Comprehension Focus Groups: With a Focus on Grammar

Heather Zimmerman contributed this post. Click here for more of Heather's thinking.

Why can’t these kids write a complete sentence?  This is a frustration that might be vented by a teacher at any grade level. This usually leads to the question: How do we fix this? What does best practice look like when grammar is taught in a consistent and strategic way while in the workshop model.  

I have tried to teach grammar in various ways.  When I was student teaching we had a textbook we used with a number of sentences that needed to be fixed depending on the lesson for the day.  In my own classroom, my high school students engaged in Daily Oral Language (DOL) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by fixing the sentence that was on the transparency.  When I learned this was not best practice, I began to use lessons from Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson.  I loved how we used examples from a text to analyze correct examples.  Eventually I started to feel like we did not have enough lessons to work through on a consistent basis, so I dabbled into a bit of DOL again using the book, Use it! Don’t Lose it! by Marjorie Frank.  I tried to tell myself this was OK, because I thought it was what was best for my students.  I also of course was analyzing student writing and trying to pull lessons from their writing.  But I kept feeling lost in grammar world- nothing felt right for us!

Am I crazy to think there must be something out there in grammar world that clicks and feels right for my students?  Maybe...  I feel part of the problem (which is the same now during intervention time, as it was when I taught 8th grade literacy) is time.  How do I effectively chunk my 50 minutes of time for vocabulary work, grammar/sentence work, read aloud time, the mini-lesson, and reading/writing workshop time?  Yes, I know that some of the grammar/sentence work should be a mini-lesson as needed for a small group or whole group.  But when it is not sticking for my whole intervention group, I know we need to give this more time.  (Is the Rolling Stones song going through your head right now? “Time, time, time is on my side.  Yes it is.”)

A friend of mine recommended the book, Grammar Keepers by Gretchen Bernabei. This book has lessons on the most common grammar problems in grades 4 through 12.  She bases her lessons off the ideas of asking students to “prove it.”  In essence, students need to back up their choices.  I decided to base a Comprehension Focus Group (CFG) using specific lessons from Grammar Keepers.  I picked lessons that I knew my students needed.  I also picked a theme for our texts that I knew would be of interest to them.  

Here are the CFG lessons:

Sentence structure with a focus on animals- grade 7

Punctuation with a focus on dreams- grade 8

Afterwards, I felt like we certainly did a deep dig into grammar.  My 8th graders, really started to think about the punctuation we picked and why that punctuation is used.  When they tried to find examples in mentor texts they sometimes would pick up on a different instance.  For example, commas being used for a different reason than with an appositive.   But, they were noticing the punctuation and we were talking about it, which is important.  This led to conversations about subjects and verbs- topics they have learned but have forgotten.  With my 7th graders, I picked lessons dealing with sentence structure.  We needed to work on fragments and run-on sentences.  We talked about subjects and verbs.  We also talked about conjunctions.  Students enjoyed looking for FANBOYS or AAAWWUBBIS sentences in texts, but did not always include appropriate punctuation in their writing.  This led to good discussion where I learned that sometimes students knew it was needed and sometimes they did not.  This CFG led to being consistent and strategic through the time of this intervention, but I would like to see this happen in a more consistent basis.  Was it perfect?  No.  Though, there will be parts from this book I will incorporate next year into my routines at the beginning of CFG time.  I also want to get a good system down, so I can carry that into my coaching time.

What works for you?  How do you help your teachers incorporate grammar into their classrooms?  If you are using CFGs at the secondary level, what does this look like for you?

Comprehension Focus Groups: Looking at Child Labor with a Focus on Word Choice

Heather Zimmerman contributed this thinking. Click here to read more of Heather's thinking about Comprehension Focus Groups.

If you read my post about managing your learning, you might recall I decided this year I would have a stack of go-to texts.  With all my new learning, I sometimes feel I do not end up applying the learning in a consistent and strategic way.  I created a stack texts that would be my go-to for my lesson planning this year.  I have found this to be a successful way to manage my new learning.

