Workshop Model: Reading Mats

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Click here to access a PDF of a Reading Mat.

As the year has progressed and we have been learning more and more about the Lucy Reading Units of Study, I have been noting specific components and resources that I believe are extremely beneficial.  Last month I wrote about Text Bands and Learning Progressions.  This month I would like to share a very simple resource, yet one that has proven to be essential to our K/1 students and teachers: The Reading Mat.  The great thing about this tool, is that anyone can implement it, whether you are using the workshop model or not. The reading mat is just an organizational tool to keep kids on track during independent reading time. Lucy states, “Stacking books on the reading mat allows kids to plan and be intentional about their reading.” This has proven to be true in all of our classrooms.  We have seen a huge increase in on task behavior and ultimately, volume of reading.

The reading mat is just a file folder with a red sticker/paper on one side and a green sticker/paper on the other - showing kids where to start (green) and stop (red).  Students make a stack of their books on the green side and place them onto the red side after they have finished reading each book.  If they read all the way through, they then work backwards, reading them again.  You will notice, however, in the pictures below that one reading mat has quite a few more books than the other.  This was an inconsistency we noticed throughout our district.  It was important for us to clarify for teachers that students reading at a kindergarten or first grade level need to have at least 10-15 books at their independent or instructional reading level to place in their mats along with poetry and sight words.  Students in classrooms where 10-15 books were in each book box were reading a much higher volume than those with only 5-10 books. Challenge your students to build their “reading muscles” by reading all the way through their mats and back every day.

Reading Workshop: Here We Come

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

My reader’s workshop journey continues as I start to engage in the professional development that surrounds my district’s purchase of the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching Reading. Have I told you how excited I am?!   Yes, I’m sure I have as I’ve written several posts this year around the process my district has gone through to get us to the point of planning full implementation of a reading workshop framework next fall.  I can’t wait!

Our first professional development opportunity came on one of the last in-service days of the school year.  The district sought out the expertise of CESA 6 and invited Nicole Lehr to share her knowledge and experiences with the Lucy Reading Units of Study.  Grades 3-5 spent the morning with Nicole and grades K-2, the afternoon.  I was lucky enough to attend the entire day.  As I listened and engaged in the presentation, there were plenty of moments that validated my thinking, some excellent reminders, yet also several items I knew I needed to dig deeper into as they are integral components in the success of a reading workshop.  The two at the top of my list are text bands and learning progressions.

Why Text Bands?

• We use them to confer with readers
• They give us a better grasp on the books our students are reading
• We use knowledge of the text bands to help students tackle the work they will take on in their own books

Why Learning Progressions?

• They can act almost as cue cards by giving pointed, specific tips about a student’s next steps
• We can use them to teach transference across genres
• Understanding them allows us to be able to place the work the child is attempting to do and place it on a larger map that charts pathways to proficiency

Lucy provides two excellent resources in her kits that offer invaluable information about the reader’s workshop: A Guide to the Reading Workshop (Primary and Intermediate) and Reading Pathways.  My next step is facilitating a book study over the summer using these resources to build a deeper understanding of text bands and learning progressions as well as the reading workshop in general.  Hopefully this will prepare us to get the most out of the professional development in August from the Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project and for successful implementation in the fall.

The most exciting part of this whole journey will be witnessing the extraordinary growth in our students’ literacy development and their flourishing love of reading due to great teaching and tons and tons of opportunities to read and write.  Lucy says it best:

Powerful instruction produces visible and immediate results; when youngsters are taught well, the thinking, talking, and writing about reading they produce becomes far more substantial, complex, and significant. Good teaching pays off. When you provide students with constant opportunities to read and to write and when you actively and assertively teach into their best efforts, their literacy development will astonish you, their parents, the school administrators, and best of all, the students themselves.

Lucy Calkins, 2015

Promoting Reading

Sharon Seely contributed today's thinking.

A recent question I received from a middle school teacher:

Based on what you know and have heard about AR and reading logs, what is your opinion of them?

I would like students to read daily outside of class, but I don't really want to penalize them if they don't either. I don't want them to see reading as a chore. Any thoughts or ideas? 

Thanks, A Concerned Teacher

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Hello,

I looked at your question as 'how can I promote reading?'.

I like reading logs, conferencing, journaling, projects, and discussions.

The reading log is just the beginning of the conversation. It is students taking the responsibility of logging what and for how long they have read. Noticing what they are reading, when they are reading, opportunities to read, and becoming life long readers, reading a variety of texts for a variety of purposes.

When I taught 6th grade reading, my students logged their reading: in my class, in other classrooms, in directed study, during free time in other classes, at home, and anywhere/anytime else they read (in the car, at their brother's football game, in the lunchroom, standing by their locker, etc.). Students could log minutes just about anywhere, reading a textbook, library book, magazine, or newspaper. Parents, myself, and other teachers signed student logs when they observed student's reading. I really appreciated the other teachers' support. Several teachers told me that when students would say they had nothing to do, they would say to students, "where's your book? I know you have reading log minutes to work on".

My goal was for students to see that reading doesn't just happen in reading class. They could take their adventure, mystery, true story, etc. (book) anywhere.

