It’s no surprise to us that different children learn to read at different rates. The problem may be that we sometimes forget just what that means in the minds of our students. I was reminded of how difficult reading can be for students just last week while participating in a drumming circle.

Last week I conducted a graduate class in Learning Through the Creative Arts and on the fourth day, we brought out the drums. There were all sizes and colors. We sat in a circle and after a brief introduction, we began to play. I started with a repeated rhythm and the rest of the people joined in. But there was one woman who was hesitant to tap her drum. She stared at my hands wide-eyed. She looked around the circle as everyone else played, what seemed to her, effortlessly. Every so often she would smile nervously and tap softly on her drum.

When our drum circle came to an end, you could see her relief. And then came the verbalization of her epiphany. In those uncomfortable moments during the drumming circle she felt as if she had been placed in the shoes of her struggling readers: those who can’t decode words and have trouble comprehending what they do read. Being put in that situation where she felt like the “one who didn’t get it” was a very powerful and revealing experience for her. She, becoming very emotional about the whole experience, was thankful for the chance to be put in her students’ shoes for a moment so that she could imagine what it must feel like for them.

It brings up a good point. Struggling readers are doing just that – struggling. We do our best to help them, teach them and guide them as they learn, but we also need to remember what it truly means to struggle at something.

I may not have gone through the experience that woman did, but witnessing it and sharing it has helped me to realize how my attitude and approach to reading instruction can affect a child’s learning. I have the power to motivate my students with good book choices and differentiate for my students with appropriately leveled books. (And isn’t it wonderful how this can be done so easily on Big Universe?) But the most important thing to remember is what is going on inside the child that it learning. Learning to read and write may be uncomfortable and challenging at times (as most good things are), but it should not be frustrating.

So what ended up happening to our shy drummer? Well, after some time she became more confident and ended up leading a drum circle herself – smiling and grooving her way through. But her experience from earlier, she says, will stay with her for a long time and hopefully make her a better teacher.

Earlier this week, I came across Critical Components of Reading: Comprehension Activities. (I know that is sounds like a fancy, hard-to-read article. but really it is not.) At the top of that page, it talks about how using Visualizing can be a helpful comprehension activity:
Teach students to make a visual picture in their mind of what is occurring in the story. Have students stop at the end of each page, close their eyes, and visualize what has happened in the story so far. Encourage students to discuss what they are visualizing about the story so that any misconceptions can be corrected. Students may benefit from hearing someone else describe what they have been reading.

I am a visual learner and when I remember things I “see them” in my head (I form pictures in mind), so I can see how this strategy could help with comprehension.

I started searching the internet for other ideas about ways to use the Visualizing Strategy for Comprehension:

• Into the Book lists Visualizing as a teaching tip for reading and understanding fiction books
• ReadWriteThink provides an activity using Visualizing to strengthen comprehension skills.
• The Reading Lady provide a lesson plan called “Visualizing from a Vivid Piece of Text”
• The Inspired Classroom has a blog post about Visualization in Reading and Music stating that visualization is a huge key to comprehension.
• Reading.org calls Visualization the missing piece between reading and writing

What are some ways children can use the visualizing skill along with the reading and writing that happens on BigUniverse?

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/68676385@N00/290412819/

I often hear questions about how reading and technology can work together. I mean can technology tools really help students and/or teachers with phonics and phonemic awareness? There might be some ways technology can help with vocabulary but what about fluency? How can technology assist with comprehension and assessment?

I have recently found a wiki that provides lots of ideas to answer the questions above. The Tech Tools of Reading provide great examples, definitions, activities, and technology tools to try. The part that really stood out to me was “What Happens When Web 2.0 Meets Reading 2.0.” Even though this is a plan for a series of workshops, there are some ideas that can get you thinking about what is possible.

The ideas presented on this site are good for parents and teachers interested in using technology tools to enhance reading skills and can be used in various parts of a Balanced Literacy Program.