One of my go-to texts is Chris Lehman’s book Falling in Love with Close Reading.  I read this book last summer and a co-worker friend of mine told me how wonderful this book is.  I decided I had to make sure to use this in a Comprehension Focus Group (CFG) this year.

The time came when I looked back at Lehman’s text to see if it could guide my student’s learning in a CFG for my 8th graders.  My school uses Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study for Writing and my 8th graders would soon be working on the informative unit and starting letters on an important issue.  I decided to get the ball rolling.  I found texts about child labor that centered around a book my students had picked from our classroom library that they wante to read- Iqbal by Franceso D’Adamo.  After digging back into Lehman’s books and thinking about my students’ needs, I decided word choice would be a powerful next step.  I also wanted to incorporate some open journaling on the topics they read about regarding child labor with a focus on their own word choice while they wrote.  

I was very happy with how this unit came together.  I felt this gave them resources for their literacy class if they chose to use the topic.  It also got them thinking about how word choice can show the purpose and tone, which can make an impact in their writing.  

Here is the outline to the CFG if you are interested:

CFG- Word Choice (Child Labor focus)

Do you or your intervention teachers tie the intervention work to other classes?  What classes do you usually connect the work to?

Comprehension Focus Groups: Using Reciprocal Teaching within the CFG

Heather Zimmerman contributed this post. Click here for more of Heather's thinking about comprehension focus groups.

October 2015 Hot Topics at UW-Oshkosh had Lori Oczkus as a keynote speaker.  After hearing her passionately talk about different strategies during her keynote, I was hooked and decided to stay for a session she had about reciprocal teaching.  I had heard of reciprocal teaching, but never implemented it in my classroom.  But after hearing Oczkus talk about the power of reciprocal teaching, I knew I had to implement it in my next Comprehension Focus Group (CFG).

Link to My Notes from the Conference

I thought my 7th grade group would benefit from Reciprocal Teaching the most.  I decided to use a graphic organizer- though she showed us this cool way to tear paper and use a sheet of paper.  I opted for a bit more writing space for my middle school students.  This was used during the informative unit where my students did some reading on the Middle Ages (before they started in social studies class).  

Link to Graphic Organizer

Oczkus talked a lot about puppets for the different roles, which I did not think my middle school students would find “cool”. I did use the Quincy the Questioner idea though- without the puppets.  My middle school students seemed to enjoy the idea of quizzing their friends.  

I thought using Reciprocal Teaching was effective in the CFG.  It provided an opportunity to review summary writing, and also through the “Clarifying” component, students were able to capture questions they still had for further research in phase 3 of the CFG.  

For those of you who are using CFGs, what graphic organizers or strategies have you found success with?

Conferencing with Students: This Year’s Goal with the Comprehension Focus Group

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post.

The new year is back in full swing.  My role (part-time coach, part-time interventionist) has stayed the same as last year, and I am at the same school.  I am excited for the consistency, so I can build off what was started last year.

This was the first time I ever cycled with some of my kids.  Some of my 8th graders are students I also worked with as 7th graders.   It was so exciting to see them again, and so interesting starting a year with students who already know me and our classroom routines.  We have had some celebrations together as we began the beginning of the year assessments.  I have noticed many of my students did not experience the dreaded summer slide and took my advice to read over summer.  I strongly believe as they grow as readers and gain skills to be successful through Comprehension Focus Groups (CFGs) and in their other classes, they are then able to apply these strategies on their own.  Therefore, growing as readers!

Some of you may have followed me last year through my journey of implementing CFGs in my middle school classroom for the first year.  Before this school year began, I started to think about what my focus will be this year for professional growth.  I thought about what worked well last year with the CFGs and what I wanted to work on.  

I decided to attempt to tackle putting in a place a conference schedule and method for taking notes.  Conferencing, even small groups, at times seems tricky.  I have yet to find a method I love to track my conferences.  This goal is going to not only be a part of my Professional Practice Goal (PPG), but also learning that I can share with the teachers I work with.  I already shared my goal with some of my colleagues, and they are eager to collaborate.

