langston hughes poem

For the chapter 8, I used the lesson from p. 119. I gave each student a copy of "Dreams" and asked them to read it to themselves. I explained that, when reading poetry, the first thing you should do is try to visualize the poem in your mind, using the visual words from the poem. I then asked students to close their eyes, and imagine what I was reading as I read the poem. After that, I asked some volunteers what they imagined. Then I showed a youtube clip of the poem which used visuals to illustrate the poem. After that, I asked the students what they saw in the clip, and how it correlated to the poem. Then I asked the students what questions they had, and told them that there are no "dumb" questions. I had the students go up front and write their questions on the promethean screen. Some of the questions we answered as a group, but many of the questions just led to more questions. Most of the students decided it was a sad poem, but there was one student who viewed it as a happy poem. A student asked why Hughes used "a frozen field" to describe a dream that was lost. At first, I was worried that the lesson wasn't going to work, because it was really slow at first, but gradually, as more students slowly started asking more questions, more students got involved, and more interest was shown toward the poem.

Questioning Across the Curriculum

My students use what we call the "Reading Strategy", when reading any text in any subject. The students stay more interested in the text. They are constantly thinking about questions about what they are reading instead of worrying about knowing the answers at the end of the passage. The students stop and think (ST) at the end of each paragraph. They summarize each paragraph and they look at important vocabulary and its meaning in each paragraph. They know the questions matter, and that they will stay more involved in the passage/story if they are asking themselves questions as they go.

Inferring themes

Last week I talked with my students about theme for our novel study, Maniac Magee. We reviewed what a theme means, and then I asked what the main messages or purpose of the book was. After discussing, we came up with three themes: homes/homelessness, racism, and names/nicknames. I made the point that no where in the book does it say that the theme is racism, etc. We had to infer what the themes were. I reminded them that inferring is using background knowledge plus context clues to figure out meaning from the book where it doesn't say it outright. Once we uncovered the three themes, I had students find evidence from the book to support each theme. Then we discussed it as a class.

Question Webs to Expand Thinking

Great way to help students with questioning is utilizing a question web. These webs can be used individually or in a small group. By having my students read a variety of lit (nonfiction-books/magazine, etc.) to gain knowledge, then come together and share their common thinking. Question webs help students to develop the idea of the essential questions by initiating conversation through questions obtained through the webbing.

Visualizing Hatchet

After finishing Hatchet, I divided my class into partners. I typed out the different chapters with ideas that were in them. The partners chose which chapter they were to become experts on. They reread their chapter using partner reading. I didn't just want to work on visualizing but incorporate language as well. They found examples of adjectives that helped describe the setting. They had to list the main events that happened in that chapter. Next, each student had to draw on a blank piece of paper the main setting of the chapter, including details and the "adjectives" they found in the chapter. When each partner was finished, they compared and contrasted their pictures writing down areas the other partner included or drew better, and who left off details etc. Then they were to brainstorm all the items they would need to make a diorama shoe box of their chapter's main event and detailed setting. They worked for three days working on their shoe box in class and the creativity and imaginations were great!

Inferring with Text Clues

(Need: 3 column chart titled Background Knowledge/ Text Clues/ Inference)

While reading "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon," use the chart to gain a deeper understanding of the character's emotions. There are a wealth of examples where the characters act in response to their surroundings and circumstances. Using their own personal experiences, combined with textual examples, students will be able to infer the feelings / mood that the author is portraying.

Visualizing Ch 9

After reading the novel Hatchet I assigned pairs of students a chapter to read. Each partner group had to reread their chapter together visualizing the setting and list 10 adjectives that described the setting. Each student then drew a picture of the setting of their chapter using the adjectives they had found. After each student was finished they shared their picture with their partner noting similarities and differences. Each group then planned to create a panorama box that displays the details of the main event and setting.

question webs

Question webs are a way for students to focus on a specific question or topic. I plan to use question webs with my students for social studies. We are starting to learn about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the three branches of government. My students will get in small groups and be responsible for coming up with their own question to research. We will do the question webs after we have studied the topic a little bit. I want to do the question webs after we have discussed the topics somewhat so the students will be able to come up with high-level questions. But, I don't want to discuss the material so much that my students have enough answers already. I will have some research questions available in case some groups are having difficulty coming up with questions on their own. The questions can't be too thin, because students will still need to do enough research on their question. I'll make sure to approve the student group questions before they begin their research. After student groups do their research, students will present their findings to the rest of the class.

