3 Ways to Make Sure the Students are Loving Your Reading Block!

Hey everyone! I am excited to share with you again, this time some of my most successful Reading Block structures and activities to engage kids and get them interacting with text in ways that make an impact. Keep reading if you want to make some easy to implement changes to your reading instruction that pack a punch of growth!

1. Teach in Their World with a Variety of Text Selection and Media

Text choices that our students can be excited about are more available to us now than ever before. Be aware of what the most popular books are on reputable websites such scholastic book clubs, or in the kids book aisle at target. Make an effort to borrow those titles from your local library (oh yeah, ask the librarians too--they'll be able to tell you which titles are checked out most often by kids in each age group!) or create a wish list on amazon for people who want to donate things to your class and put those books at the top! People love to help teachers, so don't be afraid to put your needs out there!
Other great resources for quality children's literature and leveled text:
Readworks.org
Learning A-Z
Scholastic Bookflix

Okay, I know it--there are a LOT of reasons to not take the time to choose texts carefully. Most of the time we as teachers are lucky to have our groups leveled and a guided reading routine in place, let alone agonizing over which texts to dive into with our kiddos on a rotating basis. But, I am here to reassure you that once you do it a few times, it is super simple to incorporate into your planning routine and you will start to see some real changes in the students' reading growth if you use the best resources possible. Nowadays, we have a wonderful amount of text selection available to us, especially digitally. Sites like Epic! Books for Kids have a staggering amount of books that kids love in all genres, often with the added bonus of optional audio, video tutorials, and comprehension quizzes. Not all lexile levels or GR levels are provided which is a drawback, but if you take the time to browse for 10 books at each group guided reading/ independent reading level in your classroom, the kids can access those in their mailbox and not be faced with the overwhelming amount of choices on the whole site. That way, you can tailor the instruction to the student, and you can monitor that they stay within those choices using the sites reading log tool. Seriously, Epic is a resource almost everyone lets their students use, but few harness the power it can pack into your reading block. PLEASE contact me with any questions you have about getting started. Did I mention it is FREE??!!

Know what your students like, and they will like you! If they like you--they WORK for you! Book order and silent reading incentives, funny youtube videos during some transition times (I LOVE the Bored Shorts TV channel), games for morning work, music, and any dance movement incorporated into your day can be used as guiding posts for the texts you assign and the buy-in you get from your kids. I will share more specifics about which resources I use and how I fit them into our learning day in a separate blog post, coming soon! If you need advice on how to get started, please reach out to me! I would absolutely love to connect with you.

And now I bring up something I can't stress enough--ADEQUATE WAIT TIME! Seriously, we have GOT to slow down for our kids to process all this stuff. and, we need to somehow quell the blurters 😆 from dominating the conversations all the time. If you haven't done it yet, a real game changer is having those little craft sticks or some version of them for randomized student participation. This lets everyone relax (no hands raised) and lets everyone think for an amount of time that you as the teacher control. That way, all the students feel the pressure to come up with an answer. For those that struggle, ask them if they would like more time, or some help with their response. This has especially helped me in Math class but is also helpful for vocabulary review and writing
conferencing. Plus, it is SUPER EASY to implement right away! See what it is like to have a whole day without hand raising and let me know how it goes!

2. Make it Visual with Graphic Organizers and Colorful Notes

a. Sticky Note Teaching is a thing, friends. If you learn to embrace it, there is no need for running off any graphic organizers at the copier. Make them all mini-sized and post an anchor chart with an example of how to make each common type of organizer near your reading table. The students need practice with note taking and drawing graphics on post its to communicate about a text is a very concrete way to hone those skills. For example, instead of printing off ten different noun worksheets for the week, invite the students to make a list of ten nouns from page ten of their book, and share those out at the guided reading table. Stick their noun post its right on page ten to be referred back to later, or display them on a chart paper that stays up for writing time later. This experience in Guided Reading is shared and reinforces the idea that reading and writing are authentic processes that happen in daily life.
b. Binders and Folders and videos, Oh my! Give them something tangible that they're creating to show understanding of the books they read. Have them make a file folder book about a book, for example. One of my favorite examples of this is from Anna DiGilio at Simply Skilled Teaching. Check out the link to her Guided Reading Flip Flap Books, here:
Simply Skilled GR Flip Flap Books

c. Again-- adequate wait time, friends, We need to wait. Students need to engage in what is called productive struggle in order to grow. Its almost like we allow it to get slightly uncomfortable in the room, so they know we won't be moving on without them. Set a timer for yourself if needed. wait 35 seconds before you prompt anyone for responses.

3. Making Connections Across the Core Subjects:

Talk about reading skills all the time in all the subjects. Teacher language is one of the most powerful tools we have with which to facilitate learning. Reading creates shared experiences in the same way that field trips do. Having those conversations like, "remember when we read that one book? Remind me about that one...", or, Remember in math we compared and contrasted the attributes of shapes? Well here we are being asked to compare and contrasts different versions of the story from Red Riding Hood's point of view and the Wolf's. How can what we did in Math help us with this activity now?"

Other Recommended Teacher Language to Start Using Tomorrow!

1. "What could you try next with this book?"
2."What have we done before?"
3. "How can you work together to show me you understand this text?"

So, what were the most interesting points of the blog for you today? Anything you hadn't thought of before?

Until later, Thanks!
From, Me :)

Updated: Reading to Someone in Centers is Important! Make it Productive for the Students with a Structured Activity they can Facilitate for Themselves!

In Elementary teaching, whether in public schools or charter schools at some point during their instructional day have a Language Arts Block that includes small group instruction. For us teachers, generally that means pulling leveled groups for guided reading or some form of it (reciprocal teaching, close reading, etc.), and for students it means rotating through learning "centers" or "stations" that should reinforce previously learned concepts based on Common Core Standards. When deciding how to manage these small group and center times, teachers often seek out instructional practices such as "The Daily 5", which includes the following 5 types of learning centers: 1. Working with Words 2. Reading to Yourself 3. Writing 4. Reading to Someone 5. Listening to Reading Now, whether you use The Daily 5 practice, or some other center titles to reinforce learning strands, it is fine by me. However, do yo

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