THINKING about READING

Can you tell that school has started?  It takes me two months of hard work to get to the point where I can take a breath! Phew!

I want to start this post by sharing with you how AMAZING my group of sixth graders are this year! They have been such good sports about my taking pictures of them all the time for my blog and Masters Classes and their parents have been awesome for letting me use their images.

Last week, we experienced one of the greatest Reading Comprehension activities I've ever used!  We've been discussing that the word "metacognition" means "thinking about thinking".  We've also talked about how "Real Reading" occurs when you actually THINK about what you read.  Thinking could be making connections or predictions, visualizing characters or events in the story, etc.

To practice, I made a quick, simple THOUGHT BUBBLE out of poster board and cut out a hole for a face.  Students worked in pairs to read a few chapters from our whole-class novel.  I instructed the students to take turns providing the TEXT (reading aloud from the novel) and providing the THOUGHTS (using the bubble to interrupt their partner and share their thoughts).

Students were paying such good attention to what they read! I was amazed at the conversations started around the room. "Oh! This reminds me of this time my family went camping last summer..." "That character kind of reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge...Did you see that Muppet Movie?" "I wonder if she really will run away from home. I've never done that. I think I'd be too scared. Where do you even go when you run away?"

Even when my students are not using their Thought Bubbles, they interrupt their reading with thinking! Which I think is just great.

Partnering

I've gotten into the bad habit of letting my students pick their own partners for assignments and projects over the past few weeks.  Here's what happens.

• The high-achievers pick other high-achievers and end up finishing a full half-hour before the others.
• The low-achievers pick other low-achievers and never get started.
• Trouble-makers pick other trouble-makers and prevent everyone around them from starting and/or finishing.

So - here are some successful solutions I've come up with.

PARTNER CARDS - At the beginning of a unit when I know we'll be doing a lot of partner work, I copy THESE onto cardstock and have kids fill out partner cards. It takes a little bit of time and a LOT of explanation to get set up, but it makes finding partners really easy when it comes time for an assignment.

Instruct the students to find a partner they would like to work with at some point during the unit/month/year. Students trade cards and write their own name on their partners card in same space . It's important that the students look for partners one space at a time.  Kids get excited and they tend to rush into chaos if not explicitly instructed.  Here's how I do it to make sure each student gets a good mix of kids on their partner lists.

1. "Find someone who you consider a friend in class for space #1. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
2. "Find a partner who is someone you don't know very well for space #2. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
3. "Find a partner who you've never worked with before for space #3. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
4. "Find someone who is wearing similar colors to you today for space #4. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
5. "For space #5, find a partner who has the same eye color as you. Thirty seconds. Go!"
6. "For space #6, find another friend who is not already on your list. Thirty seconds, as usual and then back to your seats. Go!"

After everyone has picked their six, all you need to do to pick partners is roll a dice! The kids will mix it up, but still feel ownership over their partner. After all, they DID choose them...

FIND THE MATCH - Sometimes it's fun just to mix it up. I copied and laminated THESE cards and pass them out randomly for partner tasks.  Students have to find their "other half".  Spongebob/Patrick, Hammer/Nail, Timon/Pumba, etc.

This usually comes with a few moments of confusion and laughter, but the kids love looking for their new friend!