The Literacy Lab

Free Film Screening-- The American Teacher

2012-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

I know this is a bit last minute, but I just saw this and thought some of you might be interested in attending!

The American Teacher Free Screening
January 27, 2012, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
US Department of Education, Barnard Auditorium
The United States Department of Education invites you to a free screening of the documentary American Teacher. Narrated by Matt Damon and directed by Oscar winner Vanessa Roth, the film chronicles the stories of four teachers living and working in disparate urban and rural areas of the country, following these teachers as they reach different milestones in their careers and telling the deeper story of the teaching profession in America today. The screening is offered FREE of charge and will be followed by an interactive, audience-driven discussion of the question: How do we attract, retain, and support the best teachers? Find more information and register here.

Get more involved with The Literacy Lab

2012-01-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered where those sign-in sheets go, or how exactly your progress reports make it into the mail boxes of parents? Do you find yourself intrigued by the goings-on at the office when stopping by to print? You may be just the person to volunteer in The Literacy Lab's office!

If you would like to become more involved with the operations of The Literacy Lab, we are currently seeking volunteers to help out during the day. In our conversations, I realize that you all have many skills that could help us further our mission, and I know that many of you are also interested in the non-profit field.

We are currently seeking a few volunteers to assist with organization, paperwork, research, and data management. We are looking for people who can commit at least two day-time hours per week. If you or anyone else you know would be interested, please e-mail Ashley.

Using Words to Motivate

2012-01-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this article for some good thoughts on the best way to motivate students by using specific praise:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-schools-self-esteem-boosting-is-losing-favor-to-rigor-finer-tuned-praise/2012/01/11/gIQAXFnF1P_story_1.html

Reader's Theater: A Positive Way to Act Out

2012-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Heading into the New Year, we all know that it is important to build in new ways to reinforce the same skills we have been working on with our students. We also know that kids can get antsy and that they like being able to express themselves whenever possible!

Reader's Theater is a great way to practice fluency and comprehension through an alternative method to the leveled readers and fluency passages. In Reader's Theater, students are assigned parts in a play and then you read through the script with your group. Reading A-Z (log-in info is in your binder on the curriculum chart) has Reader's Theater scripts on Level E (Grade 1) and up. To access the scripts, log in to Reading A-Z, click on the Fluency tab at the top, and then click on Reader's Theater Scripts on the left. Reader's Theater should not replace your lessons, but should be used as something special.

As with all things, planning for and introducing this activity appropriately is vital to its success. Students will be excited about the prospect of having a part, acting things out, and doing something different. Follow the below best practices to ensure a smooth production:

- Assign parts by picking out of a hat (otherwise students may argue over parts or feel like it was unfair)
- Use Reader's Theater as an incentive for good behavior. Work on a script over a few lessons at the end if students have earned it.
- If you are working with an individual or have more parts than students, assign yourself multiple parts
-You may want to go down one level from the lessons you usually do when choosing the script (at least at first) to build in successes. You want them to be able to read it fairly fluently and independently after a few read throughs, so a script that would be on the independent level is a good starting point.

To ensure that students gain academic benefits, follow this general procedure:

-Hand out scripts, have students go through their own script and highlight all of their lines
-Have students practice their own lines independently, underlining any words they do not know. You move from student to student, helping them with their underlined words
-Do two read throughs as a group where you help students with any words they do not know. Work on following punctuation, using the right emotions, and directing their lines to the right characters.
- Monitor the students' comprehension of the play while reading by asking questions and discussing how different lines should be said.
-Do one read through where you try not to prompt students to say their lines
-If behavior/space permits, they may act the play out. Even if you can't have them act it out, do a final reading where they "perform". The idea is that by this point, they should be reading their lines fluently and with the proper intonation on their own. It is important to build in scaffolding for them by doing many run-throughs (first independently with your help, then as a group with your help, then on their own) to avoid having a student stumbling over many words in front of the group and feeling bad.

After the performance, you can use the plot of the play to reinforce comprehension skills. Have the students write a paragraph about what would happen in the sequel or have them complete a plot sequencing activity about the play.

Break a leg!

Do your students love those comprehension dice? Make your own!

