[luv2dance1]

Besides doing read-alouds and modeling my thinking, what are some reader's response activities I can do with my second grade class. I feel just modeling from a book and then discussing how they used the skill I'm teaching is getting really old and I would love to change things up. Any suggestions are very appreciated. TIA

[GreyhoundGirl]

I LOVE this activity. I don't know what grade you teach but I did this with 1st and 3rd. I take a long piece of butcher paper (long enough for each child to have space). I had each kid pick a spot, sitting on either side, with markers.

For 1st I read "The Pain and the Great One" and for 3rd I read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day" just because they're my favs and easy for kids to make connections but anything would work.

As I read I stop at each page and have kids connect to their lives using either sentences or pictures. They like drawing on their "wall" and making the connections. I hung it up outside for everyone to see.

[cvt]

Piggiebacking on Greyhound's post, you can use the same technique of large butcher paper for many different strategies in addition to text to self. You can divide the class into groups of 3 or 4, have them do beginning, middle, end or cause & effect or problem & solution or text to world, who,what,where,when,how, etc, etc, etc.

Students collaborate, so their product will have input from all, with both drawing and writing.

[TeachingAll]

Here's a real cute idea I found while "surfing".

http://rowdyinfirstgrade.blogspot.co...onnection.html

[readerleader]

I model various types of connections through read alouds and other teachable moments. I teach the students to use their connections during their sharing time. Each day after we conference, those students share. I teach them to show their connection with this statement: my favorite part is ______because ________. It does take a lot of modeling to get them to make meaningful connections and not just say things like "it's cute" or "it's funny", but they eventually get it.