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Greetings!
I've spent much of my January at area schools capturing mini-lessons on video while
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My daughter Sydney and I play tic-tac-toe on the Smart Board.
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classroom teachers observed. It's been a fabulous opportunity for me to get back into the classroom and test out some new ideas!
One of the most enjoyable parts has been learning the ins & outs of the Smart Board technology that many schools are now using. Turns out my kids knew more about how to use it than I did. But I'm catching up quickly. Rethinking some of my favorite lessons in this new format has stretched me this past month.
Are you ready to be stretched? Looking for some new ways to stretch and grow your literacy instruction? Check out some of the ideas below... and limber up.
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| Main Idea! | | 3 Test-Reading & 3 Test-Writing Tips
Reading Tip #1
The kind of reading students do for standardized tests is often very different from the experiences we provide in the classroom. It's not different in content. It's not different in genre. It's not even different in vocabulary. It's different in length!
Typically classroom reading includes longer texts that take multiple days to complete. However, a test-reading scenario includes what I call one-sitting readings. Students have to read a passage for the first and only time independently and then immediately answer comprehension questions alone. Prepare students for these standardized testing scenarios by offering similar experiences this month.
Reading Tip #2
In addition to shorter texts, expose students to a variety of genres and modes. The assessment doesn't just include traditional essays and articles. It utilizes numerous informational text formats. Look to expose your students to:
- How-to articles
- Q&A interviews
- Nonfiction/Content-area poems
- Biographies
- Plays/Scripts
Magazines are a great place to find short, informational text passages in a variety of formats. Try this list of magazines to find some just right for your grade level.
Reading Tip #3
Often these different formats include text features (e.g., subheadings, sidebars, graphics, lists, footnotes, etc.). Point out the value of these tools to your students; text features are intended to help the reader. They often include information not stated within the body paragraphs. Be sure students are reading them and gathering as much knowledge about the topic as possible.
NOTE: If a standardized test includes text features, there is usually at least one question geared toward the information highlighted within those text features. If students "skip" the text features, they are missing some valuable details.
Writing Tip #1
Standardized writing assessments don't honor revision. It's all about writing a strong first draft. Consequently, in the last month before your state assessment, don't spend a lot of classroom time revising and publishing pieces.
Instead, have your students begin to build their one-sitting writing muscles. Give them opportunities to start and finish drafts all in one class period/one sitting. It's important for them to know how to write well in a short time frame. They need to be able to pull everything they know about "good writing" together in one sitting.
A couple days later, have students reread what they wrote. Use this time to reflect, not revise, on what they could have done better. Use these reflections to guide future mini-lesson instruction.
Writing Tip #2
Since the first draft is the only draft on a state assessment, make sure students are strong in the traits of ideas and organization. Be sure students are developing their ideas. This includes writing multiple sentences after each idea, not just listing one idea after another.
In addition to development, they need a strong beginning and ending. Remind them that the Test Lady™ does not reread the prompt before assessing each student's piece. The Test Lady™ only reads what the students wrote on the lines (or typed on the computer). So there needs to be some context. Where's this all coming from? What are you writing about? This should be included within a beginning sentence/paragraph.
And the ending needs to conclude and wrap up the piece. Again, students need to know they aren't simply answering prompt questions or doing some writing assignment.
Writing Tip #3
As you continue to grow your writers, immerse students in "good" ones. Show examples of high-scoring writings from previous years. Help students identify what the successful pieces included and the less-than-successful pieces included (or lacked). Students need to know what the goal looks like and sounds like.
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Content Area Idea!
| | Math reading tips to aid all students
Technical and math texts often pose comprehension problems even for the best readers. To help your students tackle this difficult genre, model the following strategies.
Slow down! Difficult, unfamiliar, and technical texts require a different speed limit than other reading. If fiction is a 55-mph limit, then math reading should rate a 5-mph zone. Students should put the brakes on and digest the reading little by little rather than speeding through it.
Have students insert pauses between words or phrases while they read. Some of the sentences in a math problem or explanatory text can be lengthy. One way to help students slow their reading rate is to encourage them to add more commas (more pauses) in the text.
When possible, students should read with a pencil in hand. They should mark (underline, circle, star, etc.) the text as they read. Encourage them to draw or sketch information as they read. Interacting with the text increases engagement and understanding.
Challenge students to make connections, to notice how ideas from the text relate to things they know. Tell students to ask themselves What is this like? while they read. For example, when learning about probability, connect the concept to the likelihood of winning the lottery. When introducing slope, students can think of a skateboard ramp. Helping them see simple connections can make the concepts stick.
One last tip--remind students that numbers can be written in many different forms. Show your students how to recognize numbers even when they're written differently. Numbers can be written out in words (one half), in fractions (1/2), with decimals (.5), and in pictures. Prepare students for all the possibilities. |
| Primary Idea! | | |
Use the Retelling Glove for summarizing stories
The Common Core standards for reading literature require that kindergarten students be able to identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. First grade students should be able to retell a story using key details from the story. As you're working to address this standard, try the Retelling Glove. Your bodily, kinesthetic learners will love it!
When students are ready to retell, simply have them slip on the glove as a checklist for all the important elements to include as they recall the story.
- Who?--The thumb represents the characters in the story. Encourage
 students to include all the characters mentioned in the story, not just the main one.
- What?--A small box on the index finger is a reminder to include details about "what" happened in the story. What was the problem?
- When?--Time plays a part in the "when" of retelling, but it can also include day or night or seasons of the year.
- Where?--A story can take place in more than one place. Have students reference the main setting for the story.