An idea would be for students to set reading minute goals throughout the year...with growth in number of minutes read a priority. Conferencing with students on a regular basis about what they are reading, listening to them read, and talking about their reading goals is important. Actually graphing student's growth with them...visuals are always better - amazing!

Weekly journaling...once a week, I took each class to the building library to check out, return, and/or renew books. When we returned to class, students read and journaled. Journaling consisted of students choosing an "I wonder..." prompt, answering it, and posing questions. I would then take the over 100 journals home each Friday, read them, and respond (looking at connections - deeper thinking skills, not grammar or spelling). I really got to know my students. I'm not saying you need to do like I did and take them home every Friday night - you could possibly have a rotating schedule so every day you read five journals from each class. Another idea may be to have students respond to each other's journals and you respond every other week.

Project Ideas:

• Bookmercials are commercials students create to promote a book that they want to share (not every book they read). They can do their bookmercials in person, using the ipad, or video-taping them.
• Book Reviews: students write a summary or review of a book they've read and actually tape it to the book's jacket after you've approved it.
• Café - set up your room like a European café with punch and snacks. Students sit and chat about their latest and greatest reads (books they've read). One time, I set up a café during our study of biographies. Students dressed like and carried on a conversation as if they were who they had read about. I invited the principal and other teachers in to join us when they had a chance. It was a great learning opportunity and so much fun!

Discussions:

Opportunities for students to justify, clarify, explain, engage in open discussions about books, topics, etc. where there are no right or wrong answers. It is a platform welcoming to all students.  I want students to read because they see value in it and want to be part of/join in the conversation.

Sharing my thoughts,

Sharon :-)

Keep Calm and Read On!

Maggie Schumacher contributed today's post. 

I consider it a pretty significant part of my role as a middle school reading specialist to keep current with young adult (YA) literature. Keeping current with literature serves a variety of important purposes; my primary reason for doing this is to build a “toolbox” that I can turn to anytime I need so that I can talk to students and teachers about current literature. It’s important to have recommendations for students that span a variety of levels, Lexiles, genres, and interests. I also need to know what’s fresh and exciting or controversial and page-turning so I can make recommendations to teachers for their classroom libraries or updating literature circle options. There’s nothing more important to me than matching a student with a good book! It’s important that students can see themselves reflected in literature.

I find out about current YA titles through various methods. If you’re looking for good titles, I’d recommend tapping into the following resources:

1. Your school’s library media specialist.

If you are lucky enough to have one, and he or she’s as great as the one in my middle school, you need to utilize this amazing resource! This person should have access to lists of recent award winners and what’s new in YA literature.

2. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) from UW-Madison. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/

Each year the CCBC publishes CCBC Choices, which is an annual best-of-the-year list broken down by genres and age groups. If you have the opportunity to visit the CCBC in Madison, you can hear about many new titles from those who have read and reviewed them. This can help to narrow down your reading list as well. The CCBC also has a “Book of the Week” and various book lists for reference on their website, including the Read On Wisconsin! (http://readon.education.wisc.edu/) current and past year book lists. The CCBC also should be your go-to if you are ever faced with a book challenge. Be sure to check out their information on intellectual freedom.

3. Follow the annual award winners and visit book fairs and warehouse sales whenever you can.

There are many awards out there, but the Printz Award winners and honor books are typically where I start my list. The Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award for literary excellence in YA/teen literature (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz). This is my go-to list for hot titles in YA/teen reading. Last year’s winner, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, was beyond moving! There tend to be some controversial topics in these titles, but sometimes edgy and mature content can hook those most reluctant of readers.

These are only a few ways I find out about great new books, but they’re a great place to start!

I know I’m not the only one who’s heard and agreed with the mantra: “So many books, so little time.”  Because we are all so busy and stretched with our time, I know some of you are probably wondering how I can find the time to read all of these great books?!

One thing that I do is read with my students every day during independent reading time. I teach one block of reading intervention every day; within this block, students have a guaranteed twenty minutes of independent reading time. This is a non-negotiable in our school. During this time, I don’t pull students or conference - we just read. When the students are reading, I read too so they see me acting as a model of independent reading behaviors. This time is sacred and students are focused and working on sustained silent reading.

Our building also has a designated Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time during homeroom every Thursday. At this time, the expectation is that every student and teacher drops everything and reads. This helps to promote a culture of literacy in our building. I take advantage of this time to work through my reading list; I always look forward to homeroom on Thursdays!

I try to make time to read each evening before I go to sleep. Believe me when I say that some nights I only make it one page into a chapter before I’m falling asleep on my book... but my good intentions are there. Some nights I manage a few chapters, some nights I manage more, and some nights less.

I read on my device when I’m killing time waiting for an oil change or in the doctor’s office. I listen to audiobooks in my car on my drive to and home from work or my weekend travels. Sometimes I even take a break at my desk during the school day (gasp!) and just pick up a book and read. Who’s to argue that’s not in my job description? I do, after all, specialize in reading! Find a system that works for you and figure out how to incorporate reading into your schedule! Give yourself the gift of a good book and permission to read it.

It’s important that our students see us as readers. It’s important to be knowledgeable and current on hot titles in literature so we can have recommendations for students and teachers alike. To read or not to read? That’s a silly question! Read on!