In Chapter 7, Miller talks about "Digging Deeper." I spent approximatly 7 hours at an ARI workshop yesterday on almost the same idea! WOW! Miller talks about the sophistication of her read-alouds, and how the children are ready to engage in more challenging dialogue while they make connections from past experiences to more in-depth learning. Give a/some specific examples of how this happens in your classroom or if it isn't, why not. (Remember this is a safe place. We are all learners together.)
Chapter 8 is all about inferring. Try getting one of the books Miller suggests on p. 121 & utilize the anchor charts, directions, etc. for a lesson on this. Blog about if it did/did not work and why.
During one lesson after reading The Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney, I grouped my students into six groups and passed out one question to each group. Each group responded to the text through discussion as they answered the questions. Some of my students related the reading experiences to their real life experiences and had deep conversations about the questions listed below:
ReplyDelete1. How do you think the ugly duckling’s egg got into the duck’s nest?
2. Did the mother duck take good care of the ugly duckling? Why or why not?
3. Why did the ducks bite the ugly duckling? Was that right? Why or why not?
4. What was the worst thing that happened to the ugly duckling? Why do you think that?
5. Why did the ugly duckling leave the cottage of the old lady, cat, and hen? Was that the right thing to do? Why or why not?
6. Why did the ugly duckling run away from the man and the children? Was that a smart thing to do? Why or why not?
There was real thinking and learning going on during this lesson. The next day we took our learning even deeper by reading another version of The Ugly Duckling and using a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two versions.
I checked with the public library for the books on p. 121 and had no success. So I am going to use a lesson I taught using the book Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse as my inferring example. After reading the book to my students, I explain that the story does not directly tell us much information about the main character, Tessie. I told them we would have to use clues in the pictures and in text as well as our schema to “read between the lines” and decide for ourselves what she is like based on her actions and what she says. We then make and explain our inferences about the main character. We use a semantic map to record our information. We even went a step further and related this to ourselves by doing a personal, descriptive semantic map. The children loved this part! They even drew pictures of themselves on their semantic maps.
Macie, I really like this lesson using The Ugly Duckling. Pathfinders were given a question that prompted more in-depth learning. They "Turned and Talked" about the question and gave possible answers. Students then recorded the "best answer" in their Journal. Partners/pathfinders shared their question and answer with the class and we then made connections as a whole group. What a great lesson!!!
ReplyDeleteI also used the book, Come On, Rain! as my inferring example. We learned a lot about the main character of the story, Tessie, but the story did not tell us much information about her. We had to use clues in the pictures and words to know about Tessie. We “read between the lines” and made inferences about the type of child Tessie was, writing adjectives about her in a Semantic Map. Students then recreated Semantic Maps and described themselves using adjectives. A self-portrait completed the assignment. I love it when my students are able to show me what they’ve learned!!
Sherry and Macie I enjoyed reading over your lesson on The Ugly Duckling. What a great way to engage students in more in-depth learning! It sounds like your students have mastered the concepts of digging deeper and sharing and responding thoughtfully with one another. Some of my students love to tell stories and make connections, but I know I need to model think aloud strategies more frequently so each child in the group can make meaningful contributions to the conversation. It is not enough to just read a passage, students have to dig deeper into the passage to truly understand what the author is trying to convey. I try my best to help my students understand that when they are reading a passage they need to always be asking questions, using their schema, and inferring to better understand what is going on in the passage. I use Passport passages for my groups, so I mainly use inferring to find the meaning of unknown words. I have the students use their background knowledge, reread, use context clues, and discuss the meaning of an unknown word. I realize now I need to start using this strategy more frequently to help my students gain a deeper understanding of their reading.
ReplyDeleteAs part of our Voyager reading lessons, my class has started reading the "The Wind In The Willows." The first story, "The River Bank", was a read aloud. As I read the story to the students, I stopped after each paragraph and asked the students to share their thoughts, feelings, and any questions they had about the characters or events in the story. We also talked about how we would feel if we were in the story. For example, one of the characters (Mole), goes for his first boat ride. The students talked about how it would feel to ride in a boat. As I read this story, I tried to help the students to make connections with the story so that it would become "real" to them. I was amazed at all the different thoughts and ideas the students had about the characters. I think that this was a learning experience for all of the students as they shared their personal experiences about boats and experiences on rivers. Trying to teach the students to develop a deeper meaning of the text and trying to teach them to make thoughtful connections to the text, took a great deal of time. In fact, it took almost all of my reading time to read the story and to guide my students in a deeper discussion of the book. The time was well spent because I think that my students developed more insights and a better understanding of the characters and the story.
