How Songs Help Build Strong Readers

Greetings Friends!

It's Jennifer (aka The Guitar-Playing Teacher) here!  

Today I am happy to hop over from  Stories and Songs in Second  to share a variety of favorite songs from my musical collection that will help your students build reading confidence, fluency, and expression!

Now, some of you are most likely pausing as you read this to ask the following questions:

1.  Why do I need to sing with my students?

2.  What if I can't carry a tune?

3.  How do I sing with my students if I don't play an instrument?

4.  How am I supposed to make time to sing with my students when I have too much on my  

     instructional plate already?

5. What if my administrator walks in and finds me singing with my students? 

Here are your answers:

The reason you need to sing with your students....

I was lucky enough to have parents who sang to me and with me at an early age.  My mother was a Girl Scout leader, and I have fond memories of learning the words to The Bear Went Over the Mountain and A Great Big Brownie Smile at our weekly troop meetings.  My father often was the one to tuck me in at night, and would sing traditional tunes like You Are My Sunshine and  Oh Susanna to help lull me to sleep.  Sadly, many families today don't sing together much anymore, unless it is along with the car radio as they travel to-and-from extra-curricular activities.  Consequently, the students in your classroom have not had the opportunity to develop as many "wrinkles" in their brains (a term a wise occupational therapist once shared with me) that grasp and hold on to language and build important cognitive skills such as sequential memory and oral speech patterns.   Singing with your students will make up for this lost time!  It will create the "wrinkles" in their brains that they need to not only be more fluent readers, but readers that are able to understand and recall what they have read.

Don't worry about singing off-key....

Your students will not notice, and a few will not be able to carry a tune either!  They will have fun trying though, and so will you!  Yes, you will have students who are self-conscious and who refuse to participate.  Yes, you will have students who roll their eyes and quietly think that you are a nutball.  But, you will also have those children who grin when you grab your plastic microphone and burst into a hilariously funny and thoroughly entertaining "Michael Jackson" version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.    And maybe, just maybe......that child who never raises his/her hand to answer (and speaks below a whisper most of the day) will smile gleefully and join with you in singing Raffi's "Willaby Wallaby Weynolds, an elephant sat on Mrs. Reynolds!"

Instruments are not needed for classroom singing.....

Acapella works just fine, and so do CDs, online music links, your Pandora playlist, or cassette tapes!

I've included links to many of my favorite, trusted sites throughout this post.

Music is something that you can easily incorporate into your daily learning menu to enhance or extend the experience, and cue student attention! 

When it's time to practice counting on with money, my class reviews the value of our coins with this fun jingle that we keep posted on chart paper. 

My mother gave me a penny

to go and see Jack Benny.

But I didn't see Jack Benny!

Instead I bought bubblegum!

Ba-yoom!

Ba-yoom!

Bought bubblegum!

Ba-yoom!

Ba-yoom!

Bought bubblegum!

Instead I bought bubblegum!

The rest of the rhymes follow....

...nickel- to go and buy a pickle

...dime-to go and buy a lime

...quarter-to go and buy some mortar

...dollar-to buy my dog a collar

When it's time to move on to practice some subtraction action, we often open the Fluency Folders we use during our Read To Self or Read To Someone blocks and sing Five Green and Speckled Frogs with great gusto, following the song lyrics across the printed page with a fun tracker or our pointer fingers.

Make sure that when you are singing with your students, they have a print version of the song lyrics to read from!  

The lyrics can be scrolling across your Smartboard , pasted in their poetry notebooks, written on chart paper, cued up on their computer screens, or in a packet you've typed up and copied called  "Teacher Favorites!"   Then, if your principal happens to do a walk-through at a time when your class is "making a joyful noise,"  just point to this important ELA learning standard you have posted on the wall,  smile and wave, hand over a song sheet, and hope that he or she will join in!

I can read read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, 

appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

I tell my second graders that songs are really just stories set to music, and that long ago--before T.V. and DVDs and video games--troubadours, or singing storytellers, traveled the countryside entertaining families in front of their fireplaces or around the village square bonfire in the evenings.  I explain to them that many of the songs we still sing today have been passed down in this "oral tradition" over the years, and that we are lucky to have the words written down in books now so that they are not forgotten.  My class is usually quite fascinated by this information, and when I "unearth" or introduce songs I learned as a little girl, they often wonder if I lived during the time of kings and queens.  I hurriedly assure them that I am not THAT old, and proceed to share this musical gem that I loved listening to as I watched Sesame Street with my younger sister.