Here are some resources that are helping guide my thinking:

• How’s It Going? by Carl Anderson
• Two Writing Teachers Blog- https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/category/a-peek-inside-conferring-toolkits-blog-series/

I plan to keep track of conferences this year electronically using Google Forms.  I hope if I put the compliment and teaching point into Google forms, I can then use the spreadsheet to sort the data.  With the data, I can sort by student name and also by teaching points for small groups.

I am excited to get started and continue learning.  I have high hopes that I will finally find a method that works for me.

What has worked well for you with conferencing with students?  What advice have you given to your teachers regarding conferences?

Comprehension Focus Groups- Reflection After Year One

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. More about Heather's work implementing comprehension focus groups in middle school can be found here.

As I wrap up my first year working with Comprehension Focus Groups (CFGs), I reflect on how the year went.  I debated on telling you about my fourth CFG or a few of my questions and thoughts.  I decided to do a quick snapshot of both.

Questions and Thoughts

I believe the CFGs are making a difference. The data is speaking for itself.  I also know that the strong tier one instruction is playing a critical role.  I believe in the basic structure of the CFG- Students work with a specific strategy through the entire CFG, I model reading, students practice reading three times, we discuss after each text, I model writing, students practice writing.  I think this makes sense and works well for my students.  

There are also questions I still have though and things I want to work on.  Here is a list of these questions because I think it will give you insight into some extras that are happening, which I did not get a chance to write about and now you can think these through with me. Please comment with any thoughts.

• The CFG is 30 minutes, so I have different routines to start off the class.  These include:
• Monday- Vocabulary development
• Tuesday- Read aloud
• Wednesday- Vocabulary development
• Thursday- Read aloud
• Friday- Choice read

I wonder though if this is a good balance.  I question if there should be more choice reading. I only did one day, because they love the read aloud and engage in independent reading during the intervention.  I try to choose texts they enjoy and find engaging.  I also want to continue to find ideas for vocabulary development.  Right now I use vocabulary  from the read aloud and from Membean.com.  (A teacher in my building got a free subscription for the year.)  

• I feel the choice reading needs it’s own bullet point.  During the CFG I feel I have not had a chance to develop them as life-long readers who can choose their own texts. Their independent texts are carefully picked by me while thinking about level and interests.  I need to build in their own choice more.  I am still trying to figure out how that looks, though.  When I saw Donalyn Miller at WSRA, I was so inspired.  Her books are on my summer reading list, and I hope from there I get ideas on how to work this into a possible CFG.  The CFG is 30 minutes and when you add in relationship building and attendance that leaves about 15 minutes.  I also add in a two minute stretch break, so that leaves 12 minutes.  I will keep thinking how this will look for sure!
• Conferencing and record keeping.  I need to do a better job at record keeping.  I have yet to find a system I love.  I also go back and forth between paper copies and using technology for this.  I struggle with when to interrupt for conferences.  I set up my students for success for their individual reading time.  I do not want to interrupt when they are successful and working so hard.  I need to think more on how this looks, but hopefully my record keeping reflecting will help this come along.

OK...I promised short and sweet.  So will stop reflecting and share the good stuff.  :-)  Here are my resources for my fourth quarter CFG.  Hope you had a great school year and thank you for coming along on this journey with me!

CFG 4- Textual Evidence Focus using Civil Rights Texts

• Mentor Text- “Selma” from Junior Scholastic
• Text 1- Martin’s Big Words by: Doreen Rappaport
• Text 2- Political Cartoon- Our district works with Document Based Questions
• Text 3- The Rock and The River by: Kekla Magoon: This is a longer text so it will be broken into three chapter chunks where we will move from phase one to phase two.  I also plan on reading one of the three chapters each time.
• Graphic Organizer-
• Attempt

http://ontheweb.rozlinder.com/graphic-organizer-practicing-textual-evidence-using-quote-it/

• Attempt 2- I realized that students were not focusing on our essential question and looking for the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, so I wanted to make sure that was an area they focused on.  This graphic organizer will hopefully help with that.  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mw8BCK_BMrjv2RtMFWqdFvl0tnc49l0QWkzJjn5gNOU/edit?usp=sharing

Comprehension Focus Groups: A theme focus - "Overcoming Obstacles"

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. More about Heather's work implementing comprehension focus groups in middle school can be found here.