ReplyDeleteDr. Hendon, Mrs. Burns, and Mrs. Marcum have been working with my class to help them to develop "real reading" skills (Metacognition
Skills). The students in my class were so excited because they were learning to use the text , "The Wind In The Willows", and their prior knowledge to become "real readers." They knew that Dr. Hendon, Mrs. Burns, and Mrs. Marcum would be proud that they were doing "real reading" in our reading lessons!
I have not had the time to pick one of Debbie Miller's books for my class to practice inferring skills, but I have used the stories in "The Wind In The Willows" book to allow my students to practice inferring. I have allowed my pathfinders opportunities to make inferences about the characters' personalities or situations in the stories. We have also discussed these inferences as a class. I agree with Debbie Miller that the students can learn from each other by sharing their thoughts and ideas. The students want to talk and share their inferences and ideas with the class. I realize that I need to allow more time for my students to share during reading time and not try to rush to the next activity. Although I haven't used anchor charts or sticky notes with every lesson, I do plan to try to incorporate them more into my reading lessons.
I also enjoyed reading the lesson on The Ugly Duckling. I can see that real thinking and learning was going on. I read my children a book called In the Woods. I encouraged them to think of past experiences they could share with the class. We discussed who had been in the woods, what they saw in the woods, and how they felt while in the woods. I let each child get with a partner and discuss their experience they had in the woods. This really made them stop and think about specific findings. We use the strategy of inferring when learning new vocabulary words. I use the words in a sentence and I also show them a picture that portrays the meaning of the word. The students look closely at the pictures and use their schema to discuss the meaning of the words.
ReplyDelete"I Went Walking"
ReplyDeleteFirst we talked about the book and some things we would see if we went walking around the school. Then we discussed things we would see if we went walking around our own neighborhoods. it was really neat the different things the students said they might see! Especially, from those who lived in a neighborhood in the city and those who live in the country! Then we read the book together. The child in the book saw completely different things than we saw on our walk!
Like Donna Owens said, I use inferring when teaching new vocabulary words. I tell the the word and make them say the word and then ask them what THEY think it means! Then, we go over the meaning of the word and role play the meaning of the word so that it becomes part of THEIR vocabulary and not just "words!" As the week goes on and we review these words I try to give them the opportunity to use the words in situations and this allows them to absorb it as part of their schema!! We often wonder if the child is getting anything out of these vocabulary words but eventually I think they do take it in! From personal experience, Cason has used some of these vocabulary words when telling me things and I will look at him and think "What? Where did that come from?" AHHHH it was a vocabulary word from one of the earlier lessons! YAY!!! Mrs. Smith!!
I also used the book “In the Woods: Who’s Been Here?”. Before reading the book we discuss the title and look at the cover of the book. The students get to share about when they have been in the woods and different things they saw in the woods. Then we read the book and the students use textual clues and the picture to help them predict which animal has been in the woods. The students love to see if their predictions are right. After reading the book the students have pictures from the story that they put in the order in which they happened in the story.
ReplyDeleteWe talk and discuss a lot in our room. They really are "thinkers". We love to play "Another word for that is..." and the list goes on and on. We use it with our vocabulary lessons to help them really understand the meanings of the words and be able to use them. When we read a book in our room we take the time to really look at the cover and predict what we think the book is about, what the characters are doing, who are they, etc. We also use several texts such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear and I Went Walking that use predicting as a way to tell the story.
ReplyDeleteGinger, we too have been "digging deeper" with the Wind in the Willows book. It does take longer, but it helps the students gain a knowledge of why we read in the first place. By modeling and then allowing students to work with partners or groups really gives them lots of practice to become better at this on their own.
