Shared Reading

Last week, I hosted our second Vertical Content Conversation from 10-2, and our topic was shared reading. A group of ten teachers signed up to participate and our principal hired substitutes to cover their classes. Our day consisted of three demonstrations lessons, debriefs, conversation over lunch, and a text study from a chapter in Fountas and Pinnell's text, Comprehending and Fluency.

The day was very productive and teachers appreciated watching Shared Reading lessons in Kindergarten, First Grade, and Fourth Grade. (To read more about the lessons, please visit Timmons Times) They discovered many similarities and discussed the differences across grade levels, they pilfered implementation ideas, and grappled with how best to implement shared reading more often in their classrooms. They talked about shared reading ideas for Skills Block and Readers' Workshop, and in other content areas. They laughed together, questioned, and perhaps most importantly, bottom floor and top floor colleagues built relationships with one another-not an easy task with such a large faculty.

While teachers observed the lessons, they jotted notes on a recording template which asked them to think about what shared reading is, what shared reading is not, artifacts to support shared reading, and implementation ideas I have for my own classroom. We debriefed their observations and their conversation confirmed that these types of vertical learning experiences are valued by our staff.

To make the text study meaningful and connected, as stated earlier, I selected a chapter from Comprehending and Fluency. I grappled with whether to have teachers read this chapter in advance, or to integrate the reading into our day. I ended up deciding they should see shared reading first and then they would get more out of their reading. I knew we wouldn't have enough time or patience to sit and read the whole chapter, so I took ten questions from the chapter, color coded via highlighter each question, and assigned each participant with a question. I gave the participants the colored highlighter that went with their question, asked them to highlight the answer, and be prepared to share. The conversation was focused, shared from many speakers, and the momentum seemed appropriate. I also like the fact that these teachers can walk away with a resource usable for reflection and lesson building in the future.

I enjoy these days, because of the observation, dialogue, and reflection. And, the fact that it is a captive audience. The invitation is extended to all teachers advertising the topic so each learning leader in attendance has a desire to learn more, essential to the day's success. I look forward to more days filled with Vertical Content Conversation.

(On a side note, if you are going to watch the shared reading lessons, I encourage you to watch them all. Each of the teachers had great ideas that can be implemented regardless of the grade level you teach.)

Kindergarten Shared Reading

K - Shared Reading - Mallon Dillard 10-09 from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

First Grade Shared Reading

1st Shared Reading McLeod 10-09 from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Fourth Grade Shared Reading

4th Shared Reading - Nash 11-09 from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Reading the Room

Today is Monday, the start of the fifth week of school, a time when rituals and routines are firmly established, and the steady hum of the school engine can rhythmically be heard. Which makes it a good time for me to just walk the building to observe instruction in classrooms. What are the students doing? What are the teachers doing? What artifacts are in place to map out the learning that is occurring? Many times, I question kids, read their writing, watch them participate in a math lesson, or have them walk me through their Science journals. But today, instead of doing that, I simply wanted to see what I could learn about teaching and learning from the posted artifacts in the classroom. What would I learn in a classroom where the kids and students weren't present?

I went to a departmentalized Grade 2 English Language Arts classroom while the students were at resource and the teacher was out of the room. What I learned is that you can find out a lot about a classroom by simply reading the room.

What I learned, in this particular classroom, is that there is an established Skills Block. Students have been learning high frequency spelling words and the language skills like nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Students have also reviewed punctuation. There is evidence of multiple presentation styles including embedded strategies in songs. In writing, students are working on Personal Narratives. They've learned about the story elements including how to make their seed idea grow, and how to sprinkle details throughout their writing. They've also learned how to write leads that engage the reader. In addition, students have learned editing skills to make their writing stronger. Students' writing samples are proudly displayed in the classroom and on the bulletin board in the hallway. And, they student has work in their writing journals tucked neatly in their desks.

Furthermore, it is very apparent that the teacher has provided an environment to grow an avid reader. There is an ample classroom library which includes a leveled library, genre library, and guided reading library. There are comfy reading nooks for students to relax and enjoy a good book. They've learned the habits of what good readers do, and have learned what a good listener looks like. The teacher has taught them the procedures for listening to a read aloud. Completed read alouds are displayed on a chart. The students are learning to identify the main idea in a passage or in their independent reading book, and are keeping book logs of the books they've read. I also noticed that the teacher has assessed students using the DRA 2, because on one table in the room the teacher has sticky notes with student's names listed on a pile of Guided Reading books. So, I assume her small groups will get started soon. The room is print rich. Vocabulary words, like contagious and distraction, are displayed on the word wall next to the Text Talk read aloud stories. In addition, students have an individual book bag with books that are on their reading levels.