If you are not sure about what types of songs and lyrics work best in the primary classroom, 

here is a list of ideas and suggestions to help you get started.  Many of the picture and music books shown come with an audio CD and can also be enjoyed at your Listen to Reading station!

  

This heartwarming book, written by Joe Raposo and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, tells the tale of a little bird who is afraid to find his "voice."  My students love to "Sing out loud! Sing out strong!" 

as I turn the pages!

Wee Sing Silly Songs, created by Susan Hagen Nipp and Pamela Conn Beall, are  great anthologies of familiar tunes like There's A Hole In The Bottom of the Sea, The Ants Go Marching, and Found A Peanut.

The CJ Fundamentals  cassettes are two favorites that I purchased way back in 1995 at a workshop, but are only available as MP3 files via Amazon Prime.  The Three Bears Boogieis a hoot, and a great non-traditional addition to any study of fairy tales!

Peter Spier's beautifully illustrated version of the old folk song, The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night

has a wonderful call-and-response style and rhymed refrain that encourages my students to

"howl at the moonlight" as they echo!

She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain is another great folk song that helps build sequencing skills.  My class stands up when we sing it and adds motions to each piece of the story puzzle.  Great hilarity always ensues when we get to these verses!

Oh we'll have to sleep with Grandma when she comes...(Move over!)

She'll be wearing red pajamas when she comes...(Scratch, scratch!)

Polly Wolly Doodle and Home On The Range are two traditional tunes that I introduce to my students when we study the tall tales and cowboy legends of the Old West.  I've Been Working On The Railroad is another folk song that my group loves, and I often change the words

as needed during our school day.....especially when directions need to be repeated!  My version sometimes sounds like this.

 I am looking for some listeners,

all the live long day!

I am looking for some listeners,

just to pass the time away!

Can't you hear your teacher calling?

Please put your supplies away!

Can't you hear your teacher calling?

It's almost time to play! 

 Barefoot Books is a publishing house and website that I just discovered last year.  It features books with audio CDs for purchase, as well as some free animated videos that have follow along "karaoke style" text.  The books are a beautifully illustrated and designed to build and practice

important phonemic awareness skills!

Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land  is the most requested song during my class' daily sing-a-long, and is always a huge hit on Grandparent's Day in the spring!  I love showing my students this You Tube video of Pete Seeger, his grandson, and Bruce Springsteen singing it with a children's choir on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial!

As a "child of the '70s and '80s, I grew up listening to and learning to play the songs of John Denver.  I performed Sunshine On My Shoulders at my 8th grade Talent Show, and still sing the lead melody

on Take Me Home Country Roads at our family's Christmas beach bonfire in Florida.  

If you've never enjoyed Christopher Canyon's beautifully illustrated book series, I urge you to at least invest in Grandma's Feather Bed!  What a wonderful song to use when teaching exaggeration!  It also has four comical hound dogs and a piggie that's stolen from the shed!  Enough said!

Hopefully, most of your students will have belted Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the "7th Inning Stretch" at some point in their short life, so singing the parody written by Alan Katz, 

I'm Still Here In The Bathtub, will be easy-peasy!  This collection of  songs is just plain "silly dilly," and is best enjoyed right before bus or lunch recess!  It will send your students out the door with a smile!

What could be better than Paul McCartney singing Mary Had A Little Lamb, and James Taylor singing Getting To Know You?  Well, it is a toss-up between Bruce Springsteen singing Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips and Alligator Eyes, or Ziggy Marley singing Give A Little Love.

On the one hand, the rhymes in Chicken Lips are just grin-inducing (and a bit gross).....

Chicken lips and lizard hips,

and alligator eyes.

Monkey legs and buzzard eggs,

and salamander thighs.

Rabbit ears and camel ears,

and tasty toenail pies.

Stir them all together,

it's Mama's Soup Surprise!

On the other hand,  the message in Give A Little Love is all about kindness and caring 

(with a reggae beat).....

Let's give a little love,

have a little hope,

make this world a little better....

On Top Of Spaghetti, written by folk singer Tom Glazer and sung to the tune of On Top of Old Smokey, served as the inspiration for this little fluency FREEBIE that I hope you will use and enjoy in your classroom!  

The song works well as either a partner read/sing activity or a group choral read!  My class loves

to perform it in their best Italian opera voices!

Click this button to get your FREE song booklet!

Thanks so much for sticking with this lengthy post!  Exposing children to the magical combination of books and music is something I am very passionate about.  Know that it makes my heart, and theirs, happy!