ReplyDeleteWe have been reading Wind in the Willows and have gone into deep discussions about each chapter as we read to help the students make connections and place themselves in the place of the characters. As we read the first chapter that introduced each of the characters, we dissected each character to gain an understanding of each character's personality. We used the workbook page to record our information about each character. To continue this further, the students discussed people they may know in their own lives that reminded them of each character. Then, the students wrote in their journal about a person that reminded them of each character and why. They really enjoyed sharing these and it really made each character come to life! Now each time we mention a character, I ask students to share the qualities that it has. This really helps the students understand what is going on in the story better because they understand each character's tendencies, behaviors, and personality. The most recent chapter we read was "Mr. Toad". Again, we stopped often throughout the story to discuss what was happening and how the students would feel if the things happened to them. Again, the students wrote in their journal about what they felt should happen to Mr. Toad for all the trouble he had caused and if they felt him going to prison would be the end of his mischief? The students really placed themselves in the position of Mr. Toad and his friends and could relate to how they would want to help him stay out of trouble. We also made predictions throughout to think about what we thought would happen next.
I have not had the opportunity to use a book from chapter 8, but used an anchor chart to determine the definition to several words in the Mr. Toad chapter of Wind in the Willows. We had discussed other words previous to this and used inferring and context clues to determine what we thought the word means. I believe using the anchor chart helped the students see the connection of how the words in the story led them to the meaning of the new word. For example, we looked at the word sobbing. The students used clues in the sentences around the word that let them know he was in trouble and that Badger was scolding him. They used their schema about how they feel when they get in trouble and how they get upset sometimes. They were able to come to the conclusion that sobbing means crying. We continued this with several words in the story.
"Model Well and Model Often. Pay attention to detail. Trust yourself and your kids." BELIEVE is our classroom word. Believe in your students, encourage and use concepts that give your students belief in themselves and we usually won't be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI love using Venn Diagrams,Webs,and Story Maps to make thinking visible. I agree this helps to keep readers engaged and helps them hold on to their thinking and promotes better understanding.We also use a Reading Journal Notebook. We use T Charts to compare much like the Venn Diagram. I used Miller's suggested heading for the Two Column notes. "Quotes from Text"/My Images. This was something new for me.
We are trying Book Clubs for Kids in our classroom. We are making suggestions for others in the class to share our selected book as Ms. Sharron suggested earlier in the year by posting sticky notes on the completed book cover. This has caused excitement over sharing books.
When teaching a lesson on Deserts, I read the book "Desert Dog" by Tony Johnston. Before reading, students used prior knowledge about dogs and deserts to make predictions about the book. I introduced vocabulary words for students to listen for as I read the pages. I explained that these words are called adjectives or "describing words". They are used to describe the dog in the book. After reading, students were asked to name the words used in the story to describe the dog. For fun, students were given a sematic map to describe themselves using adjectives and to draw a self portrait in the center.
ReplyDeleteLike Sherry and Macie, I read the "Ugly Duckling" to my class during reading. After reading the story, students were given questions to answer with their learning team. Upon completion, one student from each team read their question and answer to the class. Afterwards, students were asked to listen to another adapted version of the "Ugly Duckling". After reading, students were asked to think about how the books were similar and different. They were given time to turn and talk about this. I wrote responses on the board. Finally, students were given a venn diagram to compare and contrast the stories using responses on the board.
Peggy I love this!!
ReplyDeleteModel Well and Model Often. Pay attention to detail. Trust yourself and your kids." BELIEVE is our classroom word. Believe in your students, encourage and use concepts that give your students belief in themselves and we usually won't be disappointed. This says so much. I have learned in the third grade that the students love to “Dig Deep” they get into the stories we read. They conference with each other about things that have happened in the story. It is really awesome to watch them get so excited. I have always loved to read so it really does my heart good to watch my students love it so. Like the others we are reading “The Wind in the Willows”. My students are really enjoying this because the story line is really good and it gives them a lot to discuss. The Characters are fun and of course they love to compare the characters to the other charters as well as each other. My students really enjoy grouping up and discussing the stories. We tend to do this a lot. It gives the opportunity to walk around and join the conversations and see just how they have picked the story and characters apart to get into the meat of what they are reading. I love when they come across something that we have learned in a previous lesson and they get all excited saying of do you remember when we read about this in whatever passage they had read it in. (I sure wish they could get excited and want to Dig Deep into math ).
I have tried really hard to use more charts this year. I have found that having them up in the room really does make a difference. I can watch the kids sometimes if they are doing some individual work they will look up at a chart to get something they may need or couldn’t exactly remember. If I have moved the chart they are looking for I can watch them searching. They know what they are looking for just has to find it. This shows me that they know the information they are just a little unsure of themselves. And that assurance is what we are trying to hard to gain. Some of my students have become so much stronger in the last few months.
