Chapter 5 Read to Someone and Listen to Reading Deep Thoughts

A quote worth repeating:
"I have seen master teachers who always maintain a positive attitude toward teaching and learning- and they always get results." 

I couldn't agree more about what a difference attitude and disposition makes!  Now on to the reading...

Read to Someone

• Is Read to Someone the favorite part of Daily 5 for your students?
• Have you felt frustrated by the noise or accountability issues?  If so, how have you handled it?

Introducing Read to Someone

• What matters the most is presenting a series of lessons for a period of days with step-by-step modeling and practice.

Focus Lesson Day 1: EEKK, Voice, Check

• Do we have a TJ posted set of the RTS definitions for:
• EEKK
• I Read, You Read
• Choral Read
• Reading One Book
• Reading Different Books
• Check for Understanding
• Voice level
• Does everyone have the voice level poster/anchor chart?
• Check for Understanding
• Do any of you use an object for the non-reader to hold during Check for Understanding?
• I-Chart, Modeling, Practice, and Check-in
• I loved that the kids made the connection between Read to Self and Read to Someone.  Go kids!
• I loved the direct aspect of teach, model, practice, review, repeat.......
• Self-selected Work Areas
• Do you let the pairs choose?  Do you choose for them?

Read to Someone Focus Lesson Day 2: I Read, You Read

• Have you noticed one "way" that works better? 
• Check for understanding with one book
• I Read, You Read with one book with parrot reading for fluency practice
• Read Two Different Books with two books

Read to Someone Focus Lesson Day 3: How to Choose Books

• Are the kids able to choose books for RTS or do you choose?
• How do the strategies of "Let's Make a Deal" and "Rock, Paper, Scissors" work in your classroom?

Read to Someone Focus Lesson Day 4: Choosing Your Own Classroom Spot

• I like how they weave the psychology in to this step.  They have controlled this variable up to now and now that the procedures for behaviors and book choice are in place they can release responsibility to the students to choose their own "spot".  How did your students do when you let them choose their spot?

Read to Someone Focus Lesson Day 5: How to Choose a Partner

• Have you made an anchor chart for this "How to Choose a Partner"
• I LOVE how they include the lifeskills part of this process.  "The only acceptable answer is "Sure, thank you!" when someone asks you to be his or her partner.
• Model, model, model, monitor, monitor, monitor :)

Read to Someone Focus Lesson Day 6: Coaching or Time?

• This part was hard for me to visualize.  Our little people are somewhat egocentric so having to wait until 3 or give a coaching strategy versus the answer seems like a very grown up skill.
• Do you have a Reading Coach Anchor chart?  How did it go?
• What about a Reading Coach cheat sheet?  Do we have decoding and comprehension strategies?  Are they district generated?  How do our beginning readers navigate through this process?

Listen to Reading

• I love the goal of having kids "catch up" on lap time if needed by listening to reading and then transitioning to Read to Self or Read to Others when they have "caught up".
• What do you think of the idea of putting headphones on a school supply list????
• The idea of a consistent, explicit, instructional pattern for each of the "5" is such a good investment and is so pedagogically sound.

Focus Lessons

• How do kids listen to reading in your reading?  Tapes, CDs, computer?
• Is this a "job" for students to be the Techie so that the teacher can continue working with a student or group?  Career preparation :)  The sisters call it "Listen to Reading Helpers".
• I am still not sure about modeling procedures incorrectly, but I will abstain as I am not in the trenches trying it :)

Chapter 4- the deep thoughts continue....

READ TO SELF

So I love the notion of gradual release of responsibility and the way they explain it.  The key, it seems, is to recognize that you never ever fully "release" the whole responsibility to the children.  There has to be a constant, timed correctly, way of monitoring their independence with the strategy.

I know it is hard at times to see connections in PS, K, and 1st with reading ideas in books like this one.  I did, however, have an a-ha moment when they spelled out:
Read and talk about the pictures
Read the words
Retell a previously read book
That sounds exactly like what is done in early childhood classes as the goal is to acclimate the children to print, develop an interest in books, and deepen concepts of print.

Read to Self I-Chart
As I read this part I made lots of text to self connections.  This lesson sounds so much like a SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) lesson.  SIOP is a research-based strategy for designing lessons to make content comprehensible for ELLs and other learners with limited vocabulary.  She set the objective.  She provided a visual.  She used the LEA (Language Experience Approach) which is another ELL strategy to post the thoughts verbatim on the chart paper next to the child's name.  Also, focusing on what it LOOKS like AND SOUNDS like is crucial for addressing brain-based learning. 

3-minute start.....have you tried it?  Want to share??  Checking back in is a great way to "celebrate" what went well and quickly "fix" what didn't.

The goal is to read for 30-45 minutes in Read to Self.  That is a goal that takes lots of stamina-building practice sessions for sure!

Chapter 3 deep thoughts :)

Do we have a gathering place/space in our 2nd-5th grade classrooms where all the children can sit comfortably?  It sounds like that is something to work on.....

I really agree with the idea of 99% accuracy vs. 95% accuracy for Good Fit books.  As a Spanish speaker, I always think about how important getting as close to 100% accuracy really is.  Would you want to miss even 1% if that was the final direction/step/warning/exit???

More thoughts...
Did any of you try the shoe analogy lesson?
How are you organizing "book boxes"?  Do we have enough books at each level and do you have storage systems?

I love the idea of Anchor Charts.  It makes me think of my days as an ELL teacher.  ELL kids LOVE anchor charts as I am guessing IEP kids do, too.  It is a quick visual way to fill in the gaps and connect learning to prior experiences.

Short intervals of repeated practice/Building Muscle Memory
This one was hard for me.  I can't imagine stopping everyone from reading if only one child was "done".  That would take some time for me to get used to in the classroom.

Signals and Check in
I love the idea of the chime.  What are you all currently using to bring the class to your attention?
Would it be cool or useful to have a building wide sound that we all use?  Maybe we could get some support to buy something??  I also loved the no thumbs down idea.  Stay positive...

OK, I am not sure if I buy in to the Correct Model/Incorrect Model idea.  Behavioral psychology has taught me that you don't leave a negative/non-example as their last memory.  It would make more sense to me to do Correct/Incorrect/Correct.  What do you think?

Testing, testing....

I am new at creating blogs as I am sure most of you are at posting on blogs.  We will learn together!  Let's hope that this new tool is one that we can post on before, during, or after each chapter of our reading.