EngEd 275 – Virginia Wilson Chapter 10 – Organizing for Instruction

Strategies for Beginning Literature Circles Video :

1. Day 1 – Teaching and Modeling, Introduce book, Introduce Roles/Jobs, Explanations of everything, table leader is in charge of giving out jobs.
2. Days 2-3 – Review group roles, Independent student reading and work, teacher small group work with group roles, activity sheets vary with each student and their roles.
3. Last day for the week – Review expectations again, student literature discussions take place, goal is to get them to have solid discussions and to collaborate about the pages they read.

Word Walls – where teachers write sight words or commonly used words for students to reference. I’ve seen where they have the alphabet written on the board and they put the new words they learn under the letter it begins with.

Think-aloud – a way to get a students mind thinking while they are reading. Have a set list of questions or ideas you want students to think about while reading a passage or chapter. Then stop frequently to discuss or answer some of those questions, then go back to reading. It’s teaching students to think about the story, words, composition, text, and other items while reading.

Grand Conversation – full classroom or small group discussion. Giving students a chance to talk with each other about the book or what they are reading together. Share ideas, make connections, asking clarifying questions, and reading from the text to make a point.

Guided Reading – used to teach reading to small groups of four to six students who read at the same level. Generally 20 minutes long or so. Used to develop independent readers who use strategies flexibly to decode unfamiliar words, read fluently, and comprehend what they’re reading.

Reading Strategies –

• Self-monitoring
• Checking predictions
• Decoding unfamiliar words
• Determining if a word makes sense
• Checking that the word is appropriate in the syntax of the sentence
• Using all sources of information
• Chunking phrases to read more fluently

Literacy Centers in the Classroom – These centers are inviting, and students know how to work independently or cooperatively in small groups at the centers using all sorts of literacy materials, including books, online games, and digital media.

Basal Reading – Commercial Reading programs designed for each grade level. Today’s basal readers include more authentic literature selections that celebrate diverse cultures, and they emphasize an organized presentation of strategies and skills, especially phonics in the primary grades.

Components of Basal Reading – Strong skill component, teachers teach skills in a predetermined sequence, and students apply what they’re learning in textbook selections they read and the workbook assignments they complete.

• Selections in grade-level textbooks
• Instruction about decoding and comprehension strategies and skills
• Workbook assignments
• Independent reading opportunities
• Management plan that includes flexible grouping and regular assessment

Materials used in Basal Reading Programs –

• Textbook
• Big Books
• Supplemental books
• Workbooks
• Kits
• Teacher’s guide
• Home-school connections
• Assessment System
• Multimedia resources
• Lesson planner

Literature Focus Units – used to teach reading through literature, using high-quality, grade-appropriate picture books and novels.

Components include –

• students read and respond to a trade book together as a class
• the teacher teaches minilessons on phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension using the book they’re reading
• and students create projects to extend their understanding of the book

Steps in Developing a Literature Focus Unit –

1. Select the Literature
2. Set Goals on what you want students to learn
3. Develop a Unit plan
4. Coordinate Grouping patterns with activities
5. Create a time schedule
6. Assess students – planning, monitoring, evaluating and reflecting

Literature Circles – small, student-led book discussion groups that meet regularly in teh classroom. Sometimes called book clubs. The reading materials are quality books of children’s literature, including stories, poems, biographies, and other nonfiction books that children enjoy and are interested in.

Key Features of a literature circle –

1. choice – Students make many choices in a literature circle such as, the books they will read, the roles they will play, how they will discuss the book.
2. Literature – the books chosen should be interesting and at students reading levels
3. Response – students meet several times during a literature circle to discuss the book. Through these discussions, students summarize their reading, make connections, learn vocabulary, and explore the author’s use of text factors.

Types of Talk during Literature Circle Discussions : Talk about the book (events or big ideas, genre, elements or patterns author used, examples of literary devices), Talk about Connections (how book connects to their lives, how it compares to another book, how it compares to a tv or movie), Talk about the Reading Process (strategies used, reading problems and how they solved them, reread sections and why they reread them, their thoughts while reading, parts they understood or misunderstood), Talk about Group Process and Social Issues (who will be the group leader, determine schedule, roles and responsibilities, draw in nonparticipating students, keep convo on topic, extend the discussion to social issues and current events).

