Setting up Routines During Writing Workshop?

Hi Everyone!  It's Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers.  If you know me at all, you know that I have a passion for Guided Reading and meeting the needs of all students during Guided Reading in my classroom.  What you might not know is that as much as I love Guided Reading, Writing Workshop is actually my favorite part of the day... there are two big reasons why!

 1.      The kids LOVE writing workshop.

2.   Each student is working at their own level! 

Please know that what I write in this blog post is how I run my Writing Workshop.  I realize different things work for different people.  What I am going to write about works for me and my kiddos.  I hope that maybe I can give you some ideas to add to your writing workshop time…

Why do I choose to teach writing in a Writing Workshop format?

• ALL students are working at their own level!
• Students get to choose topics that interest them to write about.
• The mini-lesson allows for Interactive Writing (share the pen).
• Writing Workshop allows the teacher to conference with students individually or in small groups to focus on their needs.

How do I get started with Writing Workshop?

• I start on DAY 1.  I encourage students to just write, write, write from the start.  Anything goes and no matter what they are writing about- it is AMAZING!
• I get REALLY excited each day before we start writing.  I tell them how much I love writing workshop and how much they are going to love it too!  Positive energy about writing is really contagious!
• The first days/weeks I really focus on the rules, routines, and organization of Writing Workshop.

If you were to walk into my room during Writing Workshop, what would it look like?

• Writing Workshop lasts about 45-60 minutes every day.
• First, we do a mini-lesson (usually on the SMART board).  I try to keep the mini-lesson between 10-15 minutes.  Many times we are writing together doing a shared interactive writing and writing stories together.
• After the mini-lesson students will begin writing on their own.  I call table groups to get their writing folder as we watch how well everyone can get started quickly and quietly.
• I have soft music playing.  I usually listen to a Pandora station.
• Students will be spread around the room.  I switch off each day, BOYS will work on the floor one day while the GIRLS are at their seats and then visa-versa.
• Students on the floor are sitting on mats in their own area (they get to choose).  I don’t allow students to go under desks though or else it turns into a fight of who gets to sit where.  They must not be able to hold their arms out and touch another student.
• I meet with students (usually about 5 each day).  We discuss their writing and talk about where they are going with it.  I focus on WHAT they are writing and spend very little time worried about mechanics.
• Students write for about 20-30 minutes and then come to the “story pit” to share. 
• I have sharing/conferencing charts that I use.  Each group has about 5 students and I meet with those students that day and then they also share.  They share their stories no matter where they are in the writing process.  We focus by giving 2 compliments and an idea.

My newest product is structured the way that I run my Writing Workshop.  I did these lessons with my first graders and they are now writing up a storm!  I love to see how excited they are when writing time comes around every day. 

Also, here are some Editing Checklists (freebie) that the kids can use to help them edit their own writing.

Also, here is an EDITABLE letter (freebie) that can be sent home to parents that tells a little about our Writing Workshop!

There is so much more that I could write about but I didn't want this post to go on and on... if you have any specific questions about how I run my Writing Workshop or any questions about this product, I would love to hear them!

Fish In A Tree: A Book Review

Hi everyone! Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope you're out enjoying this unofficial start to Summer with family and friends. Hopefully you have a chance to take a minute to thank the amazing work our armed forces have done past, present and future for our country's defense, including giving the ultimate sacrifice. We here at Adventures In Literacy Land are eternally grateful for their service.

(The following post has affiliate links.)


Take a minute to read the quote below and reflect. When you read this quote by Albert Einstein, what do you think of? Do you think of a particular student, your own child, or even yourself?

We as teachers have all had students who struggle in our classes. We go home thinking about them at night. We think about them as we drive to work in the morning. How can we help them succeed?

Now think of the students who struggle and try to hide it. They act out. They don't participate. They refuse to do work. They've been called lazy, stupid, inattentive, careless, defiant.  How do we dig deep enough to find out what is REALLY going on? What is really at the heart of the problem? Are there adults in the lives in these children who truly care enough to look beyond all those negative behaviors to find out what that is and help them?

