On the power of inquiry charts…my kids surprised me when…
Posted on April 29, 2018Share This Content
teaching with informational texts
Our students know so little if…
Posted on April 1, 2018When our students read just one source on a topic, I would argue they still know almost nothing about that topic or issue. I know you know this. It’s not until they read, view, listen to multiple sources on that topic that their understanding is transformed. This is not a new point. My argument is that students should …Read more
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Hey, Mom! Guided Writing
Posted on March 18, 2018“Who will you tell?” This is a conversation I’ve started having with students at the guided reading table before they write in response to an informational source. I usually start by saying something like the following: When you go home tonight and your mom asks about school, you could just say, “It was okay” OR …Read more
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Three-Phase Plan for Learning with Informational Sources (UPDATED)
Posted on January 12, 2018I offer a three-phase guide to teaching students how to effectively engage with informational sources such as texts, videos, and infographics. Phase 1 involves introducing the source, Phase 2 focuses on teaching strategies for understanding, and Phase 3 requires students to create a response, enhancing comprehension.
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When kids ‘mumble read’ a word they don’t know…
Posted on October 10, 2017A few weeks ago I was in a conference with a student reading a book about the sea lizard. When he came to a word he didn’t know, he mumbled the word and kept going. Do you have students that do this? These students are self-monitoring but they lack fix-up strategies. They know when they …Read more
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Orally rehearsing with key words can boost writing
Posted on April 14, 2017Do your students struggle to compose sentences about nonfiction topics that make sense or sound right? Do they lack structure at the sentence and paragraph level? Here’s a few tricks I’ve been trying with small groups of late-early and transitional stage readers. As part of a conversation generate key words they will use to orally …Read more
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Discourage students from taking notes like this. Here’s why.
Posted on March 22, 2017If students are reading multiple texts on a topic and taking notes on each of those sources, I require that (or strongly suggest) they write notes in phrases–just enough words to help them remember what they learned or what the author was saying or the student’s response to information. In most cases, I strongly encourage …Read more
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Think-pair-share can go awry. Yup.
Posted on January 15, 2017I’m a strong believer in students talking about what they’ve learned from informational texts. Good conversations about nonfiction have the potential to – increase students’ understanding of texts, help students clarify their thinking, help students expand their understanding, build bridges to stronger writing. But a critical component is teacher support. Without teacher support, even our …Read more
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“I underlined all the words! They’re all important!”
Posted on October 12, 2016When annotating, do your students underline most of what they’ve read because they think “it’s all important”? Maybe they’ve underlined that much because they don’t know how to determine what is important? Below are a few tips and photos from a demo lesson I gave to tackle this issue. And, yes, I used the pasta …Read more
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Dear Accelerated Reader, It’s not fair.
Posted on August 22, 2016Dear Accelerated Reader, It’s not fair that you assign fewer points to nonfiction than fiction. For example, students who read The Hunger Games (GL 5.3) get a whopping 15 points, but students who read Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Hopkinson (GL 7.4) receive a measly 7 points. Yes, Titanic is only 289 pages compared …Read more
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Recently I had the honor of talking with Sara, a teacher in Iowa, whose students have started using inquiry charts. In a nutshell, these charts help students determine what is important and organize their notes as they read-view-listen to multiple sources. (If you’re not familiar with inquiry charts, please check out an article I wrote …Read more