Hi friends! We are now on week 4 so we will be going over Chapters 3 and 4 and looking at questions for Chapters 5 and 6!! Sorry that this post is going out so late, I plan to post these on Wednesday and tonight, it is getting posted around 11:30 EST. I got it on here by the hair of my chinny chin chin! Please let me know what your thoughts are about the book by answering in the comment area. Last week there were only 2 comments. =( <sniff, sniff>
If you haven't purchased the book you can still find it at Amazon! Just click on the link below and you can go straight to the book to purchase it. This book has made on to my list of favorite professional reads!! And, it is pretty close to the number 1 spot and very well may be number 1 by the end of the summer!!
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If you haven't purchased the book you can still find it at Amazon! Just click on the link below and you can go straight to the book to purchase it. This book has made on to my list of favorite professional reads!! And, it is pretty close to the number 1 spot and very well may be number 1 by the end of the summer!!
Just click here to purchase!
And now....here are some answers for Chapters 3 and 4.
1. What makes an expert reader an expert?
Practice because practice makes perfect!
2. What does stamina look like?
Stamina 'looks like' students doing what is expected of them for
longer periods of time each time the behavior is practiced.
3. What is a break book?
A 'break book' is a book that a student might read that may be on a
lower level or on a topic that is not being studied at the moment.
4. Why is choice so important
in independent reading?
Choice puts the student 'in charge' and validates their learning. <Jenn here: There
are different ways to create 'episodes' of choice in your
classroom. There is 'controlled choice'
where the student chooses out of a bucket filled with appropriate levels and
then there is 'free choice' where the students are free to look through the
classroom library. I suggest 'controlled choice' at the beginning of the year
and scaffolding and modeling how to make good reading choices as the year goes
on.>
5. What does it mean to read in
a state of flow?
Reading in a ‘state of flow’ means that the students are so engrossed
in reading that they don’t realize how long they have read and do not want to
stop! I call this ‘high stamina’!
6. What are book series that
you recommend for the classroom and what grade level?
I teach 2nd grade so I would recommend the Magic Tree House
books, Flat Stanley, and Junie B. Jones.
7. If you were going to create
a 'play list', what books would be in it?
For me: Amelia Bedelia, books
by Kevin Henkes and Tomie de Paola, and fairy tales!
8. Why does Maddie suggest that
you have a partner book library? How is
it organized?
A partner book library has books organized so that multiple copies are
bundled and easy for students to grab and go buddy read together!
9. How would you use/organize a
read-a-thon in your classroom?
At the end of the school year when I was trying to get all of my
running records done and end of the year testing completed, I had a read-a-thon
in my classroom. I challenged students
to read a book, write a 2 sentence summary, and then move on to the next
book. I even had a prize for the student
that read the most books and had really good summaries!
10. What is a book talk? How can a book talk be used in a classroom?
A book talk can be used to promote a book that others might want to
read. It is often used by librarians or
classroom teachers to get students excited about a book. I often read a snippet of the first chapter
or the book jacket to motivate students.
11. What would a recommendation
basket do in your classroom? How would
you set one up?
A recommendation basket would bring lots of excitement to my
kids. They always want to read what I am
reading or what I pull out to wow them with next! I would probably set up a basket with my
favorites from up above.
By the way have you seen the book hospitals? These are great also!
12. Explain this: I do.
We do. You do.
See this link! It is an excellent explanation!!
13. What are 'double entry
journals' and what are their purpose?
Here is a template for a double
entry journal and it even has an explanation!
Go grab this freebie!
14. What can you learn from the
table on pg 105?
I learned how to use symbols to help students link their thinking to
reading skills. Can you imagine having a
poster like this? It would make a great
anchor chart!
Chapter 4
15. How often/how long should
shared reading be scheduled in the classroom?
What does it look like/sound like/include?
Maddie recommends scheduling 4 blocks of shared reading each
week. Each block should last at least 30
minutes. Shared reading can be used to
spiral skills that have previously been talked, model new strategies, and plug
on ahead with ‘think alouds’. Don’t
forget Close reading! This information
can be found on pages 118-130.
16. What is 'accountible talk'?
Accountable talk is discussions between the class or partners and
often involve using sentence starters.
Jenn here—We often prod student thinking by giving ‘private think time’
after giving a sentence starter so that students have time to gather their
thoughts and can be direct with their conversation.
17. What is assigned reading?
Why should we assign reading? At what grade should assigned reading begin?
Assigned reading is when the teacher says, “Read pages ______. You
will need to be done by ______. Let’s
get started!” Maddie says that assigned
reading should be used in the classroom because helps students prepare for
deadlines in the real world. I know that
2nd graders aren’t ready for assigned reading, as their reading
levels differ so greatly. However, if
used in a group by group basis and not in whole group, it might just work!
18. Steps to Say Something pg
139--paraphrase this!
Students must decide which partner will speak. Students choose from a list of skills that
are used to discuss what was read. If
the students can’t answer any questions or discuss the book, then they reread.