Here are a few of the topics from this wiki (I really like the one at the bottom) :

• Tech Tools for Reading
• Web 2.0 Meets Reading 2.0
• Phonemic Awareness
• Phonics
• Vocabulary
• Fluency
• Comprehension
• Assessment
• Internet Resources
• Teacher Resources
• Web 2.0 Resources
• Tech Tips for Tired Teachers

The Shared Reading block in the Balanced Literacy Program is a great time for teachers model reading strategies for students, especially in the areas of comprehension, vocabulary, text structure and text features. I think that I have a difficulty at times distinctly showing or modeling these behaviors for students since after lots of practice, most readers don’t even realize they are using these different strategies. But we all have to learn about these strategies before we can practice them and eventually use them without thinking. Are there ways that we (teachers and parents) can help with these strategies?

What are some ways we can help children with strategies for comprehension?
Reading Rockets offers some suggestions to help readers make sense of what they are reading. Some of their suggested strategies include helping children realize when they do understand what they are reading and when they don’t. Reading Rockets also shares some idea about using graphic organizers to help children organize what they are reading and better understand it. Summarizing and having students ask questions are also good ways to reinforce comprehension strategies.

What are some ways we can help children with strategies for vocabulary?
One of my favorite ways to help students with vocabulary is to help them develop strategies for that to do when they are reading and come to a word that they do not know. I try to introduce the idea of context clues without telling them specifically what we are doing. Sometimes we use of small piece of paper to cover the unknown word, and then read the few sentences above and below to see what word we might put in that blank if we were writing. We can also look at the word and see if there are any parts of the word that look like other words we know (beginning, middle, and end). We also talk about ways to use outside sources like asking people, looking in dictionaries, and even searching on the computer. When you are reading and come across a word you do not understand, what do you do? Some of the strategies that you use personally might be the ones children need to know how to use.

What are some ways we can help children with strategies for text structure?
Now I will have to admit that when I see the words”text structure” I have to stop and think about what that really is. Text Structure is just the way that information is presented to help readers predict the flow of information (to be able to predict what is going to come next). Here are some examples of text structures: compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause/effect, chronological/sequence, descriptive, and story grammar (plot, setting, character, conflict, …). Knowing how something is set up and what is supposed to come next can help with organizing thoughts and understanding what is happening. I think it helps to share good examples of each of these types of text structure to help children figure them out. This could be a good time to look for similarities and differences between these different structures.

What are some ways we can help children with strategies for text features?
The term “text features” sometimes confuses me too. Here are some examples of text features: headings, captions, illustrations, bold or italic words, charts, tables, diagrams, graphs, and index. These are the things that are added to the text to try to encourage or increase understanding and interest. Think about a time you read something that you did not understand just from looking at the words. Did looking at an illustration with a caption help you understand better? Did looking at a chart, table, or diagram of the same information help you make better sense of the data being presented? I am a visual learner, and I know that text features help me even if I don’t always realize what they are. When a child is reading something that he or she may have trouble understanding, are there things you can point to on the page to help them better understand those words? My 4 year old get frustrated when she doesn’t understand a story, but looking at the pictures really help her.

More information on these strategies can be found in this article: Shared Reading: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features for Older Readers by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp.

Guided Reading is one piece of a balanced literacy program. During this time, a teacher works with a small group of students to build skills to enable them to become better readers. The teacher helps students learn to use reading strategies, such as context clues, making predictions, and summarizing as they read a text or book that is unfamiliar to them. The goal of guided reading is for students to use these strategies independently to becoming fluent, skilled readers. In order to best help students acquire these skills, support should be provided before, during, and after reading takes place.

How can we help children build these reading strategies for better comprehension? I think one of the best ways is by asking children questions and getting children to to ask questions related to the parts of the story. These bookmarks provide the questions to help children remember what they need to be thinking about while they are reading.

• Characters: Who is in the story?

• Setting: Where does the story take place? What time?

• Problem: What trouble does the character have?

• Solution: How was the problem solved?

• Main idea: What is this text mostly about?

