2015 Focus: Strategy Groups

Just last week I wrote about some of the things I had learned about conferencing (or conferring, whatever you feel like calling it). Friday I started walking around to conference with some bookmarks in hand. It was fabulous. I think the past four days I have been conferencing I have been able to get to at least 4 students to chat. Something magical has happened with our independent reading time and the kids can sustain the reading atmosphere for almost 30 minutes. It is beautiful. just beautiful. Anyways, I have been passing out a lot of bookmarks. (get the freebie here) The kids love them. 

In the process of the last couple of weeks I have noticed some patterns developing in what kids are working on for their reading. 

I have a group that are still really working on using their reading strategies to decode those words. They are past the point of using one strategy but need to realize they are using all the strategies, almost all the time.

Another group is beginning to build that fluency in their reading, but they aren't always reading for meaning. They figure out the words, but don't really know what they just read.

The third group is at the taking off in their comprehension, so we are working at building that detail into a good retelling)

FINALLY, I have figured out where to go with our strategy groups! Basically, the kids are not grouped by level (though it is similar) but by the strategy we are focusing on. (ie. they all have the same bookmark! ;) ) 

My template for the lesson is pretty basic, and I will stick with the same theme for a couple of days. 

They are more to remind me where to go... you can get my template here.

Group one pulled out their decoding strategies bookmarks (you can find those here). They used their reading telephones with a book of their choice until I "radio" in to read with them. Throughout the time, they marked with counters what strategies they used. 

My "Click or Clunk" (reading for meaning) and retelling groups chose any book from their bag to read, and then we would stop every so often and do a quick check or retell and then get back to reading.

We usually did some sort of phonics/sight word warm up, but then got right to reading, and I told them I would continue checking in during independent reading time...
It was the first time in a long time that I have felt like we accomplished alot during our small group time. It felt more purposeful for the kids too because they were able to practice with books they already had, so we didn't spend too much time having to introduce a new guided reading book. Will I sometimes give all of them the same book and do a more "guided reading" lesson? Yes. Of Course. But these strategy groups allowed me to work more with some of the data I have been collecting during my conferences, and the instruction between that one-on-one conference and the small group time was so much more purposeful.
It feels so good to see some of these pieces come together. I look forward to figuring out how to use this during workshop more to truly have that time more differentiated according to their needs!

2015 Focus: Conferencing and a Freebie!

I don't know if it is the fact that there was the sweetest hum of working in reading workshop this morning, that we actually got through a math lesson today {and workshop!}, that the medicine is finally starting to work on my cold, I had 3 meetings canceled today, or that tomorrow is Friday... but I have had a burst of energy this evening. Hopefully it sticks around for the weekend! :)

Hard at work during workshop! (you can get those word building cards here!)

I was thankfully able to attend our literacy conversations session after school today! I love talking literacy with other teachers! {if only I could find the same passion about math}

We talked today about conferencing, which was perfect because that was my next area to work on for my 2015 focus. As I have moved into conferencing more about comprehension with some of my budding readers, I am always a little stuck about what take away to leave them with. Some comprehension skills are deep and I don't know if they are going to remember what we talked about. When I discuss reading strategies I usually leave them with a strategy card, but even then strategy name is simple so they don't have trouble remembering when I leave, but it is not the same with comprehension. I had been thinking about making some bookmarks to match my comprehension posters, but had not found the time. I knew it could help, but wasn't sure if it was the missing piece...

Then, today as we were talking about some different types of conferencing based on Jennifer's Serravallo's book The Literacy Teacher's Playbook : research, decide, teach  or coaching. (brilliant!) Both types of conferencing talked about the importance of the Link-- and leaving a tangible note, bookmark, etc with the kids to help them keep thinking about the teaching point. 

So, my frustration with conferences was linked to something real... I was missing the LINK! :)

That was my motivation to go ahead and make my bookmarks for my kids. At this point, most kids entering the comprehension phase of conferencing are working on retelling and reading for meaning, so I decided that in the long run it would save me some time to make some bookmarks that linked to the visuals in our comprehension posters (that I have yet to print, I just display them on the smartboard). 

And guess what.... Its FREE! Click on any of the pictures to head to the freebie!

They go along great with my posters and response sheets!

There are 7 different bookmarks, but 12 posters and response sheets. 

I picked the skills that are most common to use for the bookmarks.

If you like the bookmarks be sure to check those out too! :)

(click on the pictures to head to my store)

 I'm looking forward to using some of the conferencing strategies we discussed in my independent reading time

{TOMORROW}

that is what is great about meaningful professional development... 

you can put it into practice right away!

and I can't wait to see if the tangible reminder of the bookmarks will help too!

Happy Almost Friday!

Independent Reading: What Needs Some Work

Check out my other posts about why this is my focus {here} and what is going well {here}.

This past week I met with my literacy coach to chat about our independent reading time. We talked about some things that I liked about our time, and some areas that I wanted to keep making better. There are two main areas that I would like to see some changes and what I am going to start working on to make that happen!