Now, here are
the questions for Chapter 5 and Chapter 6!!
Chap 5
1. Why should a teacher follow the same
procedures every time a group meets?
2. Why do students need to read out loud?
3. Pages 147-152 have the procedures for a guided
reading group. List them in the
order they
are prescribed.
4. What does Maddie recommend on pg 155 as far as
grouping?
5. Look at table 5.1. Pick out your grade level
and summarize what needs to be
taught.
Chap 6
6. What kind of seating is important for your
classroom?
7. What does Maddie mean when she says, ‘Make
college visible’?
8. How is your
classroom set up?
9. What does it
mean to ‘market’ your books?
Here are guided reading sheets that I use with my groups. Just click here!
Here is a list of books that Maddie recommends for these chapters. Just click on the pic of the book to go to Amazon and read about it!
Here is a button for you to use on your blog if you would like to incorporate your thoughts into a post:
Remember we have this WONDERFUL BLOG that we can explore. You can get lost in it and best of all.....it goes with the book! Also, here is the website for the book and the Facebook page that goes with it, too!
I am loving this book, but trying to figure out how to use it with our basal and new unit plans my district is doing this year. Also, I need to start looking for shared readings to do.
ReplyDelete2. Students need to read aloud because it is important to build students' oral fluency. Also, teacher can hear fluency issues or decoding miscues.
5. I teach 3rd grade, so for instructional "comfort-plus" level is 4th grade texts. I should teach: paraphrase, retell, decoding, strategies (analyze characters and who they remind us of, settings,and mental visuals that change), and common core examples.
*. My classroom is set up with 4 groups of tables throughout the room. There is a carpet area at the front of the room for class meetings and work time. My library is located at the front and side of my classroom. I know M. Witter said to have your library spread out, but I am not sure if that is possible in my classroom.
My library was spread out this past year....basically because I didn't have time to organize them and had some in baskets around the room. So...I guess my disorganization was actually organization??? hehe I LOVE shared reading. It is my favorite thing to teach because I can do so much with it. Here is a link to a book that is a MUST have for shared reading in second grade:
Deletehttp://www.amazon.com/Sing-Song-Poetry-Teaching-Resource/dp/B0039O609Y/ref=as_li_tf_sw?&linkCode=wsw&tag=bestprac4teac-20.
Some of the poems are longer and could be used in 3rd grade, too. I have a poetry folder every year and we use the poems to find vowel digraphs, comprehension, illustrate stanzas, vocabulary.
When I taught 4th grade I used classroom sets of books for shared reading, too.
This book would be excellent to add to your professional library as it outlines expectations for guided reading, shared reading, writing, etc. It is also alligned with Common Core and the curriculum for Texas. I refer to it a lot when I am curriculum mapping. Hope this helps! All you have to do is copy and paste the link and hit enter and it will take you right to it!
http://www.amazon.com/Continuum-Literacy-Learning-Grades-Edition/dp/032502880X/ref=as_li_tf_sw?&linkCode=wsw&tag=bestprac4teac-20
Look at table 5.1. Pick out your grade level and summarize what needs to be
ReplyDeletetaught.
I am new at this, but from my experiences, I will need to focus on identifying student's independent reading level. I will be the resource teacher for grades 2-6. Obviously, I need to know their reading levels. I would trust to get this information from some teachers, but not all. Maybe you all can throw some suggestions at me for what I am about to ask. Even in guided reading, shouldn't I start out on the level they are comfortable in? I am saying this because children that need resource or extra services usually have low self esteem and they become very frustrated with school work. Shouldn't I gradually move them up to where it's not really noticeable? I hope I am making sense!
~Tasha
A Tender Teacher for Special Needs
I try to do my guided reading groups a level above their comfort zone in order to push them!
DeleteI am enjoying this book, but I am finding that a lot of the things Maddie Witters talks about I have learned through the Daily 5/ Cafe books and through Reading With Meaning by Debbie Miller. I do appreciate how she ties these ideas to Common Core.
ReplyDeleteAs a second grade teacher I really enjoyed the tables on pg. 156 to help clarify what skills are appropriate for my readers to be practicing. Before I taught second grade I was a kindergarten through 5th grade librarian so reading is near and dear to my heart! I love doing book talks with my guided reading groups and having them stretch themselves into a new book. I also have a book box filled with whatever topics we are learning about for that unit on a variety of levels that my students choose during choice reading time. As for assigned reading - I have had success with it with my second graders. I call it Book Club and I choose it to be more of a comfort level readability for my students. I usually assign 2 chapters at a time and tell them when we will meet again. I usually have 4 to 6 kids in a group and they go between read to self and buddy reading. I usually meet with my book clubs 1 - 2 times a week and our discussions have been great. I think I will try out some close reading passages with these groups for the upcoming year.
Thank you for posting!! And you are right, Maddie does seem to take a lot of resources and combine them in one place. I think this book would be really good for a brand new teacher because of that. Have you ever played guess the covered word? That was sort of a play on cloze passages that Pat Cunningham put together years ago.
Delete