Super Sleuths Blog Hop #19

Hi Y'all!
I am so happy to be one of 28 literacy/reading specialists involved in the Super Sleuth Blog Hop!  I love creating  items for students and teachers! I believe in using researched-based strategies and providing those resources to you as freebies!
Today's freebie focuses on comprehension.  Comprehension is all about making meaning.  I have included the Somebody Wanted But So strategy to help students summarize, a list of Generative Questions for you to help readers think deeply, and the FAST character trait analyzing strategy.  I hope that these will help you!

"True comprehension goes beyond literal understanding and involves the reader's interaction with text.  If students are to become thoughtful, insightful readers, they must extend their thinking beyond a superficial understanding of the text."  Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis  

Download Strategies Here!

Now for your clue! Just add the letter below to your list beside Literacy Minute!

 Good luck finding all the clues!  Thanks for stopping by for a minute!  Come back soon! 

Now, on to the...

  

Book Units Teacher
This is a most fabulous item!  Don't miss it!

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1. Comprehension Connection

2. Dont Let the Teacher Stay Up Late

3. The Reading Tutor/ OG

4. Learning Fundamentals

5. Reading and Writing Redhead

6. Ms. Ds Literacy Lab

7. Conversations in Literacy

8. Teacher Mom of Three

9. A Day in the Life of a Title 1 Teacher

10. Luckeyfrog"s Lilypad

11. Curious Firsties

12. All Four Reading

13. Thinking Out Loud

14. Ms. Jordan Reads

15. Big Time Literacy

16. Read with Me ABC

17. Teaching With Nancy

18. This Little Piggy Reads

19. The Literacy Minute

20. Book Units Teacher

21. Reading Toward the Stars

22. The Literacy Garden

23. Im Lovin Lit

24. Ripper Resources

25. Teachers Take-Out

26. Sweet Integrations

27. Reading is Elementary

28. The Rungs of Reading

Smarter Balanced Practice Test

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has released practice tests for grades 3-8, and 11.  You can check them out here.  In order to see the entire test you will need to answer the questions.  A simple ABC or xxx will do. 

I will be meeting with a fabulous group of teachers today to look at the performance tasks.  We will decide what teachers and students need to do in order to prepare for these tasks.  I will update with the anchor charts!

Annotation and Close Reading

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I love this poster!  Reading with a pencil is a great way to look at annotating!  Thinking out loud on paper is another way to look at it.  Our students need to THINK and write down their thoughts!

So, what do you look for when annotating?  I compiled a list of ideas from several sources. 

Annotation Guide

Here is a (Read Write Think) great lesson on annotating.  Just adapt to you grade level! 

Here is an article that explains annotation!

I could not find the credits for the poster!  Let me know if you find it!

Photos are great to "read" with a pencil!  Creating captions from your ideas is fun!

This is a great book by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst!

Sailing Over the Edge

One of the articles I read recently was Sailing Over the Edge; Navigating the Uncharted Waters of a World Gone Flat by Kylene Beers.  I highly recommend that you take the time to read it!

One of my favorite quotes from this article was:

"High-stakes tests and packaged learning have created a generation of students who equate learning with finishing, and achievement with a decent grade.  Testing does not improve learning; better teaching does."

Wow!

I agree wholeheartedly.  However, so many times I have heard teachers and administrators say, "You need to know this because it will be on the test."  I have been guilty of the same thing!  The pressure that was felt by the adults was passed on to the students.  No wonder they equate learning to a test!! 

What are we doing to children? and teachers?  How can we shift the emphasis from the test to the learning?  How does our language need to change?  How can we foster creativity and prepare children for the test?  Will Common Core State Standards help?

We will have to work on the answers together.

I also relate to her discussion of the many complex skills that students will need to navigate the future.  We will be responsible for teaching these complex skills.

To sail over the edge will require us to leave our comfort zone.  To tackle new problems and not be afraid.  To present material and grade students in a different way.  To change our belief system.

It is an exciting time. It is an uncomfortable time.  

Perseverance

Perseverance is not giving up.  It is the effort required to keep doing something in spite of the fact that it is difficult. It is grit, tenacity and resilience.  It is sticktoitiveness!  

While studying the Common Core State

Standards this week, I realized how students will need to develop perseverance.  What can we do as educators to help students persevere?  Peter Johnston in his book, Opening Minds, talks about dynamic-learning frames and fixed-performance frames.  The dynamic learner sees a challenge as an opportunity.  Challenges are interesting and nonthreatening.  When the fixed-performance learner encounters a difficult challenge, many times they will not even try to complete it.  They are anxious and unsure of themselves.  They would rather not try than fail.  Johnston shares in his book how our words can shape students and help them develop a more dynamic-learning frame.
Both of his books are worth a read!




Also. visit Jackie Gerstein's blog post on The Other21st Century Skills!

Earth Day Freebie and CCSS Poetry

Download Earth Day Poem

I made a poem for Earth Day.  I used the form of Haiku because of its emphasis on syllables.  Syllable work is of great value to the struggling reader.  Haiku poetry is designed to have a total of 17 syllables.  (Usually it is a 5-7-5 syllable rule that is followed.) 

Check here for a little history and examples of children writing Haiku.  Notice the emphasis on nature and sharing the experience.

Publishing Haiku digitally can meet the CCSS!  Have students publish their poems to a digital poster board like Glogster.  There is a fee for Glogster, but worth it if you like the application.

Poster My Wall will let teachers register for a free account.  Students can make posters with their writings.  These posters will not be published online for public viewing, but you could post them to a blog.

The CCSS are all about reading poetry!  CCSS for Reading Literature:

10.  By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grade’s text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Does the Common Core forget about writing poetry?

According to Appendix A, “Narrative writing conveys experience, either real or imaginary, and uses time as its deep structure.  It can be used for many purposes, such as to inform, instruct, persuade, and entertain.  In English language arts, students produce narratives that take the form of creative fictional stories, memoirs, anecdotes, and autobiographies.”

I like what Burkins and Yaris say:

One of the ideas central to the Common Core writing goals is that students use writing to clearly communicate their thinking, and writing poetry is an exercise in precision.  Poets must meticulously consider words and how to organize them, considering nuance, meter, and imagery in an effort to convey their messages and appeal to the audiences for whom they write. When comparing these responsibilities of poets to the goals for writers presented in the anchor standards, one can see the following connections between the two:

Anchor Standard #3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Anchor Standard #4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Anchor Standard #5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, and trying a new approach.

Anchor Standard #10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, or audiences.

I hope this helps you navigate the CCSS and poetry!