Having conversations with children before, during, and after reading is another great way to encourage the building of these reading strategies and to increase comprehension. The questions on these bookmarks could be used to start those discussions. These questions could also be used for reading reflection journals.

My 4 year old is definitely not ready for a formal guided reading lesson, but I can ask her questions like the ones on these bookmarks when we are reading a story together.  We can talk about the characters, the setting, and the problems in the story. I think these questions can be used with children of any age. I would expect better answers from children as they move up the fluency ladder, but just starting these conversations is moving in the right direction.

Learning how to write sequentially can be tricky for an elementary school student, but it’s a vital skill in our increasingly digital world. A kid who can put events in chronological order and summarize them concisely will be well on his way to mastering not only reading comprehension and history, but also online communication – a life skill akin to doing one’s laundry, driving a car and paying bills. (See sequence words below.)

Of course, a broad vocabulary equips understanding and makes it easier to identify chronological order. That became clear in our family when my oldest daughter came home from elementary school with a paper covered in red ink. She was upset.

The paper was an exercise in recognizing chronological order. While she showed reading prowess, we quickly realized she had three strikes going against her before she ever picked up her pencil on this particular assignment. All three were due to holes in her personal experience.

I picked up the assignment. It read: “How to Make a Bed.” The hair stood up on my arms. “Oh…” I said, as Mommy Guilt gripped my abdomen. You see… our family is embarrassingly lax about making our beds. Unless we have guests coming over, our rooms feature rumpled sheets, pillows akimbo and a cat or two stretched among the linens.

Strike No. 2: We called our beds “our nests.” It was vocabulary that carried over from the pre-school days when our children pretended to be different animals every day. Getting in “your nest” was more fun than “going to bed,” so we retained the term to ease the angst commonly associated with bedtime. (As a matter of justification, a respectable couple I know refer to their bed as “The Burrito.” They don’t know that I know that, but it makes me feel better about the whole “nest” thing.)

The third factor that sunk my daughter’s chances of doing well on her assignment was that she didn’t know what a “bedspread” was. I know, I know. That sounds pathetic, but let me explain. Both of my daughters’ grandmothers were talented quilters, so each of our beds was topped with a hand-stitched work of beauty – not a Bed-in-a-Bag number from Wal-Mart.

…So, when my eldest had a leftover choice on her “How to Make a Bed” worksheet, she made a wild guess, inserting “Put on the bedspread, and smooth out the wrinkles” somewhere after “Stretch the mattress pad over the mattress,” but well before “Finally, put some pretty pillows on top.”

Unfortunately, “Spread the quilt” was not an option. My daughter had all the other steps in order, but had that one step out of order. However, instead of missing one point, the teacher had made six red slashes on her paper after the initial mistake. While generally a good teacher, Mrs. “X” could be a little, well, rigid.

For an instant, little puffs of smoke could be seen coming out of my husband’s ears. His expression said, “Storm the school!”

However, the mood was lightened considerably when my very verbal younger daughter piped up: “I hope I never have to put things in pathological order!”

Of course, the comedic timing was spot-on. We all ended up laughing. Then, we clarified that the term was “chronological order.” Secondly, we explained that most people used bedspreads, but that our family was special. We slept under colorful quilted covers that kept us warm with the love of two talented grandmothers.

 Years have passed. My oldest is now a sophomore in college. She reports that she makes her bed on occasion. I’m pretty sure she does it in chronological order, too.

 ***

Recognizing different organizational structures during conversation and within written text helps with understanding. Components might include context clues such as time-sequence words, mood words, the mention of location changes, cause and effect details, and physical breaks such as chapter and paragraph divisions, poetry stanzas or a pause in conversation.

Chronology Signal Words

First…

Before going…

In the beginning…

In the winter… (or spring, summer or fall)

Years ago…

Before you were born…

Two hours later…

Soon after…

Between…

While I was at the dentist’s office…

Quick as a wink…

In a flash…

Afterward…

After school…

Later that afternoon…

Eventually…

When…

Next Sunday (any day of week)…

Instantly…

Finally…

 For more ideas, check out “Writing: Chronological Order,” a StudyZone.org test-prep tool created by Pat Delia of the Oswego City School District in New York, or read “Mini-Lesson Planning for Sequencing,” a teaching guideline developed by Cassandra Yorke of Florida.

