Reading A-Z is an Awesome Resource

It's late in the school year and you may have already used the majority of your guided reading books. I recommend you look into Reading A-Z.  They have a huge selection of leveled readers and other resources and a year's subscription is only about $80.  Some schools can even reimburse you, or you could post a listing on Donor's Choose. I love using Reading A-Z books because there is so much to choose from and the topics are interesting to students.
Today, I had a group of second graders reading the book pictured below, "Gaggle, Herd and Murder."  I used it to work on fluency, decoding, and comprehension.  We reviewed --er, --ir, and --ur, as well as talking about vocabulary and multiple meaning words, like the word "murder."  The kids loved it because it had neat vocabulary, like "murder" and "smack" and it also talked about animals. It was a great way to work on the skills we really need to focus on and touch on a lot of other skills as well.

Leveled readers from Reading A-Z

I do have to share a couple of incidents that were quite humorous.  One of my students kept misreading "crows" as "cows."  "Cows travel in a group called a murder."  I could just see the Chick-fil-a cows dressed lika a band of marauders.  Another student said, "Wouldn't it be funny if those were cows in the tree instead of crows?"  Too cute!
Also, another student consistently misread the word "wolves" as "werewolves."  He did not understand that one was an actual animal and the other was a fictional creature.  This is why I love teaching! The kids are so much fun!
What are your favorite resources for great leveled readers?

The Cacophony of Guided Reading

Often, when I have observers, I get feedback expressing disbelief that I could possibly listen to the tin of my guided reading groups all day long, reading along in disharmony and various speeds and rhythms and walk out the door as fully sane as I walked in that morning.  And to the unpracticed ear, I can understand why people would say that.  Most reading teachers get it--they, too, can listen to multiple children read different sections of text at different paces and not be any crazier for having done so--but teachers of other subjects, some administrators, and occasionally the reading teacher with a different preference often has difficulty following along and wonders how I can do it.
I prefer to let each child read at his or her pace, aloud, so that I can hear them and correct errors, or assist as they work through unknown or difficult words. I know there are various philosophies of how best to conduct a guided reading group, but here are my thoughts as to why doing it this way yields the best results.
1. Every child is reading the entire time.  There's no "follow along" as someone else reads. Each child is responsible for decoding every single word in the text.  Therefore, they spend a longer amount of time actually reading, which, as we know, is the best way for them to grow as readers.
2. There's not as much "listen and repeat." When student are choral reading or reading as a group, they tend to echo the person next to them. If the person next to them is a faster reader, they're going to be way ahead and this gives each reader a lesser chance of echo reading.
3. Each child can read at his or her own pace.  There's no waiting around for someone who isn't as quick or trying to rush to keep up and making a ton of errors. Each student can read as quickly or as slowly as s/he needs to.
4. Students who get finished can move on. There are several ways you can handle this.  If a child gets finished, I usually have them start over and work on fluency.  However, you could let them move on to comprehension either by asking them some questions quietly or having the questions already written down and letting them answer in a journal.  Alternatively, you could just have a standard journal assignment for your guided reading groups so that they know when they are finished, they have to write about whatever the topic is that you generally assign.  Either way, they haven't wasted a lot of time waiting on someone else to get finished.
5. I can still hear everyone and work with each student.  When a child is reading in my group and they need help, they put their hand forward so that I know they need my attention. Otherwise, I am taking turns listening to each student and helping those who need help.  If I get a single that a child needs my assistance I can help them and then allow them to continue.  At first, some students need reminders as to why it is important to single for help when they are unsure of a word. Sometimes they just want to skip over the word and pretend they read it. I can usually catch this and then we talk about why they shouldn't do that. I don't expect to be able to help every student decode every word but when a child needs help, they have to feel comfortable asking me for it.
I have observed some amazing teachers who do not run their groups the same way that I do and I think that's perfectly fine.  One great teacher I know has the students read silently until she taps them and then they read aloud for a page or two while she listens.  The other students can still signal for help but it's much quieter.  I think variations on this are great and they can still be very helpful in growing our students as readers. What I think we need to reconsider are Round Robin reading groups, Choral Reading, and Popcorn Reading.  Research shows that students do not learn reading skills as quickly in these situations so if we know better, we should do better.
If you work for CISD and you would like some pointers on your guided reading groups, please invite me in. I'd love to help! If you work elsewhere, please feel free to email me any questions.  My reading groups have great results because of the strategies I've learned to employee over the years but I could not have developed them if it hadn't been for the great models, coaches, and administrators that worked with me to make the changes I needed to in order to help my students become more successful.