As you stop to think about those answers, I invite you to read Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt this Summer.

It's a chapter book (intermediate fiction) about Ally, a young girl with dyslexia. Ally struggles to learn to read and write, but she also has amazing talents. Watch a book trailer here.

I started reading Fish In A Tree with an online group of Orton Gillingham teachers. We see and work with children regularly and can greatly identify with the main character, Ally. She is a child who has moved multiple times, struggles to maintain friendships, and sadly winds up in trouble for not complying with daily assignments which involve reading and writing. “I wish I had my Sketchbook of Impossible Things. It’s the only thing that makes me feel like I’m not a waste of space," Ally says.

Her dyslexia has largely gone unnoticed by her teachers, which makes reading the first few chapters uncomfortable to read. You know Ally struggles and you wish you could scream it out to every adult who misunderstands her. Then, Mr. Daniels, a long-term substitute teacher comes along. If any of you have read Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, Mr. Daniels has a lot in common with him. You'll find a great deal of similarities in both characters.

Without spoiling this book for you, I invite you to pick up your own copy and even read it to your class. I'd recommend it for grades 4 and up. You'll begin to really feel what it is like to be dyslexic. Since dyslexia is still very misunderstood, this book offers a fresh perspective. As I read it, I began to think about the children I'd had in my classroom or have worked with 1:1. If we can begin to understand what it is like to be dyslexic, we will develop an empathetic heart and mind. Out of that, we begin to see the changes that need to take place to help struggling readers to succeed. Take this journey into Fish In A Tree this summer. You won't regret it!

Here are a few helpful posts and links:

1. Fish In A Tree book discussion guide.
2. Dyslexia Simulation (This is a post I wrote back in September.)
3. Shedding Light On Dyslexia
4. My Dyslexia Support Collaborative Pinterest board. (It's chock full of ideas. I'd love for you to follow me!)

*If you are an Orton-Gillingham trained teacher who'd like to join my private FB group, please email me at theliteracynest@gmail.com. I'd love to have you become a member!

Thank you for visiting Literacy Land today. Feel free to post any questions or comments below. 

End of the Year Memory Books

The end of the year is near...yahoo! It's Jen here from An Adventure in Literacy to share an easy, authentic, LOW PREP, idea for an end of the year memory book.

There are hundreds of options for end of the year memory books. Many teachers have a favorite memory book (I always do an end of theyear countdown book) but here is an idea you may want to do in addition to your "go to" book to provide an authentic writing experience for your students.

Like many other teachers, I stocked up on the Target Dollar Spot blank books earlier in the year. I chose the 16 page version that had 8 in a pack for $3. That's right...it will cost less than $10 for a class set of books. If you don't have blank books already, you can always just staple blank paper together.

This is an ongoing project for my students during the last few weeks of school. They work on their books for morning work or when they finish work early. I give each student a blank book and a sheet of printed subject labels. They choose the topics they are interested in and want to include in their memory book. I believe student choice is SO IMPORTANT, especially in something as personal as a memory book. One student may love word study while another may cringe at the thought of it, hence why it should or should not be included in their book!

Students simply stick the topic label to the top of the page, write about it, and illustrate. It is so sweet to read what they write and what they consider important. The open-endedness of this project really allows their writing to be authentic and focus on what is important in their school lives. I print a set of class pictures complete with our class name, year, and school to glue to the front of the book. Students can also get autographs from their classmates on the back inside cover.

To help with the prep of this project you can download the FREE labels. 

These are just a word document to be printed on standard address labels in comic sans (blahhhhh), but I figured you could edit the font to your favorite and change the topics as necessary. I used Hello Olive from Hello Literacy Fonts for mine. Wishing you and your students a great end of the school year. Summer is near which means lots of soaking up the sun while enjoying a great book!

Super Summarizing in Fiction and Nonfiction Text

           I am a reading specialist at a K-5 Title I school just outside of Boston. I have noticed over the years that we are beginning to get an influx of ELL students and homeless, shelter or transient students for whom traditional methods have not worked. In addition, their time in school may be fractured with frequent visits to their home country for 4-6 weeks during the year. All of this leads to a lack of strong comprehension with fiction and nonfiction text.