- Why or how?--Why did the characters do/say certain things? Why did the author write this story?
Upper Elementary
Use the same technique with a more mature look. Add words to the glove (characters, setting, problem, events, solutions, and author's message). This little reminder prompts students to include all the important elements when providing a summary or retelling.
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Upcoming Workshops
| | | Dynamic Mini-Lessons for Teaching Reading and Writing
Two of my favorite workshops are back again this spring! Join me for two powerful one-day workshops focused on mini-lessons for reading and writing. Dynamic Mini-Lessons for Teaching Reading and Dynamic Mini-Lessons for Teaching Writing both offer strategies on how to develop mini-lessons to make reading and writing skills more concrete and visual. I'll share my new favorite lessons for both, as well as visual icons and concrete triggers for teaching them.
If you have any questions about either workshop, please call our office for more information. I hope to see you this spring at one of the six locations.
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| Reading Idea! | | |
Create boy-friendly literacy classrooms
When it comes to reading (and writing), research still shows that males tend to lag behind females. And yet, according to Jon Scieszka, research also shows that boys will read enthusiastically--if given the opportunity to read something that interests them.
Redefine reading
To entice reluctant readers, teachers may need to broaden their definition of what counts as "text" and offer different options. This may include shorter, more accessible texts that appeal to boys like magazines, collector or trading cards, joke books, comics and cartoons, movie scripts, online texts/websites, and graphic novels.
Boy-friendly reading displays
Set up your classroom to entice the "grazers" versus the "diners." "Diners" enjoy longer texts and can maintain focus. The "grazers" in your classroom like to sample and taste shorter texts and crave frequent change. Display reading options in your classroom library to appeal to the "grazers." Boys are attracted to visual displays that focus on current trends. Know HOT topics and make sure to change your book displays often.
Role models
To engage the boys who don't choose to read, enlist the endorsement of the boys who do like it. According to a 2003 MORI poll, "students are four times more likely to read something recommended to them by a peer than by a teacher." Provide time for book promoters to offer a one-minute oral book recommendation. Try a Boys Only lunchtime in the library or start a Boys' Book Club.
Another way to use role models to endorse reading is to intentionally pair older boys with younger ones for read-aloud time. Or invite some male role models from the community to come read to your students. Boys need to see that reading is cool.
Here are some of my favorite boy-friendly books. Check out this list of recommended reading options.
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| Middle School/High School Idea! | | |
Micro-fiction helps make every word count
How long does it take to tell a complete story? For students who love to write, many think the more words the better. However, we want our writers to communicate succinctly and clearly. We want every word to count.
Micro-fiction is a genre that requires a specific word count. It's a perfect genre for middle and high school where students need to write efficiently. Help students hone their narrative writing and make their stories more sophisticated by challenging them to write shorter, rather than longer pieces while still including the necessary elements of fiction: problem, climax, and resolution.
Have students create plot maps/pre-writes where they plan all the required elements of fiction. But then ask them to incorporate all those essentials into as few words as possible, creating short stories.
Short stories, also called "flash fiction," include different word-count options. Visit 50-word short stories to view an online collection. (NOTE: Tim Sevenhuysen, the site's administrator, seeks to keep the content appropriate and would be open to teacher and student submissions.) Use a few online examples as anchor papers for student writing assignments. Then challenge students to try their hands at different lengths using the same story idea. Can they write one in 50 words? 25? How low can they go? It's like writing limbo!
To give your students practice with this genre before turning them loose with their own story ideas, ask them to write a brief 50-word plot summary for a novel they've recently read.
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Check out our makeover!
| | Website upgrades result in more user-friendly features
After months of preparation, we are excited to share our newly upgraded websites for Smekens Education and The Literacy Store. In addition to a fresh, new look, the updated sites offer easier navigation to the information you want most. Here's a breakdown of some of the key changes you'll notice on each site:
www.smekenseducation.com- Kristina's Clips is a video feature that lets you view a brief teacher tip at your convenience. Each month, watch a new video with teacher-friendly ideas you can use right away.
- Registering for a workshop has never been so easy! The registration process has been streamlined to make it quick and stress-free.
- The Idea Library is a growing resource of free literacy tips and tricks. Share content with colleagues, print articles from the Idea Library, and try out some of the classroom-tested strategies.
www.theliteracystore.com  - All book titles are in alphabetic order within each category. Look through our huge selection of teacher resources by category or search by title, topic, or author.
- Create an account so that you only have to enter your billing and shipping information with your first order.
- After you've created an account, start your own personalized "wish list."
As you explore our sites, we would love your feedback on how to make them even better. If you come across a glitch, or if you have trouble finding what you're looking for, let us know! We're always working to improve our websites to better serve teachers.
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Where's Kristina?
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Upcoming Workshops You Won't Want to Miss
Dynamic Mini-Lessons for Teaching Reading
March 7, 2012 -- Columbus, OH
March 20, 2012 -- Indianapolis, IN
April 16, 2012 -- Ft. Wayne, IN
April 19, 2012 -- Cincinnati, OH
April 25, 2012 -- Chicago, IL
May 2, 2012 -- Detroit, MI
Dynamic Mini-Lessons for Teaching Writing
March 8, 2012 -- Columbus, OH
March 21, 2012 -- Indianapolis, IN April 17, 2012 -- Ft. Wayne, IN
April 20, 2012 -- Cincinnati, OH April 26, 2012 -- Chicago, IL
May 3, 2012 -- Detroit, MI
The Literacy Retreat
June 18, 2012 -- Pre-Conference -- Middlebury, IN
June 19-20, 2012 -- Literacy Retreat -- Middlebury, IN
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