Mrs. Peggy, I like the sticky note idea that you and Mrs. Sharron are using. I may try that also a little later in the year.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to use charts more often. I have one in my room that states What Good Readers Do.....The kids and I found pics of what good readers do and put them on a chart. We review it before reading each day. The kids are starting to realize they can do this also. I'm hearing comments like "I look at my own paper when I partner read" and "I track print when I read."
I also read the book The Ugly Duckling.We first look at vocabulary words that we would be reading in the story. Then, we looked at the cover of the book and make predictions about what we thought the story will be about, who the characters were, and where we thought the setting would take place. We read the story by Jerry Pinkney and the story written by Hans Christian Andersen. We compared the two stories by completing a Venn Diagram. The students seem amazed at how different the stories were.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story Come On, Rain was a great example of inferring. The students had to read between the lines and figure out what kind of person Tessie was in the story. We also did a semantic map where the students came up with adjectives that described themselves. The students came up some very interesting words...
When we were reading the stories in Wind in the Willows, we would make connections and “dig deeper” into what the author meant in the story. We used illustrations and “acting-out” the characters in the story. We talked about our experiences and how they were the same or different than Moles and Rats. Children love to tell about their real-life experiences.
ReplyDeleteFor Chapter 8, I had each child create a word meaning chart. There was an example of this in Debbie Miller’s book. The chart included Word/meaning/what helped us. We used this during another story in Wind in the Willows.
Yes, the third graders love the Wind and Willows, but as stated by Ginger and Elisha much digging deeper is needed. After several chapters, we leave the book and returns days later. The vocabulary is extremely difficult. Example (whitewash),even I had to use my schema from Brenda Weathers about what whitewash is and how it was used. We draw pictures of our favorite characters. We compare the characters using venn diagrams.
ReplyDeleteAnother book that I enjoy reading aloud to my students every November is , The Candy Corn Contest. It is about two struggling readers trying to win the contest which requires reading. Since it is a short chapter book I do activities along the way to help with the comprehension. Digging deeper requires dealing with lots of emotions and feelings of others. So, it is great for character education. I provide a story map with open ended questions to answer before and after we read. Then, we share our responses. Question requires the students to apply and infer from their personal experiences of learning to read.
When we read books in our classroom we always take time to look at the cover and predict what we think the book is about. I read my children a book called “In the Woods: Who’s Been Here?” Before reading the book we discussed the title and looked at the cover of the book. We discussed past experiences and shared with the class. Then we read the book and the students used textual clues and the pictures to help them predict which animal had been there. The students loved seeing if their predictions were right!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading Debbie Miller's ideas for using anchor charts, digging deeper while reading and having the student's use schema in all areas. I have commented to Ms. Sharron and Ms. Peggy many times that I remember a time when their classrooms were a lot like Miller's classroom is, and in ways still are, because they use what they know along with all they've learned to teach their class. I would come to school to visit when my kids were in first and then third grade and the class would all be reading different text or grouped together to read and they had to really think about what was being read. They had a choice and if the students were not learning the concept they would change direction and use different text with them. They didn't have scripted lessons, so authentic thinking was a must. I also remember reading a couple of chapters back that to show authentic reading we, as teachers, had to connect to the text ourselves to be able to demonstrate how it is done. With the Wind in the Willows this is easy because I enjoy reading the stories and I do have lots of schema for the stories. Sometimes this is harder to to do because I do not have any first hand background knowledge for the text even though I "practice" the readings sometimes I have to do other research to get a real feel for the topic. Scripts are great but how much are we missing by not getting to choice the stories we read and the activities we do? I told Mrs. Burns the other day I felt like my class didn't really KNOW what it was they KNEW about some things. They want to wait to see what I say about it or what someone else says first. We need to find ways to help them see that they know a lot and how to express this in different ways. Charting what they say is one way to help them see this for themselves.
ReplyDeleteYes, Theresa I've taught basal readers, literature reading, scripted reading,and etc. I am fortunate to have been around long enough to see and experience so many approaches to the best way to teach kids to read.I think it is a good combination of all that empowers the teacher to be the most effective. Most important is the needs of your students. Their abilities, weaknesses,strengths, and interests should be the drive of the instruction. Kids must the goal of our instruction not that you covered 25 pages of the text today in the lesson about a place so far off that the teacher or student has little background information.
ReplyDelete