[Angel Star]

I hope that you can all help me out with my thinking about responding to books...

Reading Workshop in my classroom in its fourth year of evolution and as I learn more, I try to incorporate more. One thing I know for sure is that the more kids read (just-right books), the better readers they become. This became very clear to me when this year, the third grade teacher came to me and said, "I've got to come see what you are doing in Reading. None of the kids are "low" readers this year. They are all reading so well".

The change I had made last year was toward more of an Independent Reading Workshop. My mini-lessons focused on phonics, grammar, and reading skills (compare/contrast, problem/solution, etc., whatever was in the teacher's manual) (This was before I knew about the strategies).

After that, the kids read independently and responded to every book they read in some sort of writing/artsy way. For example, they created a flip flap book with Character, Setting, Problem, Solution. Or they made a paper bag character, listing qualities and attributes of that character. They wrote and drew about their favorite part and why it was their favorite. They made book marks and posters advertising their books.

Every week or two, they chose one to share with the class in a "Book Chat", which they prepared for at home. I feel that this is good experience for talking in front of a group.

I also had "Book Club Groups" - a small group of 3 or 4 kids reading the same chapter book and answering questions in a packet that I had created. Although I know that most Pro Teachers frown on these "comprehension packets" I felt like I was asking them "thick" as well as "thin" questions (not just recall, but critical thinking, inferring word meanings, making personal connections, etc.). I felt like I was modeling for them what good questioning look like.

So, why fix what's not broken, right? But of course, I met Debbie Miller last summer and had to change everything again!!!

I still do grammar and phonics, but the majority of my mini-lessons focus on the strategies. This has been an incredible experience and through "think-alouds", I have come to find out what good thinkers my students are. I love doing this. It is extremely exciting every day and I feel like I'm doing something really wonderful!

I still do "Book Club Groups", but they work with partners now and they meet without me. I meet with one group a day and therefore can meet with every group once a week.

I also still do Book Chats, although not as often as before.

After the mini-lesson, the kids move on to Independent Reading as they always did. From Sept-Dec. (before strategies), they responded to books just like last year.

From Jan-Now, they have been responding using "Strategy Sheets". Which are basically mini-versions of what we have done on an anchor chart during think-alouds.

So, when we switched from "Reading Responses" to "Strategy Sheets", I felt like I was taking something away from the kids. This group in particular, is very artsy and creative. So, filling out basically a graphic organizer, was not sparking their interest.

The major problem I saw was that they weren't filling out a Strategy Sheet WHILE reading, they were forgetting to and then doing it afterwards (which doesn't help with "adapting mental images" or "Predictions and the thinking behind them". But, I figured that this just needed some training and getting used to.

Okay, so last week, I decided that we needed to move on to "Response Journals". This came up spontaneously when S wanted to record her thinking about all these fascinating facts and couldn't find a strategy sheet that would work for that thinking. C said, "I've been writing things down on pieces of scrap paper and will staple them to a "Visual Bubble" strategy sheet".

So, the teachable moment was there and I couldn't deny it. We all stopped what we were doing and began a conversation about how we could respond to what we were reading and record our thinking, but in our OWN way. They seemed excited about it, but time was out so we decided that we would talk about it more tomorrow.

The next day, I gave each child a 3-ring binder and pointed them to different types of paper and a 3-hole punch and we talked about what "response journals" would look like. It sounded good, but when they got down to it, I was really disappointed.

Some kids just wrote down a bunch of questions and didn't even attempt to answer (or infer) the questions. The quality of what I saw just wasn't what I was expecting. They kind of seemed like they didn't really know what to do. I thought that they wanted less structure, but I think they needed a little more direction. It was just a little too open-ended for them.

So, the next day, I said to them, "Recording your thinking is kind of like having a conversation about your book". So, today, I'd like you to write a letter to me about your thinking. You could write about a connection, an image, an inference... and I'll write back"

Okay,so some kids got it, but not all.

I feel like we were moving ahead and now we've taken a step back. I realize that this will take some modeling and lots of practice. But to be honest, I don't know what I'm really wanting them to do.

I know that I shouldn't expect them to write about every book or write every day, but that's not what we've been doing and the thought of that is honestly very scary to me.

I have the lower half of the second grade readers and although they show me that they are doing some great thinking during "think alouds" I'm not sure that they'll remember to do that thinking work when reading independently unless they are forced to write it down.