I will sign off now with House At Pooh Corner, by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.  It is a song I used to sing during my college house coffee days, and that I sang as a lullaby to both my son and daughter many moons ago.  It tells the story of two best friends who I met in A.A. Milne's Hundred Acre Wood,and who still are two of my favorite book characters today.

Thanks so much for "listening!"   Leave a comment below about one of the ways you love to use music in your classroom!

Until next time, always remember this.... 

Building Confidence In The Struggling Reader

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone! Emily here, from The Reading Tutor/OG. I'm excited to share with you in this brand new year! Today, I'm going to open a discussion. Many of us work with challenged or struggling readers every day. As a classroom teacher, you recognize how vital it is to reach out and help these students not only experience success, but to develop a love of reading.

I work specifically with struggling readers and the challenge for them to gain success is ever present. Reading the written word is a constant reminder of their struggle. And yet they keep on keepin' on. When a lesson is especially tough or you've been working with this child or group on a strategy or skill for what may seem like forever, what pushes them to remain steadfast? What keeps them encouraged and confident?

I've surveyed a group of teachers and teacher bloggers, asking them to share some of their advice. They came up with some great suggestions! At the end of this post, please comment with any ideas you may have. Thank you!

~Ways To Build Confidence~

1. Nicole: "Small realistic measurable goals. Keep a graph and celebrate growth . We have a wall of fame...kids earn an index card brick upon making a goal. They also wear a lanyard for the day that has a sign saying "I met goal! ASK ME ABOUT IT! ". Staff and students ask and they are happy to talk about their success."
2. Michelle: "Students are responsible for completing a reading response journal entry each week. I praise well written entries and the student has the option of reading them aloud to the class. Praise goes a long way and often my strugglers have excellent examples to share with the class."
3. Zanah: "I have done reader's theatre to build the confidence of my struggling readers. They love to put on the play for their friends. I can see a big difference in them after they have a part in the play. We do 1-2 every quarter."
4. Meg: "Personal shopper" experiences...I make "dates" with kids to go to the library for one on one shopping. They love it. I really think that when they read just right books and learn to love reading, so much takes care of itself. I also really try to touch base with them daily as to their nighttime reading, ask them about their books, etc--make that personal connection to show them that I care about their reading...and it usually rubs off on them. I also like to send happy emails/notes home when they finish books or do great things--because families can be HUGE players in this--helpful or NOT helpful!
5. Brian: "Every year I have at least 6 students who are at least one-two levels below grade level. Many of these students come from homes that do not have a lot of books in them. When I send book orders home, I talk with those children individually and ask them what books they like. Then I purchase them, and set them aside for those students."
6. Debbie: "I have my struggling readers read to students in lower grades. We go to the library and pick out books that the "younger students" would like….and they also happen to be books that the struggling readers will be able to read more easily. The younger kids are so excited to hear stories from the "big kids" and my struggling readers feel like super stars!"
7. Lauren: "Selecting books that are at their easy level once a week, selecting books for small group that you know they are interested in and asking students for their choices, allowing choice in take-home books, stickers for first graders, genuine praise and lots of it, happy notes to the classroom teacher and to parents, doing cheers like a round of applause for each other, wearing a "reading expert" hat back to the classroom after reading group, reviewing their reader's log to see how much they have read, reviewing goals and celebrating when they accomplish them, inviting the principal in to observe and to praise and encourage. Just a few I can think of off the top of my head."
8. Deniece: "A teachers can be a great encourager. Tracking fluency growth in second grade and up helps show progress."
9. Stacy: "They also love to read to younger students. So, pairing with a younger book buddy."
10. Carla: "I think one way to build confidence is to find work that is done well from the children to highlight. I agree with Stacy on pairing with younger readers. Reading to a furry friend is a fun way to ease anxiety and improve fluency. We have a therapy dog visit once a week."
11. Jenny: "Letting them go back to a book from the beginning of the year, and seeing how much easier it is. It's especially powerful to record their reading and let them hear the difference.  I also have them graph their progress- fluency, sight words, level, etc. You do have to be careful about that with fluency (progress but not speed reading!) but some way of seeing growth is so important."
12. Melissa: "I tell my students to "kiss their brains" when they've done amazing work."
13. Amanda: "I have a "CHEER" box... when my students do something great we pull a popsicle stick with the name if a cheer or chant... we do it together. It is a great way to bring large muscles into it."
14. Emily: "I believe, encouragement, praise, enthusiasm, positivity, and trusted patience will help a teacher cross the bridge to any struggling reader." Taking the time to listen, find out their interests, what makes them uncomfortable about reading, and building a strong parental line communication is key. 