Roles Students play in literature circles: (pg. 348)

1. Discussion Director – guides the groups discussion and keeps it on task
2. Passage Master – focuses on the literary merits of the book and shares memorable passages.
3. Word Wizard – responsible for vocabulary, identifies important unfamiliar words.
4. Connector – points out links between the book and student’s lives.
5. Summarizer – prepares a brief summary of the reading to convey the big ideas to share with the group.
6. Illustrator – draws a picture or diagram related to the reading. it could relate to a character, an exciting event, or a prediction.
7. Investigator – Locates some information about the book, the author, or a related topic to share with the group. Used internet, encyclopedia or library book, interviews a person with special expertise on topic.

Series of activities in literature circles:

1. Prereading – teachers give book talks, then students choose books to read, form groups and get ready to read by making schedules and choosing roles
2. Reading – students read the book independently or with a partner, and prepare for the group meeting.
3. Responding – students talk about the book and take responsibility to come to the discussion prepared to participate actively
4. Exploring – teachers teach minilessons during which students rehearse literature circle procedures, learn comprehension strategies, and examine text factors
5. Applying – students give brief presentations to the class about they books they’ve read

Shared Reading – students take turns reading or read aloud to one another.

Reading and Writing workshops – this approach involves three key characteristics, time, choice and response.

1. Students have large chunks of time and the opportunity to read and write. They become the core of the curriculum
2. students assume ownership of their learning through self-selection of books they read and their topics for writing.
3. Students respond to books they’re reading in reading logs that they share during conferences with the teacher. They also do book talks to share books they’ve finished reading with classmates. In a writing workshop students share with classmates rough drafts of books and other compositions they’re writing.

The Goldilocks Strategy for choosing books – Three categories of books, “Too Easy”, “Just Right”, and “Too Hard”.

“Too Easy” Books

• the books is short
• the print is big
• you have read the book before
• you know all the words in the book
• the book has a lot of pictures
• you are an expert on this topic

“Just Right” books

• the book looks interesting
• you can decode most of the words
• your teacher has read this book aloud to you
• you have read other books by this author
• there’s someone to give you help if you need it
• you know something about this topic

“Too Hard” books

• the book is long
• the print is small
• there aren’t many pictures in the book
• there are a lot of word that you cant decode
• there’s no on to help you read this book
• you don’t know much about this topic

Minilessons – short lessons to assist with a topic, or given to a small group. helps with students who are younger and don’t have high attention spans. Also great for sharing a small bit of information that doesn’t overwhelm students.

Responses in Reading Workshops:

1. Immersion Responses – students indicate whether the book is making sense to them, They draw inferences abut characters, offer predictions, ask questions, or discuss confusions.
2. Involvement Responses – students show that they’re personally involved with a character, often giving advice or judging a character’s actions. They reveal their own involvement in the story as they express satisfaction with how the story is developing.
3. Literary Connections – students make connections and evaluate the book. They offer opinions, sometimes saying, “I liked…” or “I didn’t like…” and compare the book to others they’ve read.

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) – is an independent reading time set aside during the school day for students in one class or the entire school to silently read self-selected books.

Managing a workshop classroom – Takes time!! Beginning the first day of the school year, teachers establish the workshop environment in their classroom. They provide time for students to read and write and teach them how to respond to books and to their classmates’ writing. Through their interactions with students, the respect they show to students, and the way they model reading and writing, teachers establish the classroom as a community of learners.

Classroom Application:

I think as a new teacher, I would be more interested in using a basal reading program just because I want to see how things flow with my first class. But after I get more comfortable in my position, I would love to use literature circles. I remember participating in them when I was in school and it was a lot of fun. I think it is good for students to take on different roles, and learn to step outside of the box where the teacher tells you where, when, and how to do everything. This would be a great setup for students in the second and third grade because they are really developing their reading skills at that age and I could see the benefits of using a literature circle.