Thursday, August 11, 2016

Reading Strategies Goal 8: Supporting Comprehension in Nonfiction - Main Idea

Welcome to our book study of The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers by Jennifer Serravallo! I am joining forces with some other fabulous teacher bloggers to discuss the reading strategies we come across in this AMAZING professional text! If you missed my first post about this book study, you can find it here, along with a suggested way to set up your book for easy reference.

You can also find my thoughts and ideas on other goals in this book below:

Goal 1: Supporting Pre-Emergent and Emergent Readers
Goal 2: Reading Engagement
Goal 3: Supporting Print Work
Goal 4: Fluency
Goal 5: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction Main Idea and Plot
Goal 6: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction Characters
Goal 7: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction Theme

Make sure you read to the bottom for your chance to win a $30 Amazon gift card! You can use it towards your purchase of this book or anything else you would like!

In this chapter, the focus switches to non-fiction.

Some students struggle with being able to explain what a text is mostly about, often resorting to reciting various facts or details they have read. The ability to understand what the most important parts of a text is critical to comprehension.

To determine if a student needs to work on this goal, you can have them read a non-fiction text at their independent level. You would then ask them questions such as:

1. What is this text mostly about?

2. What is the main idea?

If they struggle to answer these questions, this would be an appropriate goal for them.

Focus Strategy 1: Notice What Repeats

In this strategy, you would tell the student, "To figure out what a book is mostly about, it is helpful to pay attention to the word or words that you see again and again."

An example can be seen in the page below from the book Sharks.

Students may notice that the word sharks appears multiple times both in the text and in the captions. The student could ask themselves, is this text mostly about sharks?

Focus Strategy 2: Topic/Subtopic/Details

This strategy asks the student to first determine the topic (what the whole section is about), then the subtopic, and finally details that connect to the topic and subtopic.

Serravallo shows a simple graphic organizer that the students can create to keep track of this work.

Focus Strategy 3: Boxes and Bullets

This is a strategy we used often in class last year, as it is featured in the Lucy Calkins Units of Study. In this strategy, students draw a box and several bullets beneath it. As they read, they are supposed to ask themselves," Does this sentence say what the part is mostly about (box), or is this a detail (bullet)?" They would then write the information in the appropriate space.

You can download similar graphic organizers for this strategy here.

Remember, we are only picking and choosing some of the strategies to share with you - there are so many more great ones in this section as well as the rest of the book!

Now... time for the Giveaway!

This Giveaway is Over! Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current giveaway.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Prize: $30 Amazon Gift Card

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher),

Co-hosts: An Apple for the Teacher, The Chocolate Teacher, Heart 2 Heart Teaching, The Corriganite Nation, Ms K., Teaching With Hope, Carrie Lutz, Teacher Gameroom, and Becky's Social Studies Center.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. Giveaway ends 8/18/16 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media? Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you would like to purchase the book mentioned above, you can find it here.

Other books by this author that I LOVE!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.

Nichole from The Craft of Teaching is officially hosting goal 8 over at her blog, so make sure you head over there to see which strategies she chose to share! While you are there, be sure to leave some comment love!

If you would like to link up your own blog posts about this book, feel free to do so in the linky below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Saturday, August 6, 2016

$75 Monthly TpT Gift Card Giveaway - 2 Winners!

It's that time again! Time to spoil our amazing readers with a $75 Teachers Pay Teachers gift card! But... I have a little secret to tell you! This month we are not giving away just one $75 TpT gift card, but 2!!!!! That's right, we will be picking 2 different winners so you have even more chances to win!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Prize: $75 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card