2011-12-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

I know the comprehension dice have been a big hit with many students. If you haven't seen them before, they are basically a set of dice with comprehension questions on each side. Students roll and answer after reading a sentence, paragraph, or page.

You can make this even better by making your own set customized to your students' goals, or by having your students make their own. This resource can be used for students on all levels. Here are some ideas:

Phonics:
- Put blends on one die and word family endings on the other. Student roll both dice and blend the sounds together (it is fine if they make a non-sense word, this will help them work on their blending)
- Write simple one syllable words on the dice. Students roll and have to produce a word that rhymes with the word they roll.
-Write problematic sight words on the dice. Students roll both dice, read the words, and then have to make a sentence using both words.
- Write letters on the dice. Students roll, give the letter name, produce the sound, and think of a word that begins with that letter

Fluency, Comprehension, Vocabulary:
- Have the students write questions for the dice that would apply to a certain genre (fiction, non-fiction, etc). Save the set and use those when you read an applicable story.
- Write common prefixes and suffixes on the dice. Students roll and then think of a word that has the prefix or suffix and provide the meaning of the word (after teaching them common prefixes and suffixes)
- Write vocabulary words from past readings on the dice. Students roll and use the words in a sentence.

Management:
-Write students' names on the dice. Roll to take turns or determine which student gets to complete a certain task
-Write tasks students can help with on the dice (pencil sharpener, door holder, timer, paper collector). Roll dice to pick students to complete that task for a day.

Click here for the template

Multi-Sensory and Kinesthetic Ideas

2011-12-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

As the holiday break approaches, our kids have even more energy than usual! Try some of these mutli-sensory ideas to provide a constructive way for kids to move around.

Syllabication: In addition to the old favorite of clapping out syllables, try having student hop out syllables on one foot.

Long/Short Vowels:

· Tutor says a word, student uses hands to “measure” whether the vowel is long or short. Hand closer together means a short vowel, hands spread out is a long vowel.

· Give student two index cards, one says “long” one says “short” (also helps to color code them). Tutor says a word and student has to hold up the right card.

· Picture sort—have students look through magazines and catalogs and make a collage of pictures with short vowels on one side and long vowels on the other.

· Write vowels with long/short notation on full sheets of paper. Place them on the ground. Tutor says a word, student has to toss (underhand) a beanbag or something else that won’t bounce onto the correct vowel. It is important to lay out the rule at the beginning that if the beanbag gets tossed anywhere else intentionally the game will stop. You can use this for long/short of the same vowel or with all of the vowels, just change what you put on the pieces of paper. Also, spread the papers out enough so it is not too hard for them to throw it towards the right one.

Sight Words/Dolch Words:

· If you have a group all working on the same words, have them line up facing you, you hold the cards, who ever is in front says the word and then goes to the back of the line.

· If there are words that students consistently mix up, have them create a signal for themselves to remember the word. Ex: through/thought: for through, the student could walk with their fingers through something, for thought, they could tap their head like they are thinking. Have them do the motion when they get to the words.

· When working on encoding, or spelling, the sight words, have the students write the words in the air, on sandpaper, or on something else that has a unique texture

Fluency Passages:

· If students are having trouble following punctuation and are rushing, have them stand up and then sit back down at every period to emphasize the pause they should take.

· Bring something that could be a “microphone” (paper towel roll, etc) and have them read their passage into that as if they are a news announcer or reporter.

Comprehension Passages:

· Before reading, to assess prior knowledge and to introduce a topic, make a list of statements relating to the topic or theme of the story for students to decide if they agree or disagree with. Then designate one side of the space as agree and one side as disagree. You say the statement, the students move silently to the side or where they fall in the middle. For example, before reading a passage about skydiving, statements could be “I am afraid of heights”, “I consider myself pretty brave”, “I have been in a plane”, “I would like to skydive”. You can also do this with the students and place yourself on the continuum. Another variation is to have students do a thumbs up and down or middle instead of moving around the room.

· Have student(s) or you and student do a short skit to retell the passage rather than just saying it, let the student be the director and tell you what to do to “retell” the story using details from the passage

· Vocabulary/Character Charades: you choose vocabulary words, characters, or events in the plot for students to act out, you guess

· Post-It Notes: place vocab words or characters on a post it note on student’s back; they have to ask yes or no questions to figure out which word it is or which character.