I wanted to work in the theme “Overcoming Obstacles” for one of my Comprehension Focus Groups (CFG) at some point during the year.  Third quarter worked out to be a great time to work in this CFG.  After a CFG focusing strictly on informational texts, working in a few fiction texts was welcomed.  I also had a CFG lesson shared with me by one of my colleagues, Norah Olig.  The texts in this lesson were thanks to her!

After working with my students during the last CFG, I noticed they were still struggling with author’s structure.  I decided to incorporate in my graphic organizer two components that focused on this.  One area focused on the words the author chose and the other area focused on the title of the text.  I also went back to some of the important components we worked on from first quarter: theme, conflict, Beers and Probst’s signposts, and point of view.

I have been very pleased with my students’ progress and hard work.  We are currently in the writing phase and they are passionately writing their texts about obstacles from their own life.  They are working on word choice, adding a theme, and focusing on adding a signpost. I am proud of how much I have seen each of them grow as readers and writers so far this year.

Here is an overview of my first CFG:  

• Theme- Overcoming obstacles
• Graphic Organizer (Click here)

• Texts- (A special thank you to literacy coach Norah Olig for finding and grouping these texts.)
• YouTube Video: Overcoming Obstacles By: Steven Claunch
• “I Never Said I was Not Difficult” By: Sara Holbrook
• Silent Football from ForTheTeachers.org (three levels of same text)
• http://www.fortheteachers.org/Reading_Resources/Silent_Football_1.pdf   N-P
• http://www.fortheteachers.org/Reading_Resources/Silent_Football_2.pdf  Q-U
• http://www.fortheteachers.org/Reading_Resources/Silent_Football_3.pdf  V-Z
• Shark Tale from ReadWorks.org
• I found a text that seemed to be at a higher level for some of my students- “Shark Attack Survivor” Adapted by Kristin Lewis for Action Magazine (May 5, 2014)
• On My Honor By: Marian Dane Bauer (Since this is a chapter book, students read three chapters and then we went into phase 2, the discussion phase, and then back into phase 1, the reading phase.)

Comprehension Focus Groups: Deeper Thinking

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. More of Heather's posts about comprehension focus groups can be found here.

Donalyn Miller and Chris Lehman.   These are the two people I saw at Wisconsin State Reading Association's (WSRA) annual convention that got my mind rolling in a million different directions thinking about their ideas and how I was going to implement them.  Are you ever listening to a speaker and hear things that are so obvious, but yet you question if you do them or wonder why you never thought of that?  I had some of those moments.  And, I also had those moments where I was thinking, “Wow, that is brilliant!”

I could go on and on about my learning from the two of them, but in this blog, I am going to focus on some key take-aways from Chris Lehman’s session titled, “Making Reading Visible: Writing about Reading that Promotes Deep Thinking and Student Growth”.  The take-aways I am going to share, I plan on using in my Comprehension Focus Groups (CFGs).

Lehman focused on deepening thinking and pushing learned.  He talked about deepening conversations and also ways to deepen students' thinking in writing.  One idea he shared to help with this process is to think about leveled books and the characteristics of books at a certain level.  He encouraged teachers to think about this and also to see how this lines up with standards.  To show his thinking on this process, he asked, “What do different bands have kids do?”  Here is an example that he shared:

• N, O, P, Q (P= Magic School Bus)
• Main character (lots of times one, sometimes a few)
• Characters don’t change (sometimes their feelings do, but not them)
• Lots of support with setting

• R, S, T (T= Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
• Complex important setting
• Secondary characters are important

• U, V, W (U= Wonder V= Harry Potter)
• Complex characters
• Changing setting

(I included the title examples, so if you are not familiar with Fountas and Pinnell’s leveling system, you could still get a general idea with the titles.  Most levels I looked up on Scholastic’s website.)