Reading With a Question in MInd

As we approach our unit on the solar system, I think about the one question that I am always asked, "Why isn't Pluto a planet anymore?" This question will be a perfect example of "Reading with a question in mind."
As we read and research the planets, we can complete a Think Sheet about the planets and add to it information that we learn that would help us answer our lingering question. It would lead directly into researching other questions that come up and aligns to the CCSS pertaining to research.

Looking forward. . .the more we learn, the more we wonder

Within chapter 8 of question, the purpose of wondering is discussed. Having children wondering as we learn new information, they ask a lot of questions. Wondering should be a second nature to students. By talking as they think, draw and write down information they are learning. Having the ability to wonder and question allows students to independently research. I have contemplating doing a science fair project this year. This area of wonder would be a great way for students to tie in what they are thinking about and investigate for further exploration.

Questioning That Leads to Inferential Thinking

During my lesson over questioning that leads to inferential thinking, I first tell students what I am thinking and questions I have about what I am reading. I have been integrating this reading strategy into math problem solving questions. When I read a problem solving question aloud to my class that sounds very confusing, I first ask them questions that I am also wondering about myself. For example, what is the question I'm really suppose to be solving? or what information/words are used that I don't need to be paying attention to? Then I allow them to ask questions/share about how they think they could solve the problem and how they couldn't solve the problem. I believe having them share ideas and think about different questions to the solve the problems, makes students better thinkers and better problem solvers.

Thoughts on State Assessments

When preparing for State assessment this year, my class used the Read, Write, and Talk - Stop Think and React strategy. The students read an article on Testing Tips. The student jotted down their thinking as they read the article. The kids did a great job of stating their opinions throughout the article. Next they wrote thick and tin questions in the margins of the article. The students did a great job of asking thought provoking questions. They asked things like, "Why do the teachers get so worried about the tests?" and "Why is the government involved in what we are doing in our classroom?" The discussion that followed was very interesting and beneficial! It really helped my students relax before the tests began.

Questioning During Science National Geographic

In a National Geographic Magazine. I read one of the articles aloud. While I was reading it, I would stop and tell them a question that I wondered about. I would stop every once in awhile showing different ways of wondering and asking questions...like "I knew that, but I didn't know... I wonder how...." "That's cool, but did it..." We discussed how we know about more subjects than others, but even when we think we know a lot, we still have questions. Or while we're reading, we read about things that make us wonder or have questions that remained unanswered. I handed out sticky notes and said they were going to read another article and as they came upon something that made them wonder or have more questions, to write that on the sticky note and put beside the article. The students also noticed as they read, that some of their questions were answered later as they were reading the article. When we were done, we read the article together and stopped every once in awhile when a student would share their thoughts, wonders, or questions about it. The National Geographic magazine worked really well because it is full of great photos and interesting topics. This one was especially interesting talking about how living animals/plants live in weird/extreme places (like in poisonous caves etc) and how impossible it seems. We then talked about how these questions would lead us to do more research or in depth study about our questions. If I or a student didn't have an answer, I encouraged them to go home and search on the internet for the answers so they could share what they learned with the class the next day.

Chapter 6 Monitoring Comprehension

We used Read, Write, and Talk during our Estimation unit. I asked the students to read an article where the teacher told her students to take out a piece of paper and a pencil for a pop quiz. The article asked the students questions like, how many stars are in the sky? how many grains of sand are on a beach? It talks about how the kids get frustrated because the numbers were too hard to work with and that there was no way to find those answers. Then the article tells them there is a way to get around these problems, and introduces estimation. After reading the article I asked my students to write down what they remember about estimation and had them brainstorm with their partner ways they could solve problems like the ones in the article. I had the students write down their reactions to the "pretend" pop quiz in the article and had them talk with their partner about what they were thinking as they read the article. I asked my students to answer three questions on the back of their estimation paper. I asked them to write down something they learned, if it helped to talk it through with a partner and if they had anymore questions. I think this way of monitoring comprehension helped the student become more involved in their reading and understand the concept of estimation better.

