Grounding Children in Routines and Procedures for Meaningful Learning

Transcription

1 BOOK 1 OF THREE Grounding Children in Routines and Procedures for Meaningful Learning Book 1 of 3 in the series LITERATE DAYS: READING AND WRITING WITH PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY CHILDREN * Gretchen Owocki

2 2007 by Gretchen Owocki All rights reserved. Except where indicated, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Photographer: David Stirling The author and publisher wish to thank those who have generously given permission to reprint borrowed materials. Post-it is a registered trademark of the 3M Company. Cheerios is a registered trademark of General Mills, Inc. Batman is a registered trademark of DC Comics. Wikki Stix is registered trademark of Omnicor, Inc. Play-Doh is registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc. firsthand An imprint of Heinemann A division of Reed Elsevier Inc. 361 Hanover Street Portsmouth, NH firsthand.heinemann.com Offices and agents throughout the world Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication Data CIP data on file with the Library of Congress ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ML

3 3 Read-Aloud: Procedures and Early Comprehension Strategy Instruction BOOK 1 LESSON CONSIDER THE RESEARCH: Research shows that not only do read-alouds develop children s reading interest and motivation, but they also lead to improved vocabulary, sense of story, understanding of text structures, and skill in decoding and comprehending (Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn 2001; Braunger and Lewis 2006; Bus, Van Ijzendorn, and Pellegrini 1995). When preparing for a read aloud, it s important to preview the literature, so that you may thoughtfully discuss it and model your ways of interpreting it. Previewing is also important because it enables expressive reading (changes in volume, pitch, speed, and voices for characters). Listening to a text read expressively increases children s satisfaction and shows them how a reader interprets an author s meaning (Opitz and Rasinski 1998). This lesson is designed to teach specific procedures for exploring comprehension strategies during the read-aloud portion of circle time. Day 1 of the present lesson shows the language a teacher might use to introduce the formal procedures for the read-aloud probably after a week or two of school and Day 2 and Beyond provides an example of what the first two to three weeks (or longer) might look and sound like. The present lesson is used to begin comprehension strategy instruction, and should be implemented daily until Book 2 Lesson 1 (Expanding the Read-Aloud: Building Strong Comprehenders from the Start) is introduced. 13

4 BOOK 1 LESSON 3 PREPARATION Hang the circle time routine list from Lesson 1 (Form 1.1) on the wall. Prepare Form 3.2 to use as a visual. Or take a photograph of a student engaged in each activity and use the photographs for visuals. Select a thinking strategy (Form 3.1) to model and scaffold. Form 3.1 offers a set of thinking strategies to be used early in the year. Teach each for a week or more. Any effort you make here will prepare children for the more complex attention to comprehension processes introduced in Book 2 Building, Energizing, and Reenvisioning the Literacy Curriculum. Choose an engaging piece of literature that would work well for teaching the strategy. You may wish to read the entire text through on one day before using it to instruct in thinking strategies the next day. This will depend on the length of the text and on the thinking strategy you are teaching. Some strategies work well on a first read while some are easier to teach on a second read. Teacher Read-Aloud Form 3.2 Classroom Visual: Teacher Read-Aloud May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 77 Talk and listen. Think like a reader. INTRODUCTION Day 1 After the circle time greeting, calendar review, and shared reading, use Form 1.1 to signal that it is time for the read-aloud. We are going to do something a little different starting today. As we do our read-aloud, you will probably learn the most and enjoy it the most if we all do two things. Let me show you what they are, and we ll try them together. [Refer to Form 3.2 for each component of the modeling and scaffolding.] Form 3.2 Classroom Visual: Teacher Read-Aloud 14 LITERATE DAYS

