Best and Worst Reading Times

How do we author our own reading lives?  Who do we want to be as readers?  These are the questions we've been asking ourselves this week.  To understand these questions, we looked back into our past.  We thought about our best and worst reading times.   Here is a sample of responses from the kids. 

Worst Times:
-  Reading out loud and messing up in front of everybody.  It was embarrassing. 
-  Reading the book and having to answer the questions.
-  Book reports (boring!)
-  When I tried to read a chapter and I didn't understand one word.
-  When we had to answer the questions in our reading book after a story.
-  When you're not comfortable or you get distracted.
-  When you stumble over words.

Best Times:
-  When I did not want to put my book down.
-  When I'm in a comfortable spot.
-  Reading when you have a snack.
-  If time flies when you're reading.
-  When you can't be bothered.
-  Silent reading.
-  Book groups.
-  When I can picture what I read.
-  Buddy reading.
-  When the teacher reads aloud to us.
-  When I can find books that I love.

After sharing this information, we talked about what we want our classroom to be like.  We want to be a group of kids who have choice in our reading - we want to choose interesting, just-right books.  We want to be a classroom that talks about books and shares books with our friends.  We want to be in a classroom where we can be comfortable and free from distractions.  We want to be a class who reads a lot and understands what we read (although we're not really into answering lots of comprehension questions).  What are your best and worst times for reading?  We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Book Clubs

After reading The Tiger Rising as a whole class, we decided to form our own book clubs. I put the kids in groups, and each book club came up with their own name and constitution. We have the Frazier Five, The Golden Eclipse Dragons, The Kewlios, The Chalkers, and the Five Star Readers. After deciding this information, I showed each club 3-4 books that I thought would be "just-right" for them to read. Each club selected a book and created a reading assignment for themselves (how many chapters to read and how to respond in their journals). We alternate between reading days and discussion days. I wish you could hear the wonderful discussions our kids are having. By listening to each other's ideas, building on different perspectives, and proving their ideas in the text, our kids are become deeper and stronger readers and thinkers. I'm really proud of them. This past Friday was a discussion day, and here are a few pictures of our kids participating in their discussions...

Book Clubs

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Non-Fiction Fridays

I love Friday mornings. No assignments to copy down. No morning work. Everyone has a happy feeling because it's the end of another week. On some Fridays, we have "Non-Fiction Friday." Kids grab an interesting non-fiction book or magazine and just enjoy reading. Some kids read with a friend, some like reading independently. On this particular Friday morning, there was a big clump of kids all on the carpet. They were all sharing, smiling, and laughing with each other as they read. It was fun to watch. Here are some pictures from our morning together...

Non Fiction Friday

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Tiger Rising Projects

I mentioned in an earlier post how our kids created projects based on what they learned from reading The Tiger Rising. The students created all kinds of projects: readers' theaters from the important scenes, commercials, new front and back cover of the book, and book recommendations. For the majority of our students, I was very pleased with the effort and creativity they put forth into the project. Here are a few pictures of our kids creating their projects...

Jo'nae, Alaina, and Julian are studying other book recommendations in order to write their own.

Cameron, Coco, and Andrea are creating a new front and back cover for the book.

Richie had to measure the poster board in order to cut it in half - isn't it amazing how we use math all the time?!

Preparing for Book Clubs

It's been a long time since I've posted...sorry about that. With ITBS testing, the PASS writing test, MAPs testing, and the Spring Production, life in Room 241 has been a little crazy. I'm hoping that these next few weeks will bring us a little bit of normalcy.

Here are a few pictures of the kids reading and responding in their book club journals. As a class, we read The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo. I started off reading the first ten chapters aloud, demonstrating how I would respond in my own journal. For the second week, the kids worked with a partner to read and respond. We also began holding small book club discussions to get a feel for how readers discuss books. By the third week, students were reading independently and holding their own book club discussions about the book. After we finished reading, we reflected about what makes a great book club discussion (we posted our ideas on a chart hanging up in our room), and we also created projects to show the class what we had learned.