Giveaway organized by: An Apple for the Teacher

Co-hosts: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher), A Plus Kids, Teaching Superkids, Peas in a Pod, Embellished Education, Lattes and Lunchrooms, KB3Teach, Dancing into First, Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching, The Chocolate Teacher, Ms K Math, Knowledge Mobile, Mrs. Roltgen, Elementary Antics, CrazyCharizma, Carla Hoff, Third Grade Giggles, Mickey's Place, Rissa Hanneken, Activity Tailor, Kamp Kindergarten, Reading and Writing Redhead, Planet Happy Smiles, A View Into My Classroom, Momma With A Teaching Mission, Sara Rucker, The Literacy Garden, Pam's Place, Heart 2 Heart Teaching, Mrs Humphries Class, Sliding Into 1st, Growing Grade by Grade, Jackie Crews, Life As I Know It, Sarah Griffin, Teacher Treasure Hunter, Glistening Gems, and A Classroom for All Seasons.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter. Giveaway ends 8/13/16 and is open worldwide.

Are you a blogger who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog? Click here to find out how you can join a totally awesome group of bloggers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 5, 2016

Enter to win a $25 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card

If you were unable to get everything on your TpT wishlist during the big sale, you will want to enter this giveaway!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Prize: $25 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher),

Co-hosts: An Apple for the Teacher, Mrs. Roltgen, The Craft of Teaching, and Just Add Students.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. Giveaway ends 8/12/16 and is open worldwide.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Reading Strategies Goal 7: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction - Theme

Welcome to our book study of The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers by Jennifer Serravallo! I am joining forces with some other fabulous teacher bloggers to discuss the reading strategies we come across in this AMAZING professional text! If you missed my first post about this book study, you can find it here, along with a suggested way to set up your book for easy reference.

You can also find my thoughts and ideas on other goals in this book below:

Goal 1: Supporting Pre-Emergent and Emergent Readers
Goal 2: Reading Engagement
Goal 3: Supporting Print Work
Goal 4: Teaching Fluency
Goal 5: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction - Main Idea and Plot
Goal 6: Supporting Comprehension in Fiction - Characters

Stories are filled with morals, ideas, and issues, although many aren't specifically stated by the author. According to Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (2000) "Themes in books are the underlying ideas, morals, or lessons that give the story its texture, depth, and meaning. The themes are rarely written out in the story. We infer themes."

Serravallo says that it is important to teach children to think about themes, ideas, and symbolism, because when they think with more depth about the reading, that's when reading really begins to matter. She says "...it becomes about letting stories help us see our world, feel something, question our own beliefs."

Determining if this goal is right for a student

It's important to keep in mind the task you are asking the child to do (determining theme) and the text (reading level) as you are assessing your students.

Prior to level K, lessons are clearly connected to what the character learns and is sometimes explicitly stated in the text.

By third grade (levels M-P), it's more likely students will need to infer the theme. Serravallo suggests looking to see if a student can name a theme as a sentence rather than just a single word.

Around levels R/S, texts often have multiple themes. You might ask the student, "What else?" or "Do you have any other ideas?" to see if they are picking up on more than one theme.

Focus Strategy 1: The Difference Between Plot and Theme

Students often have a difficult time differentiating between plot and theme. We can tell them, "Plot is what happens in the story, and theme represents the bigger ideas of the story."

Serravallo suggests having students think about the plot, what is happening in the story, and then asking themselves, "What's the big idea about what's happening in the story?"

You might make an anchor chart like the one below. This one is based on one of my favorite read alouds, How to Steal A Dog.

Focus Strategy 2: What Can Characters Teach Us?

In this strategy, Serravallo suggests having students list out some positive traits of a character in their book. Then have them ask themselves, "What can this character teach me about living, to be a better person?"

When I read this strategy, I immediately thought of the character Jack Will in the book Wonder. He is courageous enough to continue being friends with Auggie even though most of the school treats him badly because of it. Students might say that they could learn to do the right thing even if it isn't always easy.

Focus Strategy 3: What Are You Left With?

In this strategy, students focus on the last paragraph or page in a book. Often the author will end the book with a lesson.

This strategy reminded me of the last line of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The last line is:

"My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia."

Students might see that the author could be trying to teach them that you can't run away from your problems.

