Comprehension for Beginning Readers

Teaching students to comprehend during/after reading doesn't always have to be a quiz or written responses. The idea of comprehension is simply to process what they are reading and understand it. Even the earliest of readers can start to show comprehension skills, even it's just with drawings. The importance of teaching comprehension is so students understand what they just read, and they aren't just reading word without putting meaning behind them. 

Even at the beginning of Kindergarten, we start working on comprehension skills. For my higher academic students, we use this Decode & Draw worksheet bundle which have students read the simple word and then draw a picture to match. My goal is to see if students are able to know what that word means they just read. These worksheets are differentiated with 2 versions: words or simple sentences. 

These Cut & Comprehend worksheets are similar and differentiated as well, but students have to cut & paste the words to match the picture.  I told the students that if they couldn't read the word, then they could look at the beginning sound to give them a clue. I made both of these bundles with 2 versions for every month of the year. I can throw these in centers and students will know what to do with this activity all year long! 

Really Good Stuff sells these beach balls that are a fun way to work on comprehension after a read aloud. Throw the ball to a student, have them pick a question and respond to the answer. It's a fun way to engage students, as well as see who was not only listening to your read aloud, but also was processing what you were reading.

Once we start getting our book baskets and attempting to do picture walks and read words, I use these Interactive Reading Responses. Since not all students are on the same level, I can differentiate the pages each students gets and whether they draw or write out their answers. I worked with this student 1 on 1 to discuss the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". He understood the idea of sequencing, but isn't quite ready to write sentences or words yet. I told him he could illustrate what happened in the book and tell me about it when he was finished. Can you tell the letters are falling out of the bent tree...so cute!

The story starter pages in this bundle come with dotted lines and regular lines, depending on what your students need. In the past at my listening center, students would just write and draw about their favorite part. These responses get the students to think more about the book and find ways to connect to what they read. 

 

Here are a few more examples of the interactive pages. Having these fun response sheets available will make your students pay more attention to these skills during their story.

There are over over 20 pages of reading responses to help your students work on comprehending what they read. You can find this bundle in my TPT store here. 

All About Me Draw & Write!

We are 11 days into school in my neck of the woods!

The kids are settling in quite happily.

We did an adorable art and writing project that I am a little in love with.

These portraits and writing were just enough hard work for my newbies. 

It kept them engaged, but it wasn't so hard that they were struggling. 

We like to keep the struggling to a minimum fresh out of the gate! 

 First, we did a simple directed drawing of our faces.

I gave them simple steps for a face and we did it step by step together- all in pencil.

When we did the hair I drew a few styles on the board for them to choose.

Next, they went over every pencil line with a Sharpie.

A Sharpie alone is like handing a first grader a piece of real gold! 

Then, I gave some specific instruction on how they 

should be coloring and trying to fill in all the white space.

Lastly, they colored everything in. 

They also had to do the background in one color of their choosing. 

Blue was very popular this day! 

Finally, they filled in an adorable recording sheet all about them! 

You can grab the sheet for free HERE!

Although we did this as a start of school activity you can really do this any time of year!! 

Kids always love to write about themselves!

Be sure to visit me over at "A Burst of First"!

I have lots of fall goodness planned on my little corner of the web! 

Ticket to Good Behavior

When my daughter Gabrielle was a girl she had an ornery pony named Bailey. He was cute, but pretty difficult. Her trainer (in bottom picture) told me that you "need to try everything" when it comes to training horses. With her trainer's help Gabrielle was able to compete with Bailey in shows, take him on trail rides, and enjoy horsey fun with her sister and friends. 

By now I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with classroom management. Well, as I decided to write about my the evolution of my behavior management plan I was reminded of Mr. Sanjuan's advice. He didn't let Gabrielle give up when working with her pony (even when he cleared a jump at practice, but refused to jump at shows). And, I don't want to give up on helping my students achieve their best. Over the years I have tried a variety of management plans with varying degrees of success.

Gabrielle & Bailey in 2004.

I used a chart like this when I taught first grade. It worked for most students, but a few didn't care if they had to change their cards. Several teachers in my school still use a chart like this.

When I moved to kindergarten I used this stop sign chart. Again, it worked pretty well for some, not so much for others.

One year I had a little guy who was always in the red light pocket. It got to the point that he was just a "red" kid. I knew he was a good kid, and wanted him to feel a sense of redemption, so I made this clip chart. It really did help him to work toward making better choices so he could move back up the chart. Students who reached pink got a "diamond" to stick to their clothespins. I liked this chart, but wanted to try something else to see if I could reach those "Baileys" in my classroom. 

