Reading - A Community Endeavor
Power Writing for Perfect Projects and Responses
The Interest Inventory
Importance of Reciting and Reviewing What Has Been Read
Reading Hotlist of Resources
Simple to Use Step Guides
Better Reading Guide
Visit My Education Page for "What Do Good Readers Do"
My Feeling Face
How We All Fit Together
Word Processing Guidelines
________________________
READING - A Community Endeavor
Reading is a challenge for the great majority of students in our school. According to our testing data almost one third of the student population at Chestnut are reading below grade level due to many different reasons. I first have to "turn student on to reading." An interest inventory has proved very useful. You pin down the students’ interest, reading levels, reading habits, favorite books, least favorite books etc. I have found this interest inventory to be thorough enough to gain a fair picture of the student as reader. Some students volunteer to provide more information but in the beginning of the school year you want to be more invitational in your approach to reading versus instructional. Community Building activities help invite students into active reading activities which build on their strengths.
POWER WRITING FOR PERFECT
PROJECTS and RESPONSES
PRE-WRITE Student demonstrates in writing the ability to use the following pre-write strategies
_____Notes (Instructional) are written in notebook legibly and completely
_____Questions – Student knows who and what the (RAFT) Role/Audience/ Format/Topic for this assignment
_____Pre-Thinking - (CAASE) Questions range in difficulty
_____Brainstorm – Webbing and Mapping of multiple ideas, information or supporting details included
_____Vocabulary words - words are spelled and defined correctly
_____Journal Entries (Q-TIPP) Are written in response to literature or question prompts
ORGANIZED Student has followed the outline provided and has used organizational and outlining techniques.
_____Outline/Mapping and other Graphic Organizers used as explanatory devices
_____Sequence of ideas from sentence to sentence, paragraph-to-paragraph and section-to-section
_____Sections clearly headed/named/identified
WRITE Student has thought of ideas, formulated a subject into complete sentences using appropriate vocabulary. At least three paragraphs (introduction, body, conclusion) are included.
Sentences
_____Does each sentence include a subject and a predicate?
_____Did each sentence contain proper punctuation?
_____Was grammar checked.
Vocabulary
_____Was a thesaurus used to enrich writing.
_____Was a dictionary used to for unknown words and terms.
Paragraphs
_____Controlling (topic sentence) is included in the introduction
_____Clarifying sentences are in the body.
_____Concluding sentences are in the conclusion.
_____Supporting details are included in each paragraph.
Subject
_____Persuasive Essay has evidence to support position provided
_____Narrative Essay is sequentially written with supporting details
_____Descriptive Essay include how things, people or situations look, sound, tastes, smell or feels?
_____Explanatory writing to inform or give directions presented in a step-by-step order
EDIT Student uses the following editing strategies to double-check their work
_____Capitalization – First word in sentence, names, historical events, official names of groups or organizations, countries, nationalities, religions, languages, geographic regions, streets, cities, countries, states, months, days,
____Punctuation – Periods (at the end of a statement or command), commas (after each item in a series, separate a word that describes a noun, break up long sentences, between a city and a state), exclamation points, question marks, indents and margins (to begin a new paragraph)
_____Grammar – Match subjects with verbs, use the right pronoun, use the right verb form, and use the right verb tense
_____Spelling – Benchmark and define unknown words correctly
REVISE Student has checked and made final revisions on his work before turning it in.
_____Drafts are presented and improvements made
_____Main ideas presented clearly, concisely, and sequentially
_____Supporting details coincide with content
_____Facts with proof and/or examples accurate
Interest Inventory
Students will write a short reading history or profile of himself or herself in a narrative style. They will include things like the first time they read, the first book they ever read, the longest book they read, the shortest one, the best one, the worst one etc.
You might ask them about memorable characters, settings or storylines. I like this method better than a questionnaire because a student, by the time they reach sixth grade, has very personal and definite notions about reading.
It is interesting to compare the composition they write during the start of the school year with one that they write at the end of the school year in regards to their reading habits.
Procedure
1) Provide students with paper and pencils.
2) Brainstorm ideas about what could possibly be included in their reading history essay.
3) Provide guidelines abut an introduction, body and conclusion.
4) Remind students of the Role, Audience, Format and Topic.
5) Allow students to share their ideas after they have finished a first and second draft.
Importance of Reciting and Reviewing
What Has Been Read
Tell your students that reciting what they read helps them to retain what is read. Reciting what has been read is a review strategy that increases critical thinking, self-monitoring of information and active reading.
A student can stop and stop periodically to orally review what he or she has read. Asking who, what, where, when, why and how questions are basic starters. Students can ask questions about the setting, plot, character, theme and vocabulary words. Parents and friends can ask them questions about what they have read. Good readers talk about what they have read.
When you recite informationabout the text you have read you will:
Think, pair share!
Directed reading thinking activity
Re-read for clarification
Check comprehension by reviewing without looking back
Predict then read then confirm
Clarify with questions from peers
Take test
Have interviews
Have Book Chats
My Feeling Face
Compare
and Contrast
Essential
Question
How
did you feel during the beginning of your first day at Chestnut Middle School
and how you did you feel by the end of the day?
Skills
·
Interpret
non-print material
·
Following instructions
·
Community building
·
Writing a complete sentence
·
Direct recall of an experience
 | Principal
of Learning – Socializing
Intelligence |
| ELA
Standard - Media |
 |
|||
|
|||
HOW
WE ALL
FIT TOGETHER
SENTENCE STARTERS
I
struggled with…
I
love…
I
am…
What
surprised me was…
What
I need to improve…
I
need help with…
I
chose this because…
The
best thing about …
What
I like about this is…
What
I need to reach my goal is…
This
is fun because…
Here
is how I have grown…
Something
in my portfolio that surprised me was…
Here
is how I have grown…
I
am getting better at…
This
person helped me…
On
my next project I would like to…
I
am smarter today because…
I
worked hard on…
I
want everybody to see…
My
life is so…
Friends
and family are…
This
school is…
I
find myself …
QUESTIONNAIRE
Students will use the following list of questions as a guide to help them write their “A Snapshot of the Future” essay. They should have a complete page including an introduction, body and conclusion.
Paragraph
One - Introduction
1) What is your name?
2) What grade are you in?
3) Where were you born?
4) Where do you live? (Optional)
5) What school did you attend last year?
6) Why did you select this school for middle school?
Paragraph
Two - Body
7) How has education helped you become a better person?
8) What has helped you most as a student? Tell me how and why the person's) or circumstances) helped you.
9) What has least helped you as a student thus far? Tell me how and why the
person's or circumstances) did not help you.
10) Describe your goals for the future both short term and long term.
11) Explain how you plan to reach these goals.
Paragraph
Two - Conclusion
12) Share an obstacle that you have had to overcome and how you overcame it.
13) How did the victory make you feel?
14) What would you like to share with your peers, (about yourself, words of wisdom, thoughts that will encourage and inspire others)? Relate what you say to the importance of education.
15) Your personal quote can be typed last.
WORD PROCESSING
“ClarisWorks” INSTRUCTIONS
Page
Guidelines
***************
Macintosh
Computers
Program - ClarisWorks
Page
Setup – Landscape
Margins
– Justified
Format – Two Columns
Font - Size 12”
Times
New Roman
Double
Space After Heading
Single
Space in body of text
Type
On left Side of Page Only
Three Paragraphs