Guided Reading books from one of our many kits

Fun Reading Activity With Highlighter Tape

One of the ways that I like to change-up my reading groups is by occasionally throwing in a novelty item that still has educational value. Kids love highlighters so sometimes we use those.  But what's even better than a highlighter?  Highlighter tape! Talk about fun!  It's transparent, it's colorful, it's sticky!  Who doesn't want to "play" with highlighter tape?
 I really love to use the printable books from Reading A-Z. Not only are there lots of books to choose from but the topics are relevant and kids enjoy reading them.  I used this book with a group of kindergartners earlier in the week. I only have this group for about 15 minutes so we are a little limited in what we can do but we had plenty of time for this activity.
I gave them the book like I usually do and before I asked them to look at the pictures or anything else, I asked them to open the book and just look at the words. I specifically told them not to read--just look at the words. They were a little confused, some of them started reading, some of them just looked at the pictures, and some of them just sat there--so I stopped them and explained again.  Don't read the words in order as they are on the page, just look at the words and see if you can find words that you know.  They got it the second time and started word hunting.  When they realized I was giving them pieces of highlighter tape to put on the words they knew, they really started looking!  A few times they even tried to convince me they knew words they didn't know because they loved using the tape so much.
After a few minutes of word hunting, I stopped them and said, "Okay, now look at the book.  You have a lot of words highlighted.  That means that you already know a whole bunch of the words that you are about to read. Isn't it great to know that, once you start reading this book you've never seen before, you'll  already be able to read so much of it?"  They were really proud that they knew so much, but they were also better prepared.  With all of the words they already knew highlighted, there was no stopping to think about what word that was, it was freshly on their minds.  They didn't get bogged down by the sight words because they had just seen them.  This allowed them to concentrate more on the unfamiliar words.  Since most of the words in this text were either sight words or picture clue words, reading the book after this activity was a cinch.
After we read the book, I asked them some questions about the book.  Sometimes when students are reading an easier level book, our questions tend to be easier, too. I try to prevent this by asking questions that have excluded answers.  For example, in this book only one animal was in the house and the rest were on the farm so I asked, "Which animal is not outside?" I also ask prediction questions, opinion questions, questions about their experiences because this allows them to talk about their reading and connect it to their lives.  They are much more likely to remember what we read about if they've had the opportunity to talk about it.

Reading A-Z books are awesome!

Highlighting tape can take an ordinary book and make it extraordinary!

Highlighting tape is fairly inexpensive and it lasts a  while, too.  I've had these rolls for a few years.

You can buy highlighting tape at teacher supply stores, online, and even most office supply stores.  It's an inexpensive way to switch things up for your students an allow them to have a little bit of fun while they are still learning.

The Do's and Don'ts of a Picture Walk

Most of us were taught to do a picture walk at the beginning of a guided reading lesson.  What is the purpose of this mini-lesson? How are you using the picture walk?  What are you teaching during the picture walk?  How will you know if your students have learned anything from the picture walk?
I have seen picture walks utilized in a way that made getting to read the book seem like the best prize ever and I've seen picture walks so boring and pointless that students were nearly asleep--or in tears--by the time the torture, I mean walk, was over. So, let's talk about what you can do to make a picture walk lots of fun and purposeful, and let's talk about some things to avoid!

Do:  Make the picture walk a conversation.  This is an opportunity to encourage your students to talk to you and to each other. We want an environment of collaboration in our classroom and this is a perfect way to teach children how to speak appropriately and intelligently to each other.
Don't: Dominate the entire conversation.  The learning will be more relevant and meaningful if the students have a chance to discuss and reflect with each other so allow them to talk as well.
Do: Use the picture walk to build vocabulary.  Introduce key words that students must understand in order to comprehend the text.  Check to see what their previous experience with that word is and clarify any misconceptions.
Don't: Elaborate on every topic or on irrelevant tangents.  I once heard a teacher interrupt a guided reading lesson to talk about her dog for about five minutes.  If you only have a group for 15-20 minutes and you use a third of that time to talk about something that is only minimally related to the topic of discussion, you are not using your time wisely.  Your students will attempt to get you off topic--usually not on purpose--by telling you about every time they've gone to the zoo, seen a boat, or picked a flower.  My standard reply, "Oh, that's great. Can you tell me more about that at recess?" You need to honor their ideas and connections, value what they would like to talk about, but don't let it distract from your lesson.
Do: Use the questions they ask for later book subjects, inquiry circle projects, or writing assignments.  Again, let them know their interests are valuable and don't disregard the questions they ask, no matter how far off topic they may be.  You don't always have to have every answer and sometimes the questions they ask during guided reading  are perfect for research assignments.  Jot them down and don't forget about them.
Don't: Stop your lesson to find the answer to every question.  Just because their questions are important doesn't mean they are more important than the lesson you are teaching.
Do: Plant the seeds to help them be successful in their reading. If there are words they are going to struggle with, mention them, say them a few times. If there is difficult phrasing, point that out, too.  If the picture is helpful to the reading, look at it carefully.  Say things like, "When I looked at this picture, I thought, oh, that's a dog.  But the book is calling it a puppy.  See, right here?  This words starts with a /p/.  This word is puppy. So, when you are reading, be careful to look at how that word starts and not just the picture."
Don't: Spend a lot of time on your picture walk.  Your picture walk shouldn't be the major part of your lesson. It should be like a mini-lesson--concise, pointed, and helpful.  If you are reading a longer text over several days, break your picture walk up as well.
Do:  Talk about text structure, features of different genres, parts of a book, whatever is relevant.
Don't: Go "fishing" during a picture walk. If no one knows the word "caption" even though you just told them yesterday, tell them again.
Think of the picture walk as a preview, a way to set your students up to be successful.  It's not an opportunity for a teacher to give a monologue about why this book is interesting (or not interesting) or how he or she can personally relate to the text.  It's about the students being able to make predictions, prepare mentally for the text, learn key vocabulary, and feel more successful when they get to more difficult words.
What  types of activities or strategies do you use during your picture walks?
I have heard that some of you are having difficulty leaving comments and signing up to follow.  I have changed a few settings so please email me if you still can't leave a comment or follow. My email address is vanhorna@communityisd.org