         Today, I would like to share with you a recent professional development presentation that I have adapted for use in Grades K-6 classrooms as a starting point for teaching the beginning steps in summarizing. My design and layouts for this set are very simple and streamlined because I find that if they are already struggling in reading.... they do not need any additional distractions on a page. They need a simple layout that they can follow and use over and over again... in my room, with their classroom teacher, with a specialist, and at home with Mom and Dad.

  Super Summarizing in Nonfiction Text !

Anchor Chart for Beginning Summarizers of Nonfiction Text:

Use with a K-1 student or for an older student to introduce the concept of summary:

This chart is appropriate for K-1 students and beginning of the year 2nd grade students. It can be used with upper grade students in ELL/SEI classrooms as well.

 Ideally for upper level 2nd grade students as well as 3rd-4th grade students:

 This anchor chart is appropriate for independent learners at grades 4-6. It would work well for younger students who need an additional challenge in the area of summarizing.

 For accomplished summarizers...

Super Summarizing... Fictional Text !

Somebody Wanted But So... introducing this strategy at a variety of levels...

Anchor Chart for Beginning Summarizers of Fictional Text:

Perfect for K-1 students or older kids who benefit from storyboards and visual support:

For K, 1 and early 2nd grade students as well as older, reluctant writers:



Graphic organizers for students in grades 2-4:



Anchor chart for accomplished summarizers...

Graphic organizer for grades 4-6 students who can summarize independently:

From May 19th- May 26th, 2015, you may download the entire presentation along with graphic organizers as my gift to you.

 



https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summarizing-Fiction-and-Nonfiction-FREEBIE-until-Friday-522-1861643

After that time, you may find this unit in my shop under the name: Super Summarizers  {Fiction and Nonfiction}.  My link is www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Ms-Ds-Literacy-Lab.

I hope all of you have a fun and fantastic start to summer !

 

Thanks to these talented designers for graphics support !

Trying Something New with RTI Tier 1 Groups

Hi everyone! It's Bex here from Reading and Writing Redhead. I thought it would be a good time, since it is about 6 weeks from the end of the year (for me), to let you know that I have been trying something new with my RTI tier 1 groups.

For the last few years, I have felt that spelling has been a weakness for many of my students.  Despite the amazing help the reading specialists offer with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 students, and attempting to obtain support for the students from the Student Success Team, students' spelling skills seem to only see a  minimal improvement. As the classroom teacher, I am ultimately responsible for the progress for all students, who meet with meet during Language Arts Tier 1 groups.

 Our spelling program is the one that comes with the McMillan McGraw Hill Treasures program, circa about 2006 or so. All of the classroom teachers use the on level spelling lists included in the program and then to differentiate, we have created more challenging lists and lists with fewer spelling variations.

My school doesn't use Wilson or Fundations but I have been to introductory Wilson Training and to Fundations level 1 and 2 training.  I decide to incorporate a modified version of Fundations level 2 with my RTI tier 1 groups this year and track spelling progress.

The Fundations program is from the Wilson Language Institute. You can learn more about it from my blog post here.  I meet with small groups for 20-30 minutes a day up to four times a week. At the beginning of the year all groups learned the Fundations drill sounds, used the magnetic letter board to work on sounds and spelling, learned syllable types, worked on decoding in a journal, and practiced grammar too.  Around December I added in connected text reading once or twice a week. The students also rotated through learning centers every day that addressed comprehension skills, vocabulary , fluency, phonics, grammar and writing. If I felt a certain group of students needed some extra help with a topic or concept, I also addressed it in small groups in lieu of Fundations from time to time. So I would call my Fundations work with my RTI Tier 1 groups a very loose adaptation of the program, but the best I could do with the number of reading groups I had to meet with on a regular basis (4), in the time I had (about 100 minutes, including mini lessons, center directions, wrap ups, etc.) and being the only teacher in the room.