Lehman points out that this thinking can tie back to the feedback teachers give students.  He shared that teachers can read student writing and think what level are the students writing towards. Sometimes their thinking shown through their writing might be lower than their text reading.  If this occurs, Lehman suggests saying, “Can I teach you something?  I know something about this book that…”

This was one of those moments when I was thinking how obvious this is, but how brilliant.  I have a general idea of what happens at different levels of texts, but never thought about it in this specific way.  I feel if I think about texts in regards to the leveled bands and then focus (when needed) on character and setting that will really help me push my students writing and thinking about the texts they are reading and writing about.

Comprehension Focus Groups: Using Leveled Texts

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. All of Heather's posts about implementing comprehension focus groups with middle school readers who are struggling can be found here.

As I have been talking with others about my experiences this year with implementing Comprehension Focus Groups at the middle school level, one question that comes up is about leveling texts.  This was one challenge that I encountered early on in the school year.  I wanted to share with you how I tackled this challenge.  On a side note, the way I approached this is not “by the books” necessarily, but it is practical and what needed to be done to make CFGs work for me.

In my CFG, I have anywhere from five to nine students.  (The way we work our intervention time is there cannot be more than 10 students in an intervention.)  At the beginning of the year I had students ranging from a level R to a level V.  I started asking myself how the CFG would run and look if I split them all by level into different CFGs.  I also wondered how my 50 minutes of time would look.  When I met with one CFG, what would the other students do that was effective?  I was told a CFG is supposed to last at a minimum 30 minutes to keep 80% fidelity, I could not meet with two group in one 50-minute period.  So would I only meet with a group two to three times a week?  What would be the most beneficial for students?  And what could I make work?  (All while keeping in mind the three phases, and wanting to keep them all meaningful.)

As I searched for texts, as many of us who search for middle and high school texts know, many of the middle school appropriate texts are not leveled.  I decided to meet my students in the middle...I chose a range of levels for the three independent texts my students would work with.  By doing this though, I make sure to scaffold for those students who needed it and challenge students who are ready to dig to a different level in a text.  

As I reflect on my work with CFGs and have a frame for a few groups, next year, I will continue to add different levels of texts to my library.  I wanted to have a range, but knew that as I started the year, I might not have all that I need in place.  But even though not all the texts are perfectly leveled, teacher expertise is just as important.  I think my students have had just as powerful experience in CFGs as I help meet their needs as individual learners looking at the same text.

Comprehension Focus Groups: An Informational Lens

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. More of Heather's posts about comprehension focus groups in middle school can be found here.

We finished up the first Comprehension Focus Group (CFG) and are now in full swing of the second CFG.  I decided for the second CFG that we would focus on informational texts.  I really wanted to tie in another class to this learning, so the students could be frontloaded with new information to come.  I had looked at the curriculum for social studies and science and was able to find the most in regards to leveled texts for the social studies curriculum that is covered second quarter.

In 7th grade, students cover the Middle Ages and in 8th grade students learn about about American Revolution.  I spent a lot of time trying to find books that would best meet the needs of all of my students, help them learn the curriculum, and also interest them.  At the beginning of the unit we looked at text structures (description, sequence and order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution) and practiced using a few articles to see if they could choose an effective text structure to take notes with.  I ended up using the text structures as part of our discussion during phase two.  We also reviewed text features during the preparing phase to review titles, headings, bold faced words, the glossary, etc.  As we know, students know about these features but do not always see the importance in using them.

I also did quite a bit of research to see what graphic organizers I wanted to use.  For graphic organizers, I decided to look at Doug Buehl’s work on “Questioning the Author.”  Part of the reason for turning to this strategy was because our district literacy coordinator is planning on sharing this with staff during this school year, and I had no experience using it.  I figured I would build my knowledge with this strategy for the coaching side of my role.  I also looked at Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis’ work in “The Comprehension Toolkit.”  I created a graphic organizer for students to hold their thinking through the CFG.