5 MODELING AND SCAFFOLDING Day 1 Talk and Listen: Many times during the day, we re all talking or reading at the same time, but read-alouds are a time when you ll learn most if we have more of a conversation. Let s try it right now. The title of this book is, and the author is. Look at the cover of this book and think about what it will be about. [With nonfiction: what you think you might learn.] Let s talk and listen to one another about this. [Encourage children to respond to one another s thoughts rather than engaging in a conversation.] Another way to talk and listen is to discuss something with the person next to you. Quietly tell the person next to you what you think this book will be about. You should both take a turn. Think Like a Reader: Readers are always thinking about what might happen next, and about other things, too and that s the other thing we ll do. When we read together, we ll think like readers. As I read every day, I will stop two or three times to show you some different ways readers think, and I ll ask you to talk about what you are thinking. Today we re going to be stopping and thinking about. Model and scaffold using one of the thinking strategies in Form 3.1, offering many opportunities for students to talk and listen. Some teachers find it helpful to use Post-its to mark where they want to model, and jot down what they want to say. CLOSURE Day 1 It helps us learn when we think and talk about books like we just did. What was it like to follow our procedures [refer back to Form 3.2]? How do you think they helped you learn? 76 Form 3.1 Teaching Tool: Beginning Thinking Strategies for Read-Alouds List May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Beginning Thinking Strategies for Read-Alouds As we pause, think about this: what has happened so far what you have learned so far what you think will happen next what you think you will learn next what you see in your mind connections to your life what you think of the text what you wonder about while reading Form 3.1 Teaching Tool: Beginning Thinking Strategies for Read-Alouds List Read-Aloud: Procedures and Early Comprehension Strategy Instruction 15

6 May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann BOOK 1 LESSON 3 Use this form to help determine the concepts to emphasize as you support children s participation and engagement in circle experiences. S = Secure N = Needs Time/Practice/Support = Not yet assessed (leave blank) List Children s Names Typically sits and listens attentively Talks about books and listens to others Engages with text and thinks like a reader For children who do not participate attentively or effectively, consider doing the following: Set up an agreement for the children to attempt five minutes of high-quality participation before moving to another activity (Play-Doh, book bin, or drawing). Extend to ten, fifteen, and twenty minutes. Enlist the children s help in choosing the literature to be read for a week of read-alouds. Use book possibilities suggested on an interest inventory (see Book 2 Form 5.2: Interest Inventory). Enlist the children s help in modeling the think topics during the class read aloud by prereading parts of the upcoming book together. Try new or unexpected genres such as game instructions for classroom games or humorous poetry. Have a week of small-group read-alouds for the children with whom you are concerned. Emphasize and scaffold effective participation. Explore what happens with changes in seating position. Direct conversation directly to the child who has had difficulty, involving him or her in the conversation. Show the chart above and ask the child to self evaluate. For areas that need improvement, discuss ideas to try. 78 Form 3.3 Kidwatching Tool: Participation and Engagement in Circle Experiences Checklist Form 3.3 Kidwatching Tool: Participation and Engagement in Circle Experiences Checklist kidwatching: After a few days, you may wish to use Form 3.3 to organize your observations and plan minilessons as needed. Use this form for a few weeks until you move more deeply into strategy instruction. When the more in-depth strategy instruction begins, you may wish to switch to Form 1.7 (Individual Evaluation of Comprehension Strategies) in Book 2 Building, Energizing, and Re-envisioning the Literacy Curriculum. EXAMPLE: DAY 2 AND BEYOND After introducing the read-aloud on Day 1, implement the following format for several weeks until Book 2 Lesson 1 is introduced. For each lesson, you will need to select a piece of literature and a thinking strategy (as listed on Form 3.1). Literature: Little Red Riding Hood (Trina Schart Hyman) Thinking Strategy: What has happened so far Introduction After the circle time greeting, calendar review, and shared reading, signal that it is time for the read-aloud. Remember, as we do our read-aloud, you will probably learn the most and enjoy it the most if we all do two things. [Review Form 3.2 and refer to it for each component of the modeling and scaffolding.] Today, to think like a reader, we are going to stop every so often to think about what has happened so far. That s what readers do; we really try to track what is happening in a story. That helps us to talk about it and understand it well. Modeling and Scaffolding Look at the cover of this book and think about what it will be about. Let s talk and listen to one another about this. [Encourage conversation among children rather than a back-and-forth with you only.] Okay, now let s think like readers by stopping every so often to think about what has happened so far. As I read, I will stop to show you how I do this and then I ll ask you to do it, too. * continued 16 LITERATE DAYS