You also can use Big Universe’s Author Tool to practice writing in chronological order.  Use the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why) to help summarize important information. Then, illustrate with any of the thousands of images in the graphics library.

I remember doing book reports, especially in elementary school, that mainly consisted of writing a summary of what happened in the book and drawing a picture to go along with it. There were times we got to do book projects instead like creating a book cover or using a shoebox to recreate a scene from the book.

With the variety of technology tools available today, there are so many other ways children can create book reports or book projects if they are given the chance and choice.  No matter how a project is done or what multimedia tool is used for creation, the project will probably have to do with one of the story elements (Setting, Plot, Conflict, Characters).

I had a Donors Choose project funded and received a class set of the From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. To go along with the novel, I created a Pageflakes full of student projects ideas and activities.  Since I have been learning about various web 2.0 tools, I decided to recreate that Pageflakes project using Glogster.

Here is the Pageflakes creation: http://www.pageflakes.com/mwedwards/26623315
Here is the Glogster creation: http://mwedwards.glogster.com/mrs-basil-e-frankweiler/

There is also an education version of the Glogster tool known as EduGlogster. EduGlogster may also be a good tool for students to use to create book projects or displays of information.  EduGlogster does allow glogs to be made private, student accounts to created, and template sharing.

Here is the EduGlogster creation: http://mwedwards01.edu.glogster.com/from-the-mixed-up-files/

What are other projects students could do to move from basic book reports to more involved book projects? How do you think these changes can help students with comprehension, understanding, and creativity?

While it is important for students to be able to decode words and understand the literal meaning of what they read, shouldn’t reading involve more? When I choose a book to read, it is not because I really like just being able to decode the words … I choose books and authors that allow me to make a person connection with the story and establish some type of emotional response. I don’t feel like I am really reading a book if it doesn’t make me feel anything (sad, happy, mad, hopeful, wonder, suspense, excitement … ).
We want students to smile and laugh and get curious and upset and confused and excited … to interact with words and stories they are reading. How can we help children make these emotional connections with what they read?
Using the arts to help children make these personal connections can promote interest in language, build vocabulary, encourage comprehension, as well as reinforce phonemic awareness. But is also just fun!
Here are some ideas of ways the Arts can be used to teach reading from Lively Learning by Linda Crawford:

• Read poetry aloud. It is a great way to capture student imagination. Think of all the ways poetry uses rhythm, sounds, and vivid imagery.
• Use storytelling to involve students in participatory listening. You read part and then stop and let them fill in the words or guess what will happen next. You could tell the same story with several different ending and then let children pick the one they liked the best. Invite the children to tell you how a story could be different, especially if it was told from another point-of-view. Storytelling is also a good way to develop vocabulary skills.
• Don’t forget to use music along with the stories. Did you know that singing songs can help children learn to spell, develop phonemic awareness, and build reading fluency? It doesn’t matter how old a child is, using music with stories can enhance understanding. Even asking children to suggest sound effects to go along with stories helps demonstrate their understanding of what is going on in the story.
• When children draw pictures to go along with stories, they have to think deeply and interact with all the pieces of the story. That is higher order thinking taking place! Having children plan out their drawings promotes thinking even more!
• Challenging children to retell as story using movement really taps into that deeper level of understanding.

Think of all the stories on Big Universe that you could use with any of these suggestions!

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/86802545@N00/269032594/#

Hurricanes are a remarkable force of nature. The combination of powerful winds, waves and tides can wreak havoc.

As the country marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Gulf Coast, many are keeping their eyes on Hurricane Earl, which is churning its way through the northern Caribbean. Forecasters say there is a chance the storm will make itself known off the coast of North Carolina about mid-week.

News like this provides an opportunity to teach children. Teachers who keep one ear tuned to current events will find a vast resource to enrich lessons, making them vibrant and relative to life.