Thank your for visiting Literacy Land today. I want to extend a special thank you to all my teacher blogger friends for providing me with  their wonderful suggestions. This post was truly a team effort. Have a great weekend. I'm looking forward to reading your comments!
  

Shades of Deep Thinking

Happy New Year Literacy Land friends!!  I am so excited to have been a part of this team for the last year.  This is my first post of 2015 but we are going to reflect back to 2014!

My first post last year was about how we (my teammate and I) implemented the reading salad outlined in Comprehension Connections by Tanny McGregor.  We found that it had a lasting impact to our year and we really wanted to do the lesson again with our firsties this year.  So we did.

We followed the different activities that Tanny McGregor has laid out in her book, including the reading salad, metacognition poster, and thinking stems.  But we made just a few changes to our instruction this year.

First of all, we decided to use the Otis books by Loren Long for all the metacognition lessons.

We found that these books are perfect for the lessons that we had outlined for the week because the stories follow a predictable pattern.  Otis has a friend that runs into a problem and Otis makes the choice to solve the problem.  The problems are hard to solve and you discover that Otis is brave, kind, caring, and an amazing friend to all.  This leads to some great connections, insightful thinking, fantastic conversations, and an ABSOLUTE love for the books.

We also decided to add more deep thinking to our reading salad.  Deeper thinking does not come easy to all of our little firsties.  But I wanted to make it as concrete and successful as our reading salad lessons have been.  Then...it came to me!

My writing teammate and I use paint chips to teach adjectives and the "shades of meaning."  Our students really seem to understand that the deeper the color of paint chip, the richer the word is.  I decided that this would also work of thinking.  The deeper the color, the deeper the thinking.

I decided to start with making deeper connections because I found this to be a weakness during our DRA testing.  The firsties made many, many personal connections but not as many text to text or within text connections.  I created a poster that looked like this.

I modeled what this poster meant and how to use it by referring to the previous Otis books that we had read.  As I read a new Otis text, students shared their thinking to make a reading salad.  If a deeper connection was made, students got to put in a deeper, darker thinking strip.

By the end of the text, our salad was overflowing with deep connections and thinking.

To practice deep thinking the next day, we read another Otis book but used this poster:

Now that we have built a strong, concrete foundation for metacognition and deeper thinking, our students will know how to refer back to these posters and resources.

If you would like to use these posters in your classroom, you can download these sheets by clicking on the image below:

I hope these can help your students deepen their thinking, as well!  Happy thinking!

Word Study Made New Again: Routines and Procedures for Phonics Study

In the fall of 2005 I transferred to a school that was one year into Word Study training, so that year was a trial by fire.  I learned the basics of the assessing, grouping, instructing, sorting, and assessing.  The routines were set and the cycle continued.  I felt pretty good about what I was doing.

As the years past, I added and deleted activities and routines as I thought I should.  I’ve taken classes here and there and was comfortable.  This summer I decided I needed to take an “official” class to update what I know.  I also wanted some credibility with the staff at my new school.  If I’m the one doing training, I wanted them to have confidence in me.

Feeling pretty good about myself and thinking I’d just sit back and take the class, I found myself taking page after page of notes.  All of the information wasn’t new, but some was a new way of thinking.  I did have an earth-shattering (almost) a-ha.  I'll post it at the end...stay tuned.  I was excited about word study all over again.  Here are some of my notes.

Meaningful Introductions and Sorting

It is important to make sure students are given explicit and meaningful introductions to the sort.  Each word in the sort should be described and discussed carefully.  The headers should be used, not only, as the title of the column, but as a point of reference for the generalization.  Each picture or word should be matched to the header.  As the words are added to the columns, they are described as to why they belong in the column.  It’s not enough to say, “camp belongs on this column because it ends like stump.”  We need to make sure students are using the words to explain the generalization EACH time.  “The picture “lip” belongs in the “ip” column because I hear a short i in “lip.”  Students need to be able to explain the generalization as they sort. 

Meaningful Guided Practice

The practice activities MUST enhance the feature.  If they don’t, don’t do it!  Word triangles, pyramids, or steps don’t teach the feature.  They don’t explain the generalization.  Create meaningful ways to practice the sorting. 

1.  Labeling the sort cards is a valuable experience.  Students need to see the cvc, cvcc, or cvce codes when they sort, so the generalization is more concrete.  When students need to add endings to words, learning that most cvc words double the final consonant before adding the ending students will be able to spot a cvc word without much effort.   Labeling is a stair-step skill. 