Students are now in their own book clubs, reading a book they selected as a group. We're about halfway through the process, and I'm extremely proud of the way they're reading, responding, and digging deep into a text. If you could listen in to some of these conversations, you would be amazed at the thought and deep insight our kids are able to bring out of their books. Hopefully, I'll have some more posts to keep you updated on our progress.

Coco and Nakia are reading and responding.

Anne and Caitlyn are capturing their thoughts in their response journals.

The Relatives Came

We just finished up a unit of study focused on "Reading like Writers." We began the study by immersing ourselves in Cynthia Rylant's The Relatives Came. We identified striking places in the text - places that made us smile, think, feel, or places that we just liked the way the words sounded together. Small groups of students got together and created poems using the striking places they found in the text (that video is below). After this immersion, we started to identify the writing techniques and tools Cynthia Rylant used. We hypothesized why she used these tools, gave these techniques named, and then envisioned ourselves using them in our own writing. I was so impressed with all the tools and strategies our kids were able to identify. They really developed their ability to "read like writers."

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Our Winter Break Reading Plans

We're readers, and Winter Break is a great time to read. Before we left on Friday, we stopped to think about what we were going to read over the Holiday Break. Students set a variety of goals - finishing books, reading new books, going to the library, and reading for set periods of time. It will be fun to revisit these goals when we return to school in January and see how we did. In order to make the videos a little more manageable, I split them into two. Students 1-12 are in the first one, and students 13-24 are in the second (it's alphabetical).

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Sharing Our Reading Lives - Mrs. Selby

On Tuesday, we were so fortunate to have Mrs. Selby (Alex's mom) come and share her reading life with our class. Mrs. Selby taught us about audio books! She told us how she uses the internet to download books to her iPod, and then listens to them at her convenience. She also showed us how you can check out CDs from the public library and listen to books at home or while you're traveling in the car. Many of our students had never done this - this Thanksgiving would be a perfect time to listen to a book while you're traveling to visit relatives. Mrs. Selby shared with us some really cool books that use interesting graphics. The kids were enthralled with the "Gallop!" book (I saw it at Barnes and Noble this weekend - it's fascinating). Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Selby!

Another Non-Fiction Thursday

Non-Fiction Thursdays are becoming a favorite activity of Room 241. On these mornings, friends get together to read their favorite non-fiction texts. On this particular morning, I put a big piece of chart paper on the wall, and I invited the students to write down the new facts they were learning. Below is a slide show of some of the facts they collected. What a variety of subjects and ideas!

Non-Fiction Friday

Last Friday morning, we took a break from Challenge Problems and fiction - we decided to have Non-Fiction Friday! We spent the morning reading non-fiction texts with friends. I put a big piece of paper on the white board that said, "What did you learn while reading non-fiction this morning?" As they read, students had the opportunity to add their new learning to the chart paper. You can click thorugh the pictures on the slide presentation below. I'm looking forward to another non-fiction morning next week!

Sharing with Reading Partners

After becoming proficient at using the stop-think-react strategy, we decided to practice the strategy on our own. Each student read an article from our National Geographic Explorer magazines - it was about animals that drink blood (awesome!). As they read, they used post-it notes to record their reactions to the text. When everyone was finished, reading partners got together to discuss their reactions. There were so many great conversations. After the conversations were over, I asked the class - How does this strategy help you understand the text better? The students gave a variety of responses - it helps them slow down and think, they notice their thinking more, they ask more questions, they make more connections, they feel like they understand what they read in a better way. Once again, I'm thrilled. Here are some of the conversations that were going on...

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Stop - Think - React

Good readers stop, think, and react when they read a text. We've been practicing this way of thinking in class, and I've really been impressed with how well our kids have used this strategy. We started by practicing together, everyone reading the same article as I demonstrated my thinking. We then practiced reading a text with a partner - stopping, thinking, and sharing our reactions with a partner. It was a beautiful thing. The kids were so active and excited about reading and sharing their ideas with a friend. I wanted to show you what this was like, so I used my video camera to capture some partners at work. It's a little hard to hear due to the background noise, but you'll still get a picture of what an active, engaging process reading can be.