It is wise to keep your second ear trained on conversations your students are having amongst themselves. They hear their parents talking and see lots of images on TV. Age-appropriate lessons from a trusted adult can help children sort out facts, fiction and even gale-force worries. Allow adequate time for initial questions and the opportunity for followup conversation.

My family and I experienced a tropical storm firsthand in 2002. We had been living in Barbados for only about six weeks when Lili hit the island. We were in a strong house, but the roar of the storm was deafening on our tin roof. The storm gained momentum after it passed over, eventually reaching Category 4 status over the Gulf of Mexico.

I was schooling my two daughters for the year that we were abroad, so the storm prompted lots of questions and teaching moments.

– How fast is the wind?

– When will the rain stop?

– Where did the hurricane come from?

– Why don’t we have electricity?

– What happened to that person’s house?

– Who will clear the roads?

– Why can’t we go to the beach?

– Where do the birds, sea turtles and monkeys go during the storm?

– Has anyone else ever had a storm like this?

While I could answer some of the questions, it would have been great to pull up an online children’s book to help explore the topic – once the lights came back on. Big Universe now offers several books that would have done nicely!

• The Bellwether book “Hurricanes” by Kay Manolison describes how hurricanes form and behave. Part of Bellwether’s Blastoff! Readers series, the text is aimed at Level 4 readers. The author uses a variety of sentence patterns and expanded vocabulary and punctuation. The graphics are highly appealing. This would have been just right for my new fourth-grader.
•  Rourke Publishing’s “Surviving the Galveston Hurricane” by Jo Cleland would have been intriguing to my sixth-grader (AFTER our storm hit and everything quieted down). Cleland, a professor emeritus of reading education at Arizona State University West, worked in public education for 20 years prior to her university work. She continues to engage children through storytelling. “What we learn with delight, we never forget,” she says.
• “Ready, Set…WAIT! What Animals Do Before a Hurricane” is another storm-themed book on Big Universe’s library shelves. The illustrations by Connie McLennan are charming, and the text written by Patti Zelch is insightful. The extra information in the back of the book allows teachers to expand their lesson plans in many directions. Sylvan Dell Publishing also provides quizzes and cross-curricular activities online.

To read more about ways to use current events to add life to your teaching, read “10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom” or Melissa Edwards’ blog titled “It is All About Making Connections …”. She writes, “When students make connections with the books they read, their understanding, comprehension and recall of the information increases.”  Preach it, Melissa!

When students make a connections with the books they read, their understanding, comprehension, and recall of the information increases.

Normally when I think of students make connections with stories, I focus on either a connection with the author or relating something that has happened to them to something that happens in the story (event). A teacher may be able to help students make connections with the author using blogs, websites, or even skype. Students could do some type of writing or art activity to express personal connections to stories possibly using a blog or something like webspiration.

Reading Kristin’s Blog: Blogging with Afghanistan got me thinking about another type of connection that teachers can help provide for students using technology tools . . . a connection to the setting. A little background to her blog: In the past, her class read a story and posted discussion on a blog. The story was set in Afghanistan. A person who lives in Afghanistan read her blog and contacted her. He became her “friend” and offered to help out when she did the story the next year. . . it is all about making connections

A teacher could build background knowledge about the setting of a story by having students research general information about the area online, maybe look at pictures, or take a Google Earth trip. Those students would know a little more about the setting than before, but imagine how that level of knowledge would change if students could “talk” to someone actually in that area and ask questions not only about the geography/landforms but also about the culture.
The experiences of these students has the potential to greatly influence their understanding of the story.

Think about all the technology tools we have available to make it possible to make these connections to enhance student learning: skype, blogs, wikis, videos, pictures, voicethread, twitter . . .

So you don’t have a friend or connection in the area of study or setting of the book . . . chances are that posting on Twitter could prove to be beneficial . . . chances are somebody knows somebody who knows somebody . . . it is all about making connections.

Global Studies involves learning so much more by making connections rather than just reading or research from a book or online.