Text Structures

In the Pardo article, one section that stood out to me was the section on text structures. The exposure to narrative genres and expository structures help students understand basic story grammar and literary elements.

This brought me back to my middle school creative writing days. Every Friday, my teacher would provide us with a writing prompt-- sometimes it was creative, sometimes it was analytic. But I remember getting excited for this part of the day. I remember on prompt: Write a story about how the dragon saved the princess from the knight.

I think that creative writing opens up a new way of understanding for students. Instead of reading out of a textbook, they are applying their knowledge to create their own little something.

Another idea for teachers is to have the same prompt every week, but have students add on to it. For example, week one can be about setting, week two can be about theme, week three can be about foreshadowing...etc. This is wonderful practice for story-building and can be used as a connector to other narrative stories.

October 13, 2014

Word Study:

In the The Reading Teacher articles, we saw 3 ways students can learn new words and how each instruction differs from the other.
While wide-reading exposes students to new words via books and pictures, establishment of environment promotes learning outside the lesson or classroom.

So how can we incorporate all strategies to help our students?

With Wide Reading, we can buy books in the library that are either slightly above the average reading level, and/or accurately drawn pictures that make it easy to connect the unknown word to the known image.

With Explicit Instruction, teachers can group unknown words with known words that have some of the same contexts. Instead of using the old word, use the new one.
                   For example: - sheet, blanket, comforter
                                         - cat, kitten, feline
Establishment of Environment is more focused on parental guidance. While teachers can promote challenging words, parents can continue it by making it a game. For example. on the way to school a parent can ask their child how many bridges they see. To get a point, the child has to say the word and point to the object.
     -Word lists from teachers can help with this.
                                        

 

Poetry Performance- Fluency

Performing poetry can be used to integrate reading across the curriculum. Students read with expression, using their voice and gestures to convey the meaning of the text. With repeated readings of a poem, students become fluent readers and increase their comprehension.

October 6. 2014

Fluency is one of the major goals in reading instruction. The speed, accuracy, and expression are representatives of a students level of fluency.

In ch. 4 of Classrooms that Work, the author discusses how reading repetition will help develop a students level of fluency.

I suggest that you discover the exact level the student is on, and find a series of books that will work.

For example, if a student has a low frequency level, "Little Bear" by Else Minarick or "Franklin" by Paulette Bourgeois. 

 
 












A more challenging series, is the Magic Tree House books. This series is both educational, fantasy, and sci-fi so it reaches a broad audience.

Once a student has exceeded fluency but still wants a challenge, in terms of pronunciation, the Harry Potter series is an excellent choice.

In conclusion, these books work well for progression because they use repetitious names and sequences that help the reader develop a strong reading fluency.

What series books do you remember reading over and over again?