Questions Every Reading Teacher Needs to Answer, Part 2

The subject of today's post is directed at teachers who use guided reading groups in the classroom, however, you could adjust it to fit any grouping or method of teaching.  We know that students learn more when they are actively engaged, when they are discussing, creating, analyzing text.  When we ask students to "do something" with what they have learned, the amount of retention goes up dramatically.  Not only do they benefit from completing a project or making some sort of anchor chart or artifact, the rest of the class benefits as well because they also have something new to experience the information from in a new light, from a new perspective.  My question today is:
When someone walks into your classroom, how do they know you teach using guided reading groups?
In my experience, guided reading groups are the most effective way to teach students new reading skills quickly and in a more individualized way than any other method I have ever employed. I am not only able to target my instruction at a small group of students' most pressing needs, I am also able to individualize my instruction and deliver it "just in time" as the situation is developing and the student needs to know the information.  However, if we are not intentional with our lessons, if we do not plan with the data we've collected about each individual student in mind, if we do not carry out the process with fidelity, or if we fail to follow-up our lesson with some sort of application, then we are not being as effective as we could be.  We may well create stellar lesson plans that meet the needs of each student, teach our hearts out in a way that is powerful and meaningful, and then leave our children hanging with information and nothing to solidify it because we are not allowing them to complete the last step and tie that new knowledge to something tangible.  Giving them just a few minutes at the end of a guided reading lesson to reflect can really make abstract concepts concrete and give them something to refer back to when they need clarification.  Creating a classroom environment that displays the work of your students also makes a statement that what we do here is important, this is your classroom, and we can all learn from each other.
When another teacher, an administrator, a parent, a student walks into your classroom, how do they know what you're all about?  Can they easily see student work displayed on the walls?  Can they tell what you've been teaching--and what the students have learned?  Will they be able to tell whether or not your students can apply the concepts you are teaching to other situations?
The very best way to make sure others can tell what is going on in your classroom is by allowing your students to create anchor charts and other authentic displays showcasing what they have learned.  At the end of a guided reading lesson, simply allow them to reflect on what they have learned and then create something to tie it all together.  There are a lot of different assignments you can give them that allow them to be creative while you are still setting up parameters and the end result will be something they can refer back to and help others to learn the same concepts.  You can have them use any number of graphic organizers to show they comprehended the materials.  They can do a word sort. Having them draw a picture, make a foldable, write a new ending, or something more creative, like using an app or computer program to extend their learning is an incredibly powerful way to help your students retain critical knowledge and build schema for upcoming lessons.  Some of these tasks will take more time than others but they are all meaningful and worth the time and effort.  Even asking your students to keep a reflection journal for guided reading and giving them a few minutes at the end of the lesson to write about the story or what they learned can be extremely meaningful and lets them know what they were just learning is important and they need to truly understand the information and be able to apply it.
While I am talking specifically about guided reading lessons, this concept needs to carry over to other areas as well.  We know that allowing students time to reflect, analyze, and create is more relevant than asking them to complete a menial assignment like a worksheet.  If we then take the items they have produced and display them, not only are we telling them how valuable their work is, we are making a statement.  In this classroom, we're all about learning--and this is what we know!

Our Inquiry Circle Project Wall. 2nd grade students read a text, asked some questions about the topic, researched, and created a powerpoint.

Kindergarten students responded to a text at the beginning of the year.  

It is important for students to reflect and then research when they want more information.

Analyzing is one of the most important skills we can teach our students.

First graders recommend their favorite books.

I asked first and second grade students to relate the consonant digraphs we were studying to something relevant to themselves.

Take a moment to look around your classroom.  How many authentic pieces do you have up? How many store-bought or teacher-made items do you have on display?  Do you want to change anything?  How easily could you do so? These are just some things to think about when reflecting upon the question, "When someone walks into your classroom how do they know what you've taught? If it's important, shouldn't they be able to tell?