This year I am using tickets. Students earn tickets for making good choices, being kind, and following the rules. Conversely, poor choices will cost them tickets. They don't earn a ticket for every good choice, act of kindness, or rule following. I explained to them that it will take about two weeks to earn ten tickets, and so far my Kinders are doing well with this new plan. Because I don't hand out tickets left and right, they feel really special when earned. It also works well when praising a student who has changed his/her behavior. Knowing that I have noticed a change in behavior goes a long way in helping a student to continue making good choices. And, knowing that not-so-good choices will cost them tickets will hopefully help them to gain control over their actions. 

On Friday we count our tickets (which are stored in little food containers I purchased at Target). Ten tickets earns a reward coupon for things like "no morning work," "bring a stuffed animal to school," etc. I use my talented daughter's Reward Binder. Click HERE to purchase. 

We are twenty days into the new school year, and I think I am going to really like this new behavior management plan because it focuses on the positive, and downplays the negative. If you are up for "trying everything," I have a freebie for you ~ click HERE to get your own Ticket Ten Frame & tickets.

Please visit me at my blog & Facebook page:

Kinder Doodles

Facebook

The "Do NOT Do This!" List for Writing Ideas

A few months ago I came across this image on Pinterest, and I completely misinterpreted its purpose:

Photo by Marshall Astor via www.byrdseed.com

It's actually a nice little article to teachers about feeling okay with not saying "yes" to every request. You can click on the image above if you'd rather read that.

But that's not what I thought the post was about. Looking at the image, I thought for sure the author had come up with a new "idea list" for students to generate, to use as a resource in their writing. I almost didn't click on it because I was so confident I'd figured it all out just from the image. 

And then I clicked on it, and found out I was wrong.

Oh well. It was a nice little article.

But I still liked my wrong idea.
So let's go with it.

The thinking behind my idea of the "Do NOT Do This!" list comes from my belief that one of the most integral qualities of a strong writer is the guts to be bold... to take a risk, take a stand, take a different path, carve a new path... to look at the act of writing as an ongoing experiment. Writers surely fail more often this way. But writers surely learn more this way. And here and there... a gem surfaces.

If you're like me, in the first few weeks of school, you help students set up different lists to brainstorm writing ideas, to load up a collection for when one is needed during the year. You've got the "I'm an expert at..." list, the "My hobbies" list, the "Happy memories" list, and of course the "Sad memories" list.

But the "Do NOT Do This!" list takes some guts. It produces writing a bit more... dangerous, more edgy. It flips some of the more common idea-generating-lists on their heads and gets students thinking differently.

The first column of the "Do NOT Do This!" list is for ideas inspired by personal experience. Students list things that you should NOT do. Tell students to think about bad decisions, injuries, close calls, accidents, betrayals, mistakes, unintentional consequences, and regrets. The innate tension within these experiences makes for a strong story.

Let me give you some examples of entries on my list:

• Do NOT throw Frisbees while cars are passing. 
• Do NOT eat a pickle before swimming.
• Do NOT come to a snake fight with only one golf club.
• Do NOT jump off a swing backwards.
• Do NOT let your puppy sleep with your favorite sweatshirt.
• Do NOT put an entire pouch of Big League Chew gum in your mouth.
• Do NOT tell an animal control officer that "you ain't scared" to wrestle a 3-foot alligator.
• Do NOT poke the hairball buried in your garden too harshly.
• Do NOT make a deal with Luke Doxhall. Ever.

Did your eyes widen at reading any of those ideas? Don't you want to know the story behind some of them? And would you believe that every one of them has a real, true experience behind them? Believe it.

The second column of the "Do NOT Do This!" list is for ideas purely from the imagination. These ideas tend to get a little wild, or silly, or even (gasp!) violent. 

Here are a few examples of the more fantastical side of the list:

• Do NOT leave a snack for the monster under your bed.
• Do NOT knock on the door of the haunted house.
• Do NOT let your little brother sneak onto your rocket ship.
• Do NOT play with a fire-breathing dragon. 
• Do NOT push the glowing purple button. Ever.

Admittedly, when I look at this column of a student's list, I often want to roll my eyes or sneer in disgust. But WAIT! Remember, this is brainstorming... bold brainstorming. Not every idea will be a hit. (I mean, do you really want to know what happened to the pickle?) But as students get more and more comfortable with what makes a story strong, one with conflict and emotions, they'll be better able to weed out, refine, and adapt their ideas.

Find more ideas for developing bold writers and deep readers at my blog, The Thinker Builder.
Pickles not included.

The Simple Way to Help Students Create Their Own Writing

Do your students struggle in creating their own poems and stories?  I can't tell you how many times my students try to write EXACTLY what I modeled for them.  Writing is difficult for most students and in the elementary grades it can be quite challenging.  The best teachers will instruct students on how to write a particular type of poem or story by doing a song and dance, and showing a bajillion examples only to find some students wanting to copy right from the example instead of creating their own.  So what has helped me?

Provide students with word lists!

Yes, supply your students with words to help them brainstorm.  Of course you can brainstorm as a class, but if you are crunched for time, give it to them and let them get writing!  Or use a list already created to help brainstorm even further.  I know you are probably thinking, duh, everyone does this, but believe it or not, I've been in classes that it doesn't occur.  As a young teacher, I used to think that if I gave them words, they weren't being creative.  That is not the case!  It simply gives them the boost they need to get the pencil moving!  I have been pleasantly surprised over and over again.  Now, as a veteran teacher, I always supply them with WORD LISTS with writing assignments!  This doesn't mean I allow them to copy my modeled examples or any other examples.  NO WAY!  It just means they now have the resources they need to be creative on their own.  WORDS WORDS WORDS!

Everyone gets writers block!  

Although my family says I can talk to a wall, I often get writers block too!  No lie!  A cute idea, is to give students WRITER'S BLOCK SIGNS while writing.   If they need help, they can raise up their sign!  Have you ever looked around the room and saw everyone's hand up?  Don't let panic mode set in, make it a learning experience.  I might go over to a student's seat and say things like, "Hey class, I am searching for a word that rhymes with ring."  Many suggestions are called out.  Or, "Hey class, look around the room.  If you see someone with a sign up, help them find a word they need, ready go!"  I don't let it last long.  Just a quick way to get some more words "Unblocked."  Classmates are always willing to help!

Signs

These cute little signs come in 4-packs at Michaels.  Use chalk to write different messages on them.  Place them at writing center or have one for each student during your writing time!

Writer's Block Soap?

I saw this in Whiskey River Soap Co. and was cracking up so I had to post!

Monthly Word Lists

I realize there are word lists for everything, but I started Monthly Word Lists that especially help when writing poetry.  I like to teach at least one poem a month so the word lists come in handy!  Click below for MONTHLY WORD LISTS!  The first three months are free!

I hope this will help you remember to give your students word lists in the future!  Enjoy the freebies!

Pam

 

Visit ROCKIN RESOURCES store!  They offer a variety of free and paid products ranging from grades 2-6.  Pam specializes in LANGUAGE ARTS and SOCIAL STUDIES.  She is well-known for her BTS (BOOST TEST SCORES) WRITING PROGRAMS that have been best sellers and boost writing scores!  

Thanks again Hilary for the opportunity to post on this amazing blog!  The content on here is incredible and there are so many talented teachers offering their expertise!

Hurry...Let's Do Some Math!

In the beginning of the year, we all know that skills can be all over the place {especially in first grade!} Some kids are experts at counting, while others have trouble even holding their pencil! 

To capitalize on collaboration {and peer help!}, we play “Hurry to ____!” a lot in these beginning weeks! 

The basic concept is to fill up your number chart before any other team.  To play, first split your kids into groups of four or five.  Once you say go, each child takes a turn writing one number in a box, then passes it to the next child who writes one number in the box and so on. The kids must write their numbers correctly {no reversals!} so it’s definitely a challenge!  Our goal is to make it all the way to 120 over time!

It's fun to listen to the kids help each other out and cheer each other on!  Click here to snag a copy of this set of games! 

If you're interested in even more games to play, head on over to Lucky to Be in First to snag some more freebies! 

Have an awesome week!

A Walk in Their Shoes: Struggling Readers

Hi everyone! It's Michaela from Reading Royalty!

In a PD I attended recently we were discussing students with learning disabilities and some of the many accommodations we can make for them in the classroom. We were asked to do a quick exercise. I wanted to share it with you because it was an eye-opener for me! A great takeaway, definitely something that will have a positive impact on my teaching. 

It's quick! I promise! All you need is a piece of paper and pencil!

Follow the directions in the picture below.

WOW! I couldn't believe how hard it was to write. I only got through 13 words and I obviously didn't understand any of it! I'm sure that you thought of a particular student you have in your classroom or had previously. Imagine feeling like this all day at school! No wonder our struggling kiddos get frustrated! 

So what can we do to ease their frustration? There is no magic fix, but we can do a lot of  things to help our students be successful in the classroom. 

This is one of the reasons why it's SO important to differentiate. I believe that if a student can show or explain to me that they know something, than they have met the objective. I focus a lot on conferring and discussions so it is easy to implement this style of assessment. I feel that this eases the frustration of the students in my classroom who have trouble putting their thoughts on paper.

What kind of accommodations are in place in your classroom? How do you differentiate your lessons and assessments so that all students have access to the curriculum?

Happy Teaching! 

Michaela