I'm sure you would agree that reading the room is a valuable tool from the coaching perspective. You don't need long to get a snapshot of teaching and learning. And, it can be a valuable learning tool for other teachers. Visiting a colleague's classroom can inspire an "ahhh haaa" moment that may give you a fresh new idea.

Fluent Readers

Second-grade teachers in an effort to ensure that their students are fluent readers are studying the text, The Fluent Reader by Timothy Rasinski. Teachers are reading to embrace and employ reading strategies in their classrooms to help every student realize their fullest reading potential.

In chapter 1, the author outlines four ways to build reading fluency.

1) Model Good Oral Reading
2) Provide Oral Support for Readers
o Choral Reading
o Paired Reading
o Using Recorded Materials
3) Offer Plenty of Practice Opportunities
o Repeated Readings
4) Encourage Fluency Through Phrasing

Most teachers know the importance of reading aloud to students so they can hear what a fluent reader who “reads quickly, effortlessly, and efficiently with good, meaningful expression” sounds like. Not surprisingly, modeling hits the top of the list, and when I visit most classrooms I see them using this best practice.

We have also studied the importance of choral and paired reading, and use paired reading quite effectively in the Readers’ Workshop. However, we could embrace more choral reading opportunities.

This week at our 2nd Grade Teacher Meeting, teachers got a videotaped glimpse into a 1st grade CCE classroom as Maria taught a shared reading lesson. The teacher modeled fluent reading of the text before beginning the lesson. Then, she concentrated on a few pages of the text having students point out the words in italics, bold print words, and punctuation. She taught them how to read these pages fluently. Then, students chorally read the pages. She was going to do this same lesson the next day and then have students chorally read the whole text. Second grade teachers responded by brainstorming ways they could put this type of lesson into their own classrooms on a more consistent basis.

The part of this chapter that resonated with me, came with the authors writing of using recorded materials. The reader can listen to a text and simultaneously read along with the recording. This helps students become more fluent, just like choral reading. In particular, the author states that “tape-recorded books have exceptional potential for improving the reading of English language learners.” Teachers can even send home an audio recorder with ELL students. In many circumstances, the ELL parent cannot provide additional practice at home, so this reading recommendation could allow them to be involved in helping their children learn to read more fluently. At our ELL evening last week, it was apparent that these parents want to be actively involved and supportive, and this would be a great way to get started.

However, there is a pitfall when it comes to recorded texts. Students need to read the text simultaneously as they listen. If they just listen to the text, there is little to no reading benefit. I’m wondering how we could monitor whether they are reading along? If you have an idea, please leave a comment on this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Another beneficial tip is to have closed caption on the TV as students are watching a program. This way, students read the captions while they listen. I'm thinking of ways we could possibly do this with a lunch bunch group.

In terms of repeated readings, I think we are fully implemented. We have students check books out once a week in our Readers’ Workshop rather than every day. By keeping five to ten books in their independent bags, students in the primary grades can reread texts. Rereading these texts helps them build fluency.

The author’s final point here entails phrasing and comes with this example:
The young man the jungle gym.
Are you having difficulty reading this fluently with meaning? How about now?
The young/ man the jungle gym.

Teaching students to read in phrases rather than word- to- word is important, but they must know that they have to adjust their reading to find meaning.

Another example about phrasing comes with this sentence:

The principal said the teacher is the best in the school district.

The author wants you to read this sentence first as if the principal is the best. Then, read it so the teacher is the best. These two examples demonstrate the importance of phrasing as students grapple with reading fluency.

I'll keep you posted on our fluency journey. If you have any suggested readings, please send them my way. Good luck on your journey.

Significant Studies

While surfing the web tonight, I found an on-line resource for my Second Grade ELA team. We will be using the text Significant Studies in Second Grade as a book study to delve into deeper studies in dialogue and non-fiction strategies. This on-line resource http://books.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E00512/chapter2.pdf includes the first 75 pages of the text and covers the dialogue lessons. Check it out if you are interested in enhance your own classroom studies.