7 EXAMPLE: DAY 2 AND BEYOND cont. After reading through page 7 of Little Red Riding Hood: Let me stop here to show you how I think about what has happened so far. I m going to turn back and use the pictures to help. Referring to page 1: This is a story about Little Red Riding Hood. Referring to page 2: One morning her mother gave her a basket to take to her grandma. Referring to page 6: Little Red Riding Hood met a wolf in the woods. Referring to page 7: And she talked to the wolf. After you model one or two times, stop every page or two for the children to try out the strategy in pairs. Closure When we read or listen to a book, it helps us learn when we think and talk about it like we just did. What was it like to stop and retell? How do you think this helps you learn? Read-Aloud: Procedures and Early Comprehension Strategy Instruction 17

8 BOOK 1 LESSON 3 EXTENSION After a few read-aloud sessions, introduce some early literature response activities that involve drawing and writing. These will change as you move into more depth with your comprehension instruction (Book 2 Lessons 1 (Expanding the Read-Aloud: Building Strong Comprehenders from the Start) and 2 (Using Literature Response as a Tool for Supporting the Development of Content and Literacy Knowledge)), but use the early days of school to give students a general feel for written and drawn responses. The following are suggested topics for the first few weeks of school. To the extent possible, relate the response experience to the thinking strategy. For example, if you have modeled the thinking strategy of thinking through what has happened so far, use the response time to draw and write about something such as one key event in the story. (Afterward, at a whole-class meeting, all of the children could be guided to put their events in a meaningful order.) Draw one of the characters and write something about that character. Draw and write something the author taught. Draw and write about something you found interesting. Draw and write about something you liked. Draw and write about a key event. Draw and write about a connection to your life. 18 LITERATE DAYS DAYS

9 Beginning Thinking Strategies for Read-Alouds As we pause, think about this: what has happened so far what you have learned so far what you think will happen next what you think you will learn next what you see in your mind connections to your life what you think of the text what you wonder about while reading 76 Form 3.1 Teaching Tool: Beginning Thinking Strategies for Read-Alouds List May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

10 Teacher Read-Aloud Talk and listen. Think like a reader. Form 3.2 Classroom Visual: Teacher Read-Aloud May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 77

11 Use this form to help determine the concepts to emphasize as you support children s participation and engagement in circle experiences. S = Secure N = Needs Time/Practice/Support = Not yet assessed (leave blank) List Children s Names Typically sits and listens attentively Talks about books and listens to others Engages with text and thinks like a reader For children who do not participate attentively or effectively, consider doing the following: Set up an agreement for the children to attempt five minutes of high-quality participation before moving to another activity (Play-Doh, book bin, or drawing). Extend to ten, fifteen, and twenty minutes. Enlist the children s help in choosing the literature to be read for a week of read-alouds. Use book possibilities suggested on an interest inventory (see Book 2 Form 5.2: Interest Inventory). Enlist the children s help in modeling the think topics during the class read aloud by prereading parts of the upcoming book together. Try new or unexpected genres such as game instructions for classroom games or humorous poetry. Have a week of small-group read-alouds for the children with whom you are concerned. Emphasize and scaffold effective participation. Explore what happens with changes in seating position. Direct conversation directly to the child who has had difficulty, involving him or her in the conversation. Show the chart above and ask the child to self evaluate. For areas that need improvement, discuss ideas to try. 78 Form 3.3 Kidwatching Tool: Participation and Engagement in Circle Experiences Checklist May be copied for single classroom use by Gretchen Owocki from Literate Days: Reading and Writing with Preschool and Primary Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann