Inventory of Mini-Lessons

Inventory of Mini-Lessons
This is one of the most extensive sections in this book. The Inventory of MiniLessons includes a plethora of mini-lessons for each reading skill.
The First 5-6 Weeks:
(Self) Character Traits
What are your reading interests?
What is a Just Right book?
Previewing a book or article
Your Schema Helps You to Choose Books
Knowing Books that Appeal to You (Book Swap)
How do you keep your chapter book and journal organized?
Reading Closely: Text Features
Using Sticky Notes to Document Your Reading
Thick vs. Thin Questions
Making Strong Inferences from Pictures
Making Strong Inferences from Text
Expectations During Reading Conferences
Writing a Book Review
Mini-lesson 1: (Self) Character Traits
All characters in stories have character traits. We do, too. There are qualities about
us that “set us apart” from others.
The Lesson: You are receiving a list of character traits with descriptions. From there,
you are going to sketch yourself on one part on the sheet provided and then write
a description about why you chose those traits on the other part.
Self-Character Traits
Everyone has qualities that set them apart from others. What makes you
different from everyone else? Look at the list below to choose character traits
that describe you as a “character”. Then write about why you chose those
qualities.
Adventurous Confident
Dependable
Encouraging
Enjoying adventure:
nature, white-water
rafting, climbing trees,
roller coasters, and
“daredevil” activities.
You believe in yourself.
You are honest. People
can depend on you
when they need
someone to help them
out.
You encourage other
people to do the right
thing and offer kind
words when someone is
feeling down.
Talented
Brave
Creative
Hilarious
I am good at
something or more
than one thing like
gymnastics, football,
writing, swimming, or
dancing, for example.
I like the sound of
bungee jumping, deep
sea diving, and other
activities people
consider to be a tad
“dangerous”.
I am always brimming
with ideas! I may also
have really awesome
artistic and writing
talents. I like to design
and make interesting
things.
I tell jokes that make
people laugh—and
sometimes when I don’t
even try, people laugh
at what I have to say or
something I do.
Inventive
Loyal
Intelligent
Energetic
I have ideas about
how to make things
better. I like making
things from scraps.
Sometimes I take things
apart and put them
back together in new
ways.
I am a good friend, and
I treat my family with
respect. I never turn my
back on people who
mean a lot to me.
I possess a lot of
knowledge. I am
smart—not just in
school, but in other
things I do, too.
I have a lot of energy.
Serious
A Leader
Stylish
Dramatic
I may be funny, but a
lot more often, I am
serious. That means I
am calm and focused
on what I want to stay
focused on.
I am a leader. I give
good advice, help
others when I can, and
guide others. I stand up
for my friends.
I care about the clothes
and shoes I wear. I like
setting trends and
looking as great as I
can.
I am talented on stage
and consider myself to
be a good actor. I know
how to draw the
audience in with lots of
drama!
Self-Character Traits:
Sketch an illustration of yourself. Around that, write words that describe you. Then
on the other part of the sheet, write why you chose those character traits.
Introducing…
Five character traits that introduce me are…
I am ________________________________________________ because…
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
I am ________________________________________________ because…
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
I am ________________________________________________ because…
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
I am ________________________________________________ because…
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
I am ________________________________________________ because…
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Mini-lessons 2-4: Character Traits
All characters in stories have character traits.
Mini-Lesson #2: You are going to hear chapter two of
Frindle by Andrew Clements and learn how to
determine what Mrs. Granger’s character traits are
with examples from the text. Use chart paper to write
down examples. Which adjectives (character traits)
can you name that describe Mrs. Granger?
Mini-Lesson #3: The following day, read another
excerpt to the class that shows Nick’s character.
Compare Nick’s traits with Mrs. Granger’s traits.
Mini-Lesson #4: Use the Elmo or other projecting tool you may have to show the
illustrations from Frindle before the class. How do these illustrations show character
traits? Look at the facial expressions and actions to gather “clues” that lead you to
determine the character traits.
Mini-Lesson 5: What are your reading interests?
Some people are enthusiastic readers while others aren’t. We all have different
reading preferences, but we can all agree on one thing—reading helps us, whether
it is reading a cheat guide for a video game, learning about the newest
entertainment out there, preparing a recipe, making a movie possible because of a
script that was once a story, knowing what is currently going on in the news, and
waking up our imaginations.
Today, give your students the Reading Interest Survey from pages 15-16—and
explain that even though not everyone may enjoy reading as much as others, it
can serve a purpose for everyone. Authors also have styles that appeal to specific
readers. Some people also love reading, too, and are willing to embrace all kinds of
literature. You can find ways, after having students fill out the survey, to encourage
your students and help form partnerships where the partners encourage one
another throughout the year.
You can also start a display today showing how there are numerous components to
reading—video game cheat guides, menu with descriptions of food choices, song
lyrics, magazine articles, graphic novels, and all kinds of book covers for chapter
and informational books. You can photocopy some parts, also.
Mini-Lesson 6: What is a Just Right book?
Some books are too easy while others are too hard. However, others fall right
between—they are “Just Right”. There is a test called a “Five-finger test” to know a
book that is “Just Right” for you.
Books are either: too easy, just right, or too challenging.
Too Easy:
Just Right:
Too Challenging:
-Nothing on the page challenges
you. You can read all the words
quite easily.
-The text is often in large print.
You can read the words very
quickly.
-You do not have to think about
what you are reading.
-There are not many sentences—or
several of the sentences are really
short.
-You can read most of the words on
the page. Maybe a few are
challenging, but they are not so
challenging you cannot understand
what you are reading.
-The text is in a readable size. It is not
too big or too small.
-You are reading at a steady pace.
-You are able to focus on the story’s
plot and enjoy it.
-You cannot read most or all
of the words on the page.
-The text is often in small print.
-The words take forever to
read.
-You are focusing on the
words too much—not the
story’s plot.
The best “test” for determining a “Just Right” book is using the “Five finger test”.
The Five-Finger Test:
1. Turn to a random page in a book.
2. Read the words on that page.
3. Count the number of words you do not understand on that
page.
4. After counting, decide whether the book is right for you.
One word: Not bad at all. It may be a little too easy for you.
Two words: Still a really good choice.
Three words: The book may be a little challenging, but it seems just right for
you.
Four words: This can be a challenge and maybe not the best book for you to
read.
Five words or more: This is too challenging. A different book is likely better
for you.
Choose a chapter book in advance and model this skill, showing the book on the
projector.
Mini-Lesson 7: Previewing a book or article
Before reading a book, there are more ways to preview it besides the “Five-finger
test”. You can preview the cover, back cover, first chapter or few pages, and
illustrations, if there are any.
I would extend this lesson to a second and potentially a third day, previewing a
picture book, non-fiction magazine article, and chapter book over the course of
the two days. Dedicate five minutes to reading each back cover, looking at the
design of the cover, and glancing at the text features inside, flipping from one
cover to the other.
Put out a display of books in your meeting area. Ask which books appeal to them—
just by cover and title.
Explain how in the near future, too, they are going to complete a “Book Swap”,
where you choose books and pass them around the room. Each student will have a
number to make the swap easier. Explain how by then they will have seen you
model the skill to determine whether the book is meant for you—or not.
Create a sheet for your students to say whether they like the previews you have
read or not. I choose nine books for this lesson, typically. You can make the sheet as
creative as possible.
Mini-Lesson 8: Your Schema Helps You to Choose Books
You have a lot of knowledge in your mind about hobbies, experiences, movies you
have seen, sports, and much more.
Below, write down as many of your interests as possible. I am
setting the timer for three minutes. This is a free write, so don’t stop writing! Do not
write outside this box for three minutes!
Schema
Which type of book seems more exciting to you?
Fiction (stories)
Non-Fiction (Informational book)
I think I would enjoy reading a ________________________________ book about:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Schema Continuation:
#1: Schema Lists:
The next thing you can perhaps do with your class is a Schema List. I got this idea
from Tanny McGregor. Choose one topic your students have prior knowledge
about, and then choose one they do not know much about at all. Have students
brainstorm a list of details that goes along with the topic. Since my students are
Floridians, we can bring up a theme park like Busch Gardens (which is local) or Walt
Disney World. We can also bring up the beach, seeing we are near the Gulf of
Mexico.
A topic my students most likely will not know much about is a small city in another
part of the state or another state, like Amsterdam, New York. I would stick to places
if the first topic you chose was a place. I would also choose a place I knew about,
but my students did NOT know about. (If a student happens to know about a place,
it will likely only be one or two students.) I could then explain that my family lived in
Fort Johnson, a fort constructed in the 1700s. I have been there and toured the fort,
explaining to the guide I am a descendent of one who lived there.
You can do restaurants instead (or in addition). You can choose one like
McDonalds (which the majority of students have dined at) and then perhaps a
restaurant in another region of the country.
#2: Suitcase Schema:
I can go farther to discuss packing for vacations—and how that relates to schema.
Ask students what kinds of vacations they have been on—and in which seasons.
Has anyone been skiing? Has anyone been to the Florida Keys? Has anyone
traveled out of the country? Have you packed for a few days at a theme park like
Disney? Discuss what people would have to pack if they went to those places—and
what would be different if you were packing for Key West vs. Disney World.
Mini Lesson 9: Knowing Books that Appeal to You
(Book Swap)
Instructions: You will be receiving five books through a Book Swap. Your teacher will
choose them in advance, and they will be swapped around the room. Write down
the title and author of each book, and then rate each book from 1 (I will definitely
not read this) to 5 (I am certainly going to read this book).
Name of book
Author
Rating
1-I will definitely
not read this.
2-I will most likely
not read this.
3-Maybe I will try
this one
sometime.
4-Most likely I will
check this book
out sometime.
5-I am certainly
going to read this
book.
Book 1-
Book 2-
Book 3-
Book 4-
Book 5-
Are there books aside from these that you are interested in checking out
from our classroom library? If