Remember, we are only picking and choosing some of the strategies to share with you - there are so many more great ones in this section as well as the rest of the book!

If you would like to purchase the book mentioned above, you can find it here.

Other books by this author that I LOVE!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.

Melissa from Peas in a Pod Lessons is officially hosting goal 7 over at her blog, so make sure you head over there to see which strategies she chose to share! While you are there, be sure to leave some comment love!

If you would like to link up your own blog posts about this book, feel free to do so in the linky below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Even More Giveaways for Back To School

I hope that you were able to get many of your back to school needs during the Back to School Sale on Teachers pay Teachers! I know I picked up quite a few things from my own wish list! But.. just in case, some of my TpT friends are giving away some of their best sellers!

Rissa Hanneken from Teaching in the Heart of Florida is giving away her Fluency Pack #3 Pyramid Sentences set.

Here is what she has to say about this set:

"Fluency Pack #3 Pyramid Sentences extend fluency practice by helping your students “put it all together”. They start with the first word and keep building until they have mastered the entire sentence. By the time they have reached the bottom, they are ready to read the sentence with fluency and the correct pace. Along the way, there is lots of giggling as they work their way to mastery!

There are 20 different 8x8 cards which are perfect for little hands to hold!

Use these Pyramid Sentences for:

§Guided Reading

§Skills Groups

§Literacy Centers

§Tier 2 and 3 Intervention "

You can enter to win this using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next, Carol from The Chocolate Teacher is giving away her Adjectives set.

This unit is full of engaging and fun activities to introduce and practice adjectives. It includes an anchor chart, sorting cards, an individual student chart of adjectives, a silly story activity, and 7 additional practice pages. Just check out the pictures below!

You can enter to win this using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Explore Like a Pirate Book Study Ch. 9

Today I am linking up with Sweet Sweet Primary for our book study of Michael Matera's book Explore Like a Pirate. Join us each Tuesday as we share our takeaways from this book that is all about engaging your students. If you missed my previous posts you can find them here:

Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

This chapter is all about finding the joy in assessment. Isn't that an oxymoron? Not so if you use games to assess Matera says.

Mini-games

Mini-games in the classroom should provide a "brain break" and serve as a confidence builder for your students. Matera provides a variety of game ideas and suggests investing in a buzzer system.

I use this set from Learning Resources. My students absolutely LOVE them!

Royal Rumble

This is a traditional review game with a few twists.

You will need:

Prepared review questions
Buzzers (optional - you could just have students raise their hands to answer)
A line on the floor where 1 member from each team will stand.

Students answer questions and win points for their team for each correct answer. They lose points for incorrect answers.

You can modify this with bonus points, not losing points, or ????

Mystery Box

You will need:

Prepared review questions
Game Board (Point cards turned around backwards on the board)

In this game students answer questions and if they are correct, they get to choose a mystery "box" to open for points.

Fun Fillers

These are just what they sound like, and are used when you have 5 minutes to fill or just need a brain break.

Super Silent

This is a series of challenges that students must accomplish without making a sound. If they don't achieve the task, they are given another chance. If they do, give them the next challenge. Matera says to be ruthless and demand absolute silence! If they wiggle a little too loudly, they start over. Some suggested challenges could be:

Start seated, stand up.
Switch seats with someone on the other side of the room.
Stand on one leg for 15 seconds.

Bean Bag Toss

This game is similar to silent ball. You play with a bean bag using the rules below:

1. Students stay in one spot with little movement.

2. No talking.

3. Toss beanbag underhanded

4. Good tosses and catches.

5. Additional Rules can be added such as (catch with left hand only, throw to someone wearing blue, etc.).

Do you use games in the classroom? I would love to hear some of your ideas!

Monday, August 1, 2016

Post-It Treasure Chest Giveaway!

When I did my student teaching, my lead teacher was a big fan of Post-It Notes, unfortunately, the school we were at only used the cheap generic ones that didn't stay sticky. They were everywhere!