2.  Word Hunts - Another meaningful practice is the word hunt.  Students can use their independent books, words in the room, or poetry folder to find words that match the feature they are studying.  If their feature is a short a sort, finding short a words in their environment is important to making connections.  As they find words, they should label with cvc.  When they share their word hunts, students should be asked to explain the generalization to prove their case.  Word Hunts are more effective if they are discussed and not just checked. 

3.  Speed Sorts - A new take on an old favorite would be: Speed Sorts.  That’s right, speed sorts.  Nothing new, right?  Wrong.  Students should not be racing against each other.  It puts the emphasis on the contest, not on the generalization.  The new-and-improved speed sort asks students to race against themselves.  It’s still a partner sort…one person has the timer, while one person sorts against it.  Each race is recorded for speed and each person races against their own speed.  (This can also be a great homework lesson with mom’s cell phone timer.)

Meaningful Centers and Homework

Centers and Homework are areas where word study needs to be updated.  Teachers have fallen into a rut of sorts.  Monday – write your words.  Tuesday – triangle words (UGH).  Wednesday – rainbow words (double UGH).  Thursday – practice test.  Don’t forget the new rule:  If it doesn’t ENHANCE the feature, don’t do it!  This also applies to homework.  Without using, “It’s easier on the parents” or “But the parents don’t know what to do” as an excuse…it’s about the student and it’s about the feature.  There are great ways to practice the sorts that can enhance the feature. 

1.  Magic Criss Cross are a great way to show the similar short vowel feature.  Students fill in the magic boxes with crossing vowels.  Vowels can be written with marker and pictures can be illustrated to show meaning.

2.  SAW – After Feature A students can use the SAW to practice.  Students SORT, ALPHABETIZE, AND WRITE.  Students should sort their cards.  Alphabetize each column individually.  Then, write the columns alphabetically.  Highlighting the features of the words in each list is mandatory.

3.  Sentence Triple Threat – This is not the usual “Write a sentence” activity.  This activity requires students divide their list into thirds and write three types of sentences.  One-third of the words need to be written as a declarative sentence.  One-third of the words need to be written as a question.  One-third of the words need to be written as an exclamatory sentence.  Students should make sure to highlight the feature.

Meaningful Assessments

Of course, assessments are crucial.  We have to know what the students know and what they don’t know to be able to move them forward.  One of the biggest shifts in thinking is the difference between teaching in learning.  Teachers need to know if the students understand the features and are able to transfer their understanding to their own writing.  Frustrated teachers will come to me saying, “They know it on the test, but they aren’t using it in their writing.”  Well, I take a deep breath and ask, “If they aren’t using it they don’t know it.”  The teachers need to make the distinction between what they have “taught” and what the students have learned.  One way to make sure the students are applying their knowledge is to have one word that demonstrates the feature on the test that the students have not practiced.  The easiest way to do this is by cutting off the bottom row on the sort and saving it for the test.  With good practice and homework, students should be able to recognize the feature and sort it appropriately on the test.  Another shift in thinking is about the score the students get on a test.  Students should always get a 100% (or very close) on the test.)  If they don’t, they don’t know it and they haven’t generalized it.  Sooooo…Do it again.  Yep, do the same generalization with different words.  If everyone in the group makes a 100% except one child, then that child will need a review and a retest while the group moves on.  The bottom line is:  it doesn’t matter what you teach…it only matters what they learn.

By the way, here's my EARTH-SHATTERING change in thinking.  
Yep, I was in the awful habit of interchanging the terms "word study" and "spelling."  I am so so glad I took that class last summer...and I'm not afraid to say it.

I hope you have something new to try in your word study.  If you do, let me know how it works.

Click here if you’d like a Classwork/Homework Idea Sheet.

Click here if you'd like a Magic Criss Cross sample, click the link.

An Easy Fluency Fix

Hello to everyone!  It's Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars with an idea for helping with fluency in your classroom.

I have been working with my third graders to help them read with fluency.  They love to ramble through words or read soooo s-l-o-w-l-y that anyone that would fall asleep.  Each week we work on a new passage and different strategy to help with their fluency.  Several weeks ago, we worked on using punctuation to help build our fluency.

After reading the passage several times, we talked about how to read it, so it would be understood more clearly.  I read it with NO punctuation, and they laughed at me.  I made lots of mistakes and sounded awful.  I then read it as it was supposed to be read, and they "got it".

We talked about the punctuation in the passage, and they highlighted all of the punctuation.  Then when they read it, they read it with better fluency, pausing as needed to make it sound right.

Using punctuation is an important factor in fluency.  Students need it to help with prosody and inflection.  It helps to make sense of what they are reading and leads to better comprehension.

What are some ways you help your students attend to punctuation when reading?