Meaningful Peer Conversations

If adults love talking about books and what they are reading, we can probably assume that kids will want to as well! I want my kids to be able to share with someone an interesting find, comment about something new they learned, express surprise or frustration over an ending, AND then, get back to reading. Oh, and without distracting the whole class too.That is no small task for first graders! I think that being able to share with a partner something they noticed in a book will help deepen their comprehension. The goal is just to make sure they are staying focused on meaningful conversations. I think the key to this is LOTS of modeling, set procedures, and some guided practice of what it looks like and what it doesn't.

Conferencing and the "What Next"

Since we have been working mostly on decoding strategies, it is pretty easy to listen to my kids read a bit, then talk about the strategies they used really well and give them one to work on until we meet the next time. But as we move into comprehension, it is not so clear cut or easy to give a take away in a short amount of time. I don't want to leave my kids with a tip that only scratches the surface.

In the middle of my conversation with our literacy coach I also mentioned that guided reading was not working so great this year, for a variety of reasons. I can' pull groups, but am not always able to give them my undivided attention, the planning sometimes gets overwhelming, and it doesn't always feel purposeful. Then she mentioned STRATEGY GROUPS to me, and the light bulb went on! Its not that its so different then guided reading, it was just a new way of looking at it. It also helps the instruction between independent reading and small group time become more purposeful because the groups would be based on the decoding strategy or comprehension skill the students need, instead of just their reading level. They can practice the strategy using the books in their bag of books. And the groups will be really flexible because as I conference with kids I can create the groups. Is guided reading leaving my room? No, but for the needs in my room right now, I think that this flexible grouping will benefit us all a lot more, and help me to feel like we are more productive with the time we have.

I made this document to help me plan for strategy groups! Feel free to use it. :)

Give me a couple weeks to get things up and running and I will let you know how things are going!

2015 Focus: Inquiring Our way through Independent Reading

Every year, one area of teaching comes out in the forefront as the area that I want to work on that year. It is usually that time of day that I feel most unsettled, like I am teaching but it is not meshing the way I want it too or I don't feel like I am maximizing my time with the kids to meet their needs most effectively.
Of course the area of reading has come up a lot through my seven years teaching. It started when I was teaching a group of advanced kids in my second year and I didn't feel like the curriculum was meeting their needs. They needed more time to build comprehension and I didn't feel like I had all the tools to meet that challenge. Then I read Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning. (Click on all of the book pictures if you want to get more info about them!)

That book helped me see the need for independent reading and since then it has been an important part of my day. A coworker and I followed her model pretty closely, but I did feel like there were other parts of the reading process that I didn't cover as well or that my kids didn't get enough practice time.  I wanted my kids to have those thoughtful conversations as she mentioned, but I just couldn't get them that far. But, I was still a fairly new teacher and there were still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

I think it was also in my second year that I took a class through my district that really opened my eyes to teaching reading too. My teacher introduced us to the bag of books concept, which is also a staple in my room now. My kids always got some free choice but I made them choose some books that were on their reading level as well. I believe it was through this teacher that I was introduced to Debbie Diller. We had to read Making the Most of Small Groups for the class.

WOW! What a book. My understanding of effectively using that small group time grew leaps and bounds while reading that book. {all those things they don't really teach you in college!}

Over the summer I got her book on workstations:

I LOVED it! It put together so many missing pieces for me and it was a system that was authentic and worked with my teaching style. I used this model for quite a few years and it allowed me to pull groups and watch all the rest of my kids work with their partners independently.

Then. I had one of those years. That kind of year where basic is better and, although I love giving kids choice, sometimes they just can't handle it, and I knew it was time to change up the system a bit. I was a little late in reading Daily 5 and the CAFE book, but they are such excellent books I definitely recommend them!

I have to admit though, my reading workshop never completely followed one model exactly. And I don't think any of us should follow a model so exactly that we lose sight of the things that are important to us. Mostly the needs of my kids.

Okay, So back to now. I know that was a terribly long background, but I'm realizing how all of these pieces have shaped me to be the reading teacher I am today. And so as I progress with my focus for the year, those all need to come into play again! :)

Then there is this year. Small groups are just not working. I have some needs in my classroom that prevent me from being able to really go deep with the kids at my table, so I feel like I have been doing "fluffy" things that allow me to keep eyes on what is going on. I don't think it is that workshop is working, because most of the kids do a great job at it, but I just need a method of instruction that is going to allow my presence to be felt all over the classroom.

In the last couple months I have noticed that my most productive differentiation and teaching comes from my short reading and writing conferences with my kids. We don't spend as much time in workshop has we have in the past, but my independent reading time is a solid, 20 minute, productive time each day. So I need to use that time to make the most out of reaching the needs of my kids. Thankfully, that is the focus our Reading Coach has developed for us too, so I am excited to use her to help me develop this time to be as productive as possible!

So if you made it through this incredibly long post, I hope that you will join me on this inquiry of Independent reading! In the coming weeks and months til the end of school I hope to share what is working, what needs to change/be added, and how this time has benefited my students!