Link to graphic organizer

The plan for students was to use the graphic organizer to deepen comprehension and also to keep track of questions they had.  This would then be used during the writing phase, as a way to research unanswered questions and create a pamphlet for social studies teachers’ classrooms.  

Here is a list of texts I used.  Some were certainly better than others, but they all worked.  We also, did not read the books cover to cover.  We started off together, but I also gave them choice throughout phase one.

Middle Ages (Studied in 7th grade)

• Knights and Samurai by Vicki Tyler Wilt (Mentor text)
• The Black Death by George Capaccio
• The Middle Ages by Allison Lassieur
• The Magnificent Medici by Erin Ash Sullivan (Focused on the Renaissance)

American Revolution (Studied in 8th grade)

• If You Lived at the time of the American Revolution by Kay Moore (Mentor text)
• George vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer
• The Revolutionary War by Elizabeth Raum
• Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley

Smiles and Positives: Creating a Positive Small Group Atmosphere at the Middle School Level

Heather Zimmerman contributed today's post. More of Heather's posts about small group intervention at middle school (using comprehension focus groups) can be found here.

I had a student who was recently added to my literacy skills class.  I felt bad because he lost his elective course when he was put in this class.  But he still came in with a shy smile and said he was excited to join our group.  I smiled at his happiness that he was looking forward to joining the class. That is such a warming feeling.  

I spent the first month of September establishing routines and working hard to get to know my students.  I find it extremely important that (especially) with a small group intervention that students feel safe and comfortable within our learning environment.  Middle school is already a trying time, and I want to make sure my students feel welcome in my room.

Last week was his first day and I re-established our classroom expectations, and I flooded with tickets (PBIS).  I could sense a little uneasiness when he joined our Comprehension Focus Group. Not because of anything he was doing, but because someone new was inside our circle.  The students were not sure if they had to impress him or not.  I would make a comment about how this is middle school, but I think this is a pretty typical behavior of all humans when change occurs.  I will continue for about a week to flood with tickets, so students can continue to be reminded with of our classroom expectations, and also work on building a relationship with him, so he too feels welcome in our group.

Here are some ways I built positive rapport with my students these first few months:

• Clearly posted expectations that were reviewed more than once.
• Flooding of tickets when needed to reinforce these positive behaviors.
• When I built routines I did not try to do too many things at once.  Yes, I wanted to jump in and assess my students.  Yes, I wanted to start to conference with my students.  Yes, I knew that was not the time.  I modeled what silent reading looked like by reading with them.  I flooded tickets and gave positive remarks to the expected behaviors.  Once I saw they could handle this on their own, then I could do other things such as conference with them.
• I started a birthday club.  I know it is middle school, but who does not like when their birthday is recognized?  Since I have such a small amount of students, when it is their birthday month they can choose with their other birthday-month buddies a treat, and I bring it in to celebrate.
• I make sure to meet them at the door with a smile on my face and acknowledge each of them.  At the beginning of the year, I made sure it was every day.  Now there might be a reason it does not happen every day, but for the most part it is.  
• I greet them at the beginning of the hour and go over clear expectations and goals for the day.  Routine is important.
• I am very clear with them about why I do each part of the intervention.  They know what phase we are in and why we do it.  They know why I have a mentor text and why we read three texts in phase one.  I think it is important for them to know that everything we do has a purpose.
• I also have them be a part of the routines.  Someone waters my plant (because they know I will kill it otherwise), someone passes out our folders and notebooks, and someone flips the sheet to a “A” day or a “B” day (because they know I always forget.)  They appreciate being a part of the group.

I believe we need to do what works best for us.  But I know that even when the days get long or tough, it is still important to give 100% to building a positive classroom environment to have a successful learning environment.  I know we as educators have tons of amazing things we do every day!  What things do you do in your classroom to help build a positive classroom environment?