àLiterature
Circles
What
are they?: Reading groups in which students choose
the book they are going to discuss. The
students decide how many pages will be read before each group meeting. Each student is usually given a role to
complete (discussion director, vocabulary enricher, etc.) that directs the
group’s discussion during literature circle time.
Motivation:
Literature circle can be used for students to work on
both writing and reading skills. There
is no one way to approach literature circles, and you can change the roles students
focus on, depending on what your specific students need to work on most. Mini lessons can be done before literature
circles meet to model to students what discussion should look and sound like. Students like working in literature circles
because they are given the choice in what they read and write, and the
discussion is mostly student directed.
It gets them moving around and active in their own learning.
àPost-It Reading
What
is it?: Students using Post-It notes to take notes
on to stick on work while reading or writing.
They allows for notes and revisions without altering the original piece.
Motivation:
Post-It’s can be used is many different ways while reading or writing. Students can use them while reading to take
notes, to write questions to ask later, or to find evidence to support
answers. For use while writing students
can use post-its to brainstorm a piece, to insert revisions, or to add comments
to others writing. However you decide to
use post-it’s during literacy, make sure to model the use before expecting
students to use them effectively.
Students enjoy jotting down things as they go that they can place right
where they had the thought or question in the reading. It offers an alternate way or note taking or
answering questions to change things up a bit.
àReader’s Theater
What
is it?: Each student receives a different role from
a short script to practice and perform together. There is little to no props included in the
performance, so that they are more focused on the words and less distracted by
the props. These scripts are not meant
to be memorized, but instead the emphasis should be placed on fluency,
inflection, and practice reading aloud.
Motivation:
Reader’s Theater is great for students that need
practice with fluency because they are able to read from the script aloud as a
group. Students should have time to
practice their lines before having to perform to an audience. It is more effective when students know they
have to perform in front of others. They
gain the motivation to practice their lines because they do not want to make
mistakes. Reader’s theater can also be
used as a writing unit, where students take a story already written and
transform it into a play, or create their own original play. Students would then practice the original
student work to perform as their reader’s theater script.
àGraphic
Organizers/Foldables
What
are they?: Tools that used for organizing ideas on a
topic or used for studying and reviewing information. They can be done two-dimensionally, flat
graphic organizers, or 3D foldables.
Make sure students understand the purpose of the foldable, so that after
they take the time to make it they use it to work or study from.
Motivation:
Foldables and graphic organizers are a good way to get students kinesthetically
involved in their learning because they have to interact with their notes once
they are taken. Students take in a
majority of what they learn visually.
These types of organizers are fun and hands-on, and can be used with all
types of learners. http://rainbowswithinreach.blogspot.com/2012/03/foldables-graphic-organizer-examples.html
àLiteracy Centers
What
are they?: Stations that reinforce what is being
taught during whole group instruction. Each
center is set up in a way where students can work independently or with a small
group without support from the teacher. These
centers have to focus on something that has already been taught in order for
students to be successful with them working on their own. The stations should be organized with all the
materials the students will need to complete it.
Motivation: Students enjoy literacy centers because it
gets them up and moving around the room, and able to practice different
literacy skills independently. They are
able to collaborate with other students to get certain tasks completed. Centers keep learning interesting because you
can constantly change them based on what you are teaching. Students do not get bored with the same
routine every day with skill and drill practice. To keep stations organized they will have to
be modeled and practice several times before students feel comfortable
completing tasks without depending on the teacher.
àReading/Writing
Contests
What
are they?: They are competitions that you enter your
student’s work in to recognize their effort and success in reading or
writing. Reading contests vary from folktale
readings to Shakespearean sonnets. Writing contests are endless and can be
found for all different topics and levels. Some contests may be national or
statewide, but they should also be encouraged throughout the local community,
school district, and schools.
Motivation:
Students sometimes need the encouragement to push themselves in literacy. Contests are an extrinsic way to motivate
students to try their very best while either reading a passage aloud or writing
an original piece. If there are not
contests in your area that your students would qualify for then it might be a
good idea to come up with classroom contests every now and then. Contests give students a major sense of
accomplishment, so keep your eye out for them.