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What is Reading?

Last week, we participated in a very important study during Readers' Workshop. We asked ourselves this question - What is reading? To begin this study, each student responded to the question in his or her reading notebook. We then spent 3 days reading different picture books that offer us new perspectives on what happens when we read. After each picture book, we'd ask ourselves - How is my idea of reading changing? At the end of our study, students wrote their new definition of reading, adding in the new ideas and perspectives learned in our study. Here is how Coco responded in her reading notebook at the end of our study:

Reading is lots of things. It especially makes you think. The "easy" books can especially make you think the hardest. I thought that reading was something else, but it's not. You have to think ahead and you have to figure it out. And if there's a problem, try to figure out the problem. Make a solution. Reading is many things, but you always think when you do it.

I was so proud of Coco's change of thinking! I'm glad that her (and her classmates') definition of reading has expanded. Reading IS thinking!

Independent Reading

During Reading Workshop, we have been asking ourselves, "What should independent reading look like and sound like in our classroom?" The kids came up with lots of great ideas: be focused on your book, sit in a "smart spot," select a book that interests you, spend the majority of your time reading (not going to the water fountain), don't "fake" read, and be comfortable. The kids have done an incredible job with their reading this past week - I am extremely proud. Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying our reading time...

Caitlyn is reading a great book, The SOS Files. During our conference this week, Caitlyn told me she enjoys reading mystery books.

Porter has been reading some graphic novels in the class. He's also spent some time reading some non-fiction books - especially the books about history and war.

Mia has found a quiet place to read in the back of the classroom. Mia is reading The Sisters Grimm, and told me she loves to read fairy tales and adventures (which her book perfectly combines).

What Are You Reading?

In our classroom, we are continually talking about books. Students are always sharing their reading life with their friends - always on the lookout for an incredible book. I was able to do a lot of reading this weekend, so I thought I'd share with you some of my reading life (in hopes that you will share about yours!).

The Shack
by William P. Young
Fiction

A good friend of mine recommended this book to me - it really impacted his life. In the story, a horrific tragedy strikes Mack's family when his daughter is kidnapped. Several years later, Mack gets a mysterious note in the mail from God - inviting him to meet and talk. Not knowing exactly what to think, Mack steps out and accepts the invitation. The rest of the story shows Mack and his conversations with God. It's an amazing dialogue that really challenged a lot of my previous thinking. Mack and God talk about evil, independence, relationships, and forgiveness. It's a book that covers a lot of ideas - I'm looking forward to working through it all. If you'd read this book, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Gossamer
by Lois Lowry
Young Adult Fiction (Fantasy)

I've always loved Lois Lowry. Number the Stars and The Giver have always been two of my favorites. I was finally able to order Gossamer through Scholastic, and it did not disappoint. Littlest One is a dream-giver, and she and Thin Elderly visit an older woman's home each night. Littlest One learns to collect "fragments" by touching objects in the home, collecting memories to bestow to the older woman in her dreams. The older woman takes in an eight year old foster child with a troubled past - and along with the foster child comes the Sinisteeds, who bestow nightmares upon their victims. Littlest One and Thin Elderly decide to stand up against the Sinisteeds and protect the young boy and older woman. I know it all sounds a little strange (my wife put the book down after just a few chapters), but it really puts forth a good message. The boy (John) had a terrible home life, but the older woman loves him unconditionally. It's a story about good being stronger than evil, and love being able to heal pain.

The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin
Children's Fiction

I've heard great reviews about this book from several blogs, so I was ecstatic when Virginia donated it to our classroom library. Grace is the only Taiwanese-American in her elementary school. It's the Year of the Dog, which her mother explains is a good year to find true friends and to find yourself. Grace sets out to accomplish both. Each story tells a different story from Grace's life. I loved reading about the various traditions her family practiced and the different types of food they ate - so much centered around food! It was also very interesting to see how Grace was pulled between two cultures, and how she dealt with being the only Asian girl in her school. There were lots of strong messages in this story. I recommend it to all my students!