At the beginning of the year I gave my students the Primary Spelling Inventory. I looked at the possible points for all the different phonics sounds in the inventory and came up with a goal for the % encoded correctly that I wanted most students to reach. My goal was to have 80% of my students score 80% or more by the end of the year. In September 44% scored above 80%. So I hoped to double that by June, keeping in mind the spelling inventory was only one  measure of success and I hoped to see improvement especially in my student's spelling in their writing. Around February 1st, I gave the spelling inventory again to assess progress so far and I was thrilled. Already 94% of my students had a score above 80%- well above my end of the year goal and only at the beginning of February. At that time 72% of the class was also scoring 90% or higher. Nice! Now, we still have 6 weeks left of the school year, so I haven't given the inventory for the final time yet but I am confident the students will do amazing. Additionally, looking at some writing samples I saved from the fall, and the first part of their writing journals, students definitely have come a long way in their spelling.

I definitely plan to continue using Fundations with my Tier 1 group next year. I know this year was a small sample of students, and every class is different, but I hope to see similar improvements in my students' decoding skills again at the end of next year.

What have you tried that is new this year? How did you feel it has gone? How about next year- plan to try something new? Comment below and let us know!

 

Ditch the Reading Log for At-Home Reading!

Welcome, Literacy Land readers!  It's Lauren from Teacher Mom of 3 here today to share a follow-up to my post on reading logs. You can read that post here.

In this previous post, I shared why I am not a big fan of sending reading logs home for independent reading. As teachers, our goal is to create life-long learners and readers; that's why we want our students to read at home.  To nurture and foster little readers, we first must motivate them and help them develop into "wild" readers, as Donalyn Miller would call them.  We also want our emergent students to practice their reading at home AND enjoy doing so.  In fact, we want this for all of our students.

Boushey and Moser ("The 2 Sisters") share the work of Guthrie in the second edition of The Daily 5:

Motivating students, especially reluctant readers, to read at home is 
a precarious act.  We need to give them choice in what they read and remove any barriers that may hinder them.  My advice is to ditch the reading log!

However, there is always the accountability piece. Are the children reading at home?  If I don't require a reading log, will the parents and students still take the reading seriously?  How will I know if they are reading at home?  

Instead of emphasizing the reading log...

• At the beginning of the year, communicate with parents and students that the expectation is that they read at home.  Suggest they read "x" amount of minutes per day. Explain to parents why this is critical to reading development.  Recommend that parents do not set a timer and that reading can be completed in "chunks" during the afternoon and evening.
• Allow for as much choice as possible, not only in what a student reads, but also to whom they read.  Students can read to a younger sibling or to a stuffed animal.  Students can read to their parents or with their parents.  For some of my kindergarten and first grade students, I suggest that parents read to their child if their son/daughter is having difficulty (either from being tired, the book is too hard, motivational and behavioral issues).
• Most likely, you are keeping some kind of documentation at school to record the books students are reading.  So, to send home a reading log is kind of repetitive.  It is hard, but I really believe that we can relinquish control to the parents and students and trust that they will read.
• Allow students to briefly share their at-home reading in a small group, in a journal entry, during a conference, or during a morning routine such as a morning meeting, or morning work.  When I taught reading intervention, I would have students volunteer to share their their reading from the previous evening as we were waiting for students to arrive.
• If you ask students if they completed their reading, they will be honest- most of the time.  I'm sure we all have done this, but use the sports analogy with students who are not reading at home.  That is, to get better at baseball (or dance, art, playing an instrument), they need to practice.  The same with reading. Plus it is fun!  If it's not fun, then we as teachers will work on motivating our little ones.
• You can have students as young as kindergarten give a Book Talk on their at-home reading.  For older students (3rd and above), I have used Book Talks where the purpose was for them to "sell" the book to their peers.
• Allow students ownership of a classroom reading log so they can see their progress and celebrate how much they have read both at school and at home.

• If you must have documentation that the child reads at home, consider using a calendar where all the parent has to do is sign their name.  My second grade son's teacher has a book mark for the week.  Each night he reads to me, and all I have to do is sign the paper.  No timers, no complicated reading logs!

So, instead of a reader's log for at-home reading, I suggest teachers spend their precious time and energy on motivating students to want to read, selecting the right book, and becoming independent readers.