Be sure to stress to your students that winning is not everything, and
they should be proud of all the work they put in even to enter the contest.
àShowcase Student’s
Work
What
is it?: Having a location devoted to displaying
your students’ exemplar work. This can
be done in any content area, in for literacy it would be best to display
student writing pieces. This can be
something that resembles an author highlight, but your students become the
authors you are highlighting. A showcase
can be a display in the school hallway or a special area for
Motivation:
Students are motivated by having their work on display because it fills them
with a sense of pride. Once students
gain confidence they begin to be intrinsically motivated, and read and write
because they enjoy to and want to build on their skills. If the work is displayed for the rest of the
school to see then it will trigger the rest of the school to want to create
work that is worthy of display as well.
It will build a community of readers and writers supporting each other.
àReading Fair
What
is it?: A reading fair is different than a book
fair, which is an annual showcase of new and popular books and other
literature. A reading fair is a showcase
of student’s work based on a book they had read. Students put together a presentation and
display to demonstrate different aspects of the book such as characters,
setting, summary, theme, etc. Students
from all levels can take part in a reading fair using any type of
literature. It can be compared to a
science fair, except for book talks.
Motivation:
Students will become more involved in their reading if
they know that they will be presenting information on it to their peers or the
community. You are giving them a purpose
for their work, and this in turn motivates them to find elements in a book that
they wouldn’t normally pay attention to.
Reading fairs also help students improve on their public speaking skills
because they have to explain their display to anyone that inquires.
àStrategy Card Box
What
is it?: A teacher or student created card box that
is full of effective literacy strategies that have been established and proven helpful. The strategies can first be taught to the
students and then placed in the box for future use. If a student is every stuck while reading or
writing they can refer to this box to remind them of techniques to try.
Students can fill out an index card if they think of a reading/writing strategy
that they would like to add to the box, and could even be given a chance to
present it to the whole class.
Motivation: Students will not
need to be completely dependent on the teacher for help if they have this strategy
box to refer to. They will have to have
the strategies modeled for them, but after they can just remind themselves of
the strategies if they find themselves struggling. The box should be kept in a distinct spot in
the room, so that students will know they can go to the box during independent
reading or writing time if they need.
Have the box separated by reading and writing approaches. To begin a strategy box you can keep adding
an index card tip each time you teach a different mini-lesson. Students will appreciate the freedom they
gain when they are able to help themselves.
àInspire with
Favorite Authors
What
is it?: Reading different model texts to students
to inspire them to write in a similar way.
You can create assignments in which students create a writing piece that
follows similar patterns, sounds, or structure as the model author. These author inspired pieces can be compiled
into a class book at the completion of the unit.
Motivation:
Students can be given a choice in what author they would like to model a story
after or the teacher can choose what the class will focus on. Working on a piece that is modeled after an
author the students enjoy might get them more excited to write the piece. Students may feel more comfortable to share
these author inspired stories because they will be all be pretty similar in the
setup. It will be interesting for
students to see how other interpreted the piece similarly or different then them. It then becomes a community effort to
recognize the greatness of the author.
àWebquest
What
is it?: An interactive webpage that takes the
student through the entire process of a unit or project step by step. The students navigate through different links
to find information or assignments that are attached to the pages of the webquest. The different parts of a webquest include;
introduction, task, process, resource, evaluation, and conclusion. The
assignment should be able to be done completely online, unless the webquest
requests that you print out assignment sheets to complete along the way.
Motivation:
Students would be able to work at their own pace if
assigned a webquest assignment or project.
Once students have gone through and completed one webquest they will be
able to complete others with less assistance from the teacher. Webquests should be designed to be student
centered and easy to navigate. Check out
sample webquests to determine the ease of use, the visual attraction, and the
authenticity of the assignment. I have
created a fairytales webquest below to demonstrate the different parts to
include and ways to keep students intrigued while making their way through the
webquest. I have included voki
characters throughout the webquest in order to give students tips for their
writing and to grasp students’ attention.
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