What are you reading? What's on your "to-read" list? Parents, friends, educators, students - please let us know what you're reading by leaving a comment below. As we wind the school year down, this is a great chance for all our blog readers (whoever you may be) to connect to one another. We look forward to hearing about your reading life!

Comparing Tall Tales, Folktales, and Fables

A week or two ago, I blogged about our study of tall tales, folktales, and fables. As small groups read and studied various examples, we learned about the elements of each genre. As a culminating activity, small groups of students created poster-size Venn diagrams to compare the three genres. After creating their diagrams, the groups did a "museum walk" around the classroom, observing each other's work. Students were encouraged to respond to their classmates' posters by leaving post-it notes on their Venn diagrams. Some comments included, "Hey, I never thought of that!" Or "I think I may disagree with this statement because..." Or "Our group thought the same thing!" Our kids were comparing, contrasting, and revising their thinking as they encountered new ideas from the other groups. I loved watching our kids react and respond to each other.

Betsy and Maribeth are responding to another group's Venn diagram.

Look at all the comments left on this group's Venn diagram! You can see Jaylin adding his own thinking on a post-it note.

Caroline and Jordan are reading their classmates' comments, while Anna R. responds with her own thinking.

Book Club Projects

All of our clubs just finished reading and discussing their book club book. Students then chose to create their own projects to show the class the big ideas they came away with. All of our clubs chose to use drama to show their new learning (our class loves to act). Here are a few pictures from the presentations...

In this picture, Madison (reporter) is interviewing Madison (Adam from The Wish Giver). I love the use of pencils as microphones.

In this picture, a newscast is taking place. There were anchors, on the scene reporters, and even interviews with important characters.

The Relatives Came

We've been learning to "read like a writer." To do this, we first immersed ourselves in Cynthia Rylant's picture book, The Relatives Came. We read it several times together as a class, then read it individually as well. We read it while viewing the illustrations, and we read it with just the text, as well. We then set out to find "striking places" within the text. These are places in the text that make us feel something, make us laugh, create connections to our lives, present a vivid picture, use interesting language, or make our mouths feel good when we say them aloud.

Each student found his or her favorite striking place in the text and narrowed it down to 15 words or less. We read our striking places in our class circle - like a poem. We were amazed by the beautiful language and the interesting position of lines. It was also interesting to see which students picked similar lines. We switched ourselves around and read it again - it was very cool.

After this activity, students got in groups of 4 and created presentations for their striking place "poem." Students were only limited by their creativity. They had to design the order of their poem, as well as the motions and movements. We hope you enjoy our presentations of striking places from The Relatives Came.

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The Amazing Read

What would happen if everyone in Greenville county read the same book at the same time? The Greenville County Library System has chosen The Pleasure Was Mine as Greenville county’s first community-wide, one-book reading initiative: The Amazing Read. The initiative will encourage reading, connecting families and neighbors through literature, and increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. I think it’s a great idea! It’s the same concept I use in my classroom. We always share a chapter book read-aloud (our current one is Maniac Magee). It provides a shared experience for everyone in the class, giving us opportunity to discuss and talk together about the text. I encourage all you parents to pick up a copy of this book and read it!

If you get a copy of the book, leave a comment on this post and let us know how it's going. I'm currently (as of December 19th) halfway through the book, and I'm really enjoying it.

Visualizing

Good readers make "movies in their heads" while reading. Visualizing helps us understand the text in a deeper way. It connects us to what we're reading. Today in class we read an excerpt from Charlotte's Web that describes Zuckerman's barn. While I read it aloud, I did a "think-aloud," explicitly describing to the kids what I was thinking. After the kids had a chance to read it themselves, we discussed what the barn looked like in our minds. We discovered that our images were affected by our background knowledge AND the text. We used our background knowledge and prior experiences with barns to create an image of Zuckerman's. All of our barns had certain elements (as indicated in the text), but in some ways our barns were different - all according to an individual's background knowledge. We learned that a reader creates meaning as he or she engages with text.

Here's Caroline's barn!