making personal connections

During our fairy tale unit on Little Red Riding Hood, one of our lessons focused on making connections. The fairy tale unit was specifically on fractured fairy tales. I introduced making connections when I read a fractured version of the original Little Red Riding Hood, and talked about ways that it differed. I read another fractured version aloud and stopped periodically to make a personal connection to something in my own life. I modeled this several times throughout the story. Next, we did a class activity practicing modeling connections. I said a statement, and someone made a personal connection to what I said and then stood next to me. Another student would have to make a personal connection to what the previous student had said, and then came up and stood next to them. We continued until every student had a chance to make a personal connection to something someone else had said. Later in the lesson, I read aloud another fractured fairy tale, and students had to make two personal connections to something they heard in the story.

monitoring comprehension

During one of our Blood on the River lessons, students completed a character map about Samuel that included four sections: how the character acts and feels, how others feel about the character, what the character looks like, and where the character lives. Students wrote their answers based on what we had read and discussed in previous chapters. It was important to have students understand that they were supposed to think about both how Samuel feels and acts. In order to understand how Samuel feels and to understand how others feel about him, students have to interpret his actions and the reactions from other characters. I helped facilitate this understanding through discussions during previous chapters. On the section about how the character looks, I gave my students a fair amount of creative freedom. The book does not describe in detail how Samuel looks, but it does say about how old he is. So, students must make inferences about how someone about their age might look.

Text-to-Self Connections

During our reading of City of Ember I used the connector worksheet. I had students make a connection with the death of Lina's grandmother with a personal experience. We made a text to text connection with characters and theme from Fortunes Magic Farm. After making these connections students recorded their connections on the worksheet.

Making connections with City of Ember

When we get to the chapter that Lina's grandmother dies, I have a sheet that says: Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World. I talk about my feelings of reading that her grandma died and how that reminds me of how I felt when both my grandmothers died. I tell them I can relate to what she is feeling with the emptiness because that's how I felt, never to see them again. We discuss some others students feelings or knowledge of death...maybe a family member or even something as simple as a pet...and how it made them feel. Then they write a text to self sentence.

Next, I ask them if this part reminds them of anything we have read as a class or something they have read. This year, it reminded them of Isabelle from Fortune's Magic Farm. She also lost her "grandmother". She was an orphan and felt all alone in the world. We discuss how Isabelle and Lina both felt, and then we write it under text to text.

Last, we discuss the part about the Dr. and how they are running out of medicine, or they don't have the equipment/tools needed to save Lina's grandmother. I talk about my personal experiences of growing up overseas in poorer countries and how they did not have the medicine there to heal them or the money. I ask the class if they have seen something on television this past year from around the world that reminds them of this. This year, the students talked about the tornadoes that hit the U.S. and the destruction it brought, with no medicine and equipment near by. They also talked about Japan and Haiti, connecting how medicine or supplies were lacking. Then they wrote their own connection under text to world.

Noticing when we stray from inner conversation

I talked about the times when I am reading a book and then realize I have reached the bottom of the page and had no idea/memory of what I just read. I asked the students if they have ever done this and they were hesitant to admit...as if a trick question and would get in trouble. I explained it happens to the best of readers. They all were nodding their heads! I asked what are some ideas of why meaning would break down while we're reading. I wrote their ideas up on the chart paper: bored, can't understand the words, tired...and then I added some more they may not have thought of, using the book's ideas. Then I drew another column next to it and had them brainstorm what we should do when this happens. Many of them said focus harder or get a new book. So, I had to steer them into some more probable things they could do...especially when they are home reading: get up, go to the bathroom, drink something, even picking the right time of day to read a book (not waiting til real late at night when they are too tired to focus or reading on the bus). Then they added more of their ideas. All of this really went back to when I taught Good Fit Books, and I was impressed that many of their answers repeated what I had taught them in that lesson. Yay!

Monitoring comprehension

When our class reads challenging informational text for the first time we use a strategy that helps us track our thinking throughout the text. We were reading an informational piece about the skeletal system. We started each passage by circling the title. Next we numbered the first paragraph with a box and a 1 where the paragraph began. After we read the 1st paragraph, we went back to the paragraph and highlighted vocabulary that was new to us. Then we looked at the context clues to decide the meaning of the word. Finally, after each paragraph we wrote a brief statement about what the paragraph was about. It was easier to generate and answer questions about the skeletal system using this process of breaking the text down into paragraphs and sentences.