its solution (See Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3: The teacher models problem solution (several times), and then Alana tries the strategy with her instructional reading book.
Keeping a teacher’s notebook:
When students see you writing in a teacher’s notebook, they develop a mental model of expectations for writing about reading. Your teacher’s notebook can show them what a written response looks like. Most developing readers are also developing writers who need models for how to write about texts they listen to and read independently (see pages 25–26 for more information).
Seeking feedback from others:
There will be times you’ll want to discuss a student with a colleague, reading resource teacher, the school’s media specialist, or guidance counselor. By inviting fresh eyes to review students’ work and your kidwatching notes, you can gather intervention suggestions that didn’t occur to you. Always ask for feedback when the support you’re offering isn’t working well or when you’d like to have extra ideas for intervening in reserve.
Teachers who continually refine and adjust these tools can transform developing readers into confident readers who choose to read at school and at home. Having a written record of your observations supports this goal as you weigh decisions about next steps for a student and target the kind of support you’ll provide.
Skilled Teachers Take Notes to Help Differentiate Instruction
Early in my teaching career, I learned the importance of jotting notes to record my observations of students during daily interactive read-alouds and while students work independently, with a partner, or with me in a small group. Notes became my memory, and in conjunction with students’ notebook writing, they offered information about students’ progress. Notes help you make informed decisions about the instruction your students need, allowing you to differentiate with more confidence and impact. Moreover, notes can support recommendations during IEP (individual educational plans) meetings. Here are some tips for streamlining and organizing daily notes.
Notice and note: Place dated sticky notes on several sheets of blank paper and attach to a clipboard. Avoid editorializing and keep notes as objective as possible because you’ll frequently find yourself sharing your notes with students during conferences. Figure 1.4 is an example of my notes for students after a guided practice lesson. Notice how I jot positives in addition to areas needing support. I do this to help students notice small increments of progress that they don’t always see.DescriptionFigure 1.4: Robb’s notes after guided practice always highlight what’s working, and she raises one point to reflect on for possible intervention.
Storing daily notes: At the end of each day, transfer your notes into a loose-leaf binder or Google doc. Use dividers to separate the ELA sections you teach. In each section, note a student’s name on about three sheets of paper—you can add more once you’ve filled the front and back of each sheet.
While working with developing readers, the temptation to move from mini-lessons to reading books is powerful. However, I have learned that it’s best to slow down and invest in guided practice, so students can develop skill applying a strategy you’ve modeled during a mini-lesson. Having time to practice can improve students reading, writing, and discussions.
Teaching Tip
Set aside time, every two to three weeks, to review the notes for each student. Start with students who aren’t making enough progress and see if your notes offer clues for moving that child forward. For example, I noticed that fifth grader Jaylinda’s poetry reading, at the end of each week, wasn’t fluent and expressive, even though there was time for daily practice with a partner. A review of my notes revealed she had not read her poem to her partner during the last two weeks. Instead of making this a behavior issue, I observed Jaylinda and her partner every day for a week. When her fluency and expression improved, I conferred with her and discussed the benefits of daily practice. Having the notes pinpointed the issue and enabled me to design a positive intervention instead of calling attention to what she wasn’t doing and risk enlarging her frustration and anger.
Developing Readers Need Four Key Literacy Experiences
Guided practice lessons can nudge students forward quickly when they are part of a literacy rich classroom that values daily teacher read-alouds, instructional and independent reading, and notebook writing about reading. To move students forward quickly, you’ll have to maintain a balance between:
daily read-alouds, including interactive read-alouds;
instructional reading that includes guided practice, small group instruction, or a workshop approach where students read different texts within a genre or topic;
daily independent reading of self-selected books; and
writing about reading in notebooks.
This four-pronged approach allows you to read aloud to model expressive, fluent reading, enlarge students’ vocabulary and background knowledge, and show students how good readers react to and think about texts. Independent reading offers students the practice they need (but often haven’t had) to enjoy books they choose and want to read (Gambrell, Marinak, Brooker, & McCrea-Andrews, 2011). Finally, students who write about their reading can improve comprehension of a text by 24 percentile points (Graham, Harris, & Santangelo, 2015).
The texts David Harrison and I invite you to use for guided practice lessons are on topics that interest students in Grades 4 on up, but they also challenge their depth of thinking and enlarge their vocabulary and background knowledge. These students don’t have lots of time to grow and improve as readers. By the end of eighth grade, they should be reading close to or on grade level. To support this ambitious goal, all four elements need to be part of your ELA block (see Appendix B for possible schedules).
Teaching Tip
If the lessons students complete indicate there’s not enough progress, it’s important to provide support quickly so small confusions don’t become obstacles to learning. Interventions can be working through lessons one-on-one, pairing a student with a classmate who gets it, or re-teaching using a new short poem or text from Appendix I or a text you choose. Appendix I provides additional original poems and short texts by David Harrison, and Appendixes H and J provide suggested sources for short texts, books, and poetry.
The four elements, like a string quartet, make literacy music for developing (and all) readers because each element offers them the instruction and independent practice they need to become proficient readers.
Developing