But writing it down takes time and I want them reading more than writing, which I why I got away from the "reading responses" in the first place.

I feel like I am in limbo right now and I'm not sure what direction to go in. I hope that you all can help me with your wonderful wisdom.

[BookMuncher]

Your situation sounds complicated! I think it's a personal preference and depends on the class you have, how accountable they need to be. My opinion is that, from where you are in this school year with this group, maybe you should continue doing what you were doing at the beginning of the year. It sounds like it was working for you and your kids? A new year will give you a new start and more time to examine both what you believe about reading and responding to reading as well as what that would look like in your classroom.

If you've read my recent blog on responses, you'd see that they weren't going that great for me. I was in a major "dip" for a few weeks. But I made some adjustments and last week was a great week. Then again, I had this group writing open responses in first grade, I modeled it till my face was blue at the beginning of 2nd, and then I continued to make adjustments as we were writing this year. What I've come to believe is that we can only model and praise and share, repeat. If it's what we believe is best for kids, then they will grow from it. Sometimes I try to step back and look at what I'm asking them to do-- I also sometimes ask my two aides, student teacher, and myself to write them during our talk back time and even we get writer's block. So every entry won't be an earth-shattering one.

As a start, my personal beliefs are that:

• kids need to sustain reading for the absolute maximum amount I can give them (Allington says it's at least 60 minutes between all settings for little guys) -- and they need to sustain writing, but I cover that in writer's workshop

So, if responding in writing takes away from time reading, it's not worth it to me. BUt I guess that depends on your schedule

• the most authentic responses are those that are meaningful and relevant to the reader

So, if the response is in any way scripted, it becomes a teacher-centered assignment and one that will not eventually lead to an independent thinker. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't model and practice different ways of responding at other times of day, though.

• my best teaching (in all subjects) happens when the activity is transperant-- i.e. the child knows exactly why we're doing it-- and transferable-- i.e. the skill will easily transfer outside school walls

So, if the child wouldn't necessarily make a graphic organizer at home, then we'd save it in school for just when we're first learning about a certain skill

• talk is vastly under-rated. Writing isn't the only way to grow ideas. On the contrary- talking is a much more authentic and fruitful way to explore ideas and think about them deeply.

So, in my opinion, kids could get a lot more thinking done everyday if we devoted the amount of time it takes them to write daily responses.

• kids won't write well thought-out responses unless two things are present: modeling that is thorough and ongoing AND a really strong culture of talk amoungst kids around books and reading.

So, it's not just about testing kids on comprehension by asking them questions or looking for talk backs that somehow show conclusive evidence that they understood. They'll use the responses as a place to discuss strong opinions and light bulb moments if they see a grown-up modeling that that's how she uses hers. And more importantly, they'll feel absolutely compelled to use their response books for this purpose if, in talking to others, they realize they have a big idea.

But really... I don't have much of an opinion.

[benteach]

I would love for you to attach or refer me to where you have found the strategy sheets which you have used and are using with your class. I just had my students (3rd grade) put together and decorate their reading response journals - and due to the fact that they are now drying on their desks and we are on Spring Break this week - I am going to write a letter to each of my students then I will glue-stick it inside their journals on Monday (April 14) when we go back....any additional info you can post or attach would be awesome!
Thanks!

[Suzanne]

I loved reading your blog. I teach fourth grade and have been teaching for 23 years. I'm constantly learning, trying, experimenting, adjusting... I believe I'm a decent teacher of reading, but I constantly struggle with what's best. That said...

One of my biggest frustrations is never having enough time to properly respond to students' response journals. I start them but I can't keep up with them. So now instead of responding after every independent or literature group reading session, I do it occasionally. I always try to engage the children in conversations about what they have read.

This quarter I've assigned the students rotating jobs for their literature discussion groups. Each group has a reader (reads the directions, task...) recorder (records the ideas of the group), messenger/materials handler (the one who tells me they need help, or gathers materials), and the checker (the one who checks over the final task to be sure it's edited and complete). We spend quite awhile discussing and practicing jobs. So now, instead of assessing 23 papers, I assess 5, (one from each group). Obviously I would not base a child's reading abilities on just this method of assessment, but it has given me the break I need so that I can rotate more through the groups and not get bogged down with paperwork.

I may be way off base with this response, but I thought I'd add my $.02

Suzanne

[Angel Star]

You can find most of the strategy sheets I have created on The Second Grade Board under "Reading Notebooks".