign points to success. And, as I told you two months ago, YOU WILL PASS!

Now it is on you. Do you believe? Will you work your absolute hardest for 2 1/2 hours to show yourself, your parents, and your school that you have grown and learned this year in Reading Workshop?

Thank you for the effort. You make me proud!

Your Test Score Can Make Everyone Smile

2010-04-23T10:27:00.002-04:00

So Martha, the Test Grader is sitting in her cubical and opens a test. She turns to the first short answer and this is what she sees.

She is ready to get her work for the day started. Even with a headache, she knows she has to concentrate because a lot of people are counting on her. Students success and opportunities ride on her fair evaluation of their work.

Needless to say, her headache screams out and she wants to be anywhere, rather than try to read this mess. But, she really wants to be fair so she starts to fight through the misspelled words, lack of organization, and off-topic response. She quickly realizes though, this just isn't worth it, scribbles down a 0 and moves to the next answer.

Now it's time for your test and here is your first response.

Martha is smiling now. She is thinking, "this is from a good kid. This is so easy. Why can't all of the kids write like this?"

And little does she know, but somewhere in a state far, far away, a student is smiling as she thinks back to that day of the reading test. She knows she passed, because she did her best, and used all of the test taking strategies that her teacher taught her.

There is someone else smiling. As this student was taking the test, a teacher sat at his desk and watched her work. He knew she would pass. He watched her work hard all year. Today as he thinks back, he knows she did a great job, and anxiously awaits the test results that will show a real success story.

An Easy Way to Practice for the Ohio Achievement Assessment

2010-04-21T09:24:00.001-04:00

Want an easy way to practice for the Ohio Achievement Assessment? All it takes is a computer and Internet access. Today, students in Reading Workshop accessed the ODE test portal. The Ohio Department of Education has set up a website with a lot of information. There is a section just for the Ohio Achievement Test.

Students can practice using test passages and questions from previous years. They have a choice of setting up an account to save their results, or they can Take a Test without Logging In. Parents and students can see what is expected, scores, and what they mean.

What to Do About a Bully

2010-04-20T10:36:00.002-04:00

The latest read aloud in Reading Workshop is The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm. The book opens with Russell, the main character being harassed by Richie Tucker. Russell is already having a tough time with the start of the new school year. Somehow, he found himself without a group. He was on a friendship island, even while surrounded by people.

Every school has a Richie. He is bigger than most of the kids, and way meaner. Kids like Russell just stay away from him. Unfortunately, an ill advised attempt at humor puts Russell straight in Richie's sites.

This brings us to the question, if you were in the same position as Russell, what would you do? What can you do about a bully?

How You Can Control the Test Grader

2010-04-20T09:28:00.001-04:00

OK, so Martha has your test and answer booklet. She doesn't know you, and doesn't care to. In fact, she doesn't know about Reading Workshop, the name of the school, the town, or the state where you live. You are just a number in a stack. A tall stack of answer booklets that have to be graded before she can take a break.

Now it all comes down to you, the student, and your answer booklet. Will your hard work be in vain? Will eight months of learning be wasted? Or will you be a success story making yourself, your parents, your teachers, and your school feel proud using the Strategies you have been taught?

Did you write neatly? Can she read your responses? Did you write legibly? Trying to strain her eyes and her brain to read cat scratches is going to irritate Martha. She probably won't even take the time to sort through it. She will just give it a big, fat, zero.

Did you organize your answers to make finding key points easy? If you restated the question and numbered your responses, Martha can easily find key words and information. Using a rubric to score short answer and extended response answers, Martha is looking for specific words and answers.

Did you go back into the essay and find specific details? Going back and finding specific details in the passage is paramount. Any time a questions asks for specific details, they are looking for examples word-for-word from the text.

Did you use the passage to help you with your spelling? Another factor that makes grading easier is correct spelling. Most of the words that you need to spell are either in the question, or in the passage. It just takes a second to look back and find the correct spelling.

Did you use the basic test taking skills that you have learned in class?

Images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx

How the Life of a Test Grader Affects Test Scores

2010-04-19T10:57:00.003-04:00

As the time for testing quickly approaches, students in Reading Workshop have the chance once again, to meet Martha, the Test Grader.

As she rushed around the kitchen, eating a piece of toast while she picked up, Emily spilled her cereal all over the floor. Five minutes later, after cleaning up the spill, Martha glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. She grabbed a cup of coffee to go, snatched up Emily and bolted out the door. She put Emily in the car, and jumped in her seat. As she reached across to buckle the seat belt, she spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. "Oh @#$#@@#$," she thought.

She unbuckled Emily and ran back in the house to change. She searched high and low, but there was nothing clean to wear. She grabbed her cleanest dirty shirt out of the laundry, shook it out, and slid it on. Once again, she and Emily headed for her sister's house. Naturally, she hit a construction zone two minutes from her sister's. After sitting for 10 minutes, she finally got through. She sprinted in, gave Emily a kiss good bye, and headed off to work. She had 11 minutes to make the 20 minute drive.

She was lucky, the construction only held her up for 5 minutes this time through. Unfortunately, her head pounded with a migraine from the stress of the morning. And work hadn't even started yet.

She reached work, late again. She stopped by the pop machine, but didn't have any change for her morning dose of Diet Coke. As she rounded the corner, there stood her boss, with a mean look on his face, and her daily stack of tests to score.

"Late again, I see," he said with a scowl. "Don't even think about taking a break until you get this school's tests scored." With her head pounding, no Diet Coke, and no time for Advil, Martha reached for the first test. Martha, the test grader opened your test.

How will you score?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx

Define Normal Book Talk

2010-04-19T06:19:00.007-04:00

Define Normal written by Julie Anne Peters is a realistic fictional story that leaves many questions in the mind of the reader. Heather raises a few of these in her book talk. To see all of The Reading Workshop book talk videos, you can visit The Reading Workshop Book Talk Wiki page.

Achievement Strategies

2010-04-16T12:33:00.005-04:00

As the day of achievement testing fast approaches, students brainstormed a list of strategies that would lead to success on the test.

Strategies for Reading

Read the questions before the passage
Read the title
Look at word banks and subtitles
Skim to get an idea of what the passage is about
Reread
Look for the W's (who, what, when, where, why, and how)
Use prior knowledge
Visualize--Picture what you are reading
Underline/highlight important information

Strategies for Word Attack

Circle words you don't understand
Substitute words you don't know
Sound out words
Cross out unneeded adjectives and adverbs
Make connections
Look at root words
Look at prefixes/suffixes
Use Context Clues

Strategies for Answering Questions

Find Your Answers in the Passage
Mark in the passage where you found the answer
Restate the Question
Look at how many points the answer is worth
Number your response
Use words from the text
Use specific details from the text
Always give at least one extra example/detail
Answer what the question is asking
Answer in complete sentences
Look at other questions for clues
Eliminate multiple choice answers that don't make sense
Reread the question and double check answers
Recheck answers in the passage
Write neatly so the grader can understand your answer
When finished, check PUGS to make it easier to grade