ELL Students Inspire Others and Two Pieces of Advice

English Language Learners are more prevalent in classrooms across the United States than ever.  Even in my suburban east coast town, we are seeing an influx of students where English is not the primary language spoken in the home.  These situations have called for “new rules” when it comes to dealing with parents and families.  I have had conferences with siblings interpreting for the parents.  I have even given my private cell phone number to a parent to report absences when a typical procedure wasn’t understood.  At times, it’s the most frustrating thing you’ll do.  BUT, then there’s the break through moments when you couldn’t pay for the joy you feel.   

She INSPIRED Me

Let me tell you about Dachael (Dah-shell).  One October morning Dachael came into my classroom 2 days after getting off the plane from Africa.  She did not know English, but did know 7 letters of the alphabet.  She was fascinated by hair and clothes and electronics.  My kindergarten was a half-day program, but I can’t imagine how it is to sit in a classroom for three straight hours and not understand 95% of what is said.  She would crawl up to other students on the carpet and stare at their faces or their clothes.  She’d touch their hair.  I had an honest talk with the class about her experiences and her limitations.  They were genuinely eager to help her.  During our guided reading time, she was obviously in her own group.  We spent time working on letters and sound associations.  I introduced sight words, letters and even new vocabulary all at one time.  I made up silly sentences to teach these skills.  I used the poems to work with her to match words and pictures and to read and write sight word sentences.  She enjoyed our reading time, so she wanted to meet with me.  In addition, she worked on letter matching or sound matching skills with our teacher assistant. She inspired me to help her in new ways.

She inspired the Students

As the days and weeks moved on Dachael became an active member of our classroom.  When we would read letter poems in our group, I would make sure to call on her when I needed that letter or sound in our group lesson.  She interacted more and more with her classmates.  They wanted her to be successful and they’d cheer when she made a connection or answered correctly.  They would call our attention to her successes before we could acknowledge them.  She used the lessons in her writing, as well.  There were times when I would forget she didn’t know English as well as the other students and I would be surprised when she would ask about a word or a meaning.  She was making connections and using anchor charts.  Students would want to do well, so they could help her.  Her language and work exploded.  She was writing sentences in no time.  As the journal below shows.

“I see the horse.  The horse is eting (eating) my flowir (flower).  I like my horse.  My horse can dans (dance).

She used mostly word wall words, but the “-ing” in eating and the “ow” in flower were both anchor charts in the room.

BUT my favorite writing sample was her squiggle.  The picture is dated in April.  Our routine for Squiggles is illustrate it, write it, color it.  The squiggle on the page was the curved line at the bottom of the flower AND the bouncing line at the top.  She wrote about the flower in her hair and her braids.  This was a masterpiece.  The perspective alone is amazing.  This was the top of her head.

"rose"

"I see the rose.

I love the rose.

My rose is big.

My rose is pink.

I pot (put) my rose on my har (hair).

My beds (beads) are prate (pretty).

My two PIECES of ADVICE are simple: 

1.    Don’t give up.  Talk, talk, talk.  Even you realize you are the teacher in a Peanuts comic strip “wah-wah-wha-wha-wha” they need to her you talk.

2.   Involve your students.  They are the best teachers. 

On a side note…

As much as she was developing as a learner, she had a barrier with food.  She didn’t know the food from our country.  During parties throughout the year, I would offer her food and try to explain the taste to her: sweet like candy, salty like chips, chewy like gum.  Most of the time, she would taste things and it would be fine.  At the end of the year party I was trying to explain about chicken nuggets.  What kid doesn’t like chicken nuggets?  I explained it was crunchy on the outside, hot in the middle, and a little chewy…it’s hard to describe.  She trusted me and tried it.  After 3 or 4 chews, she grabbed my hand and spit the chewed up chicken nugget in my hand.  “No,” she said.  “I do not like this.”  I knew I was important to her.  She had treated me like her mother.  

Here's a FREEBIE anchor chart.  I made my anchor charts with the students with markers and construction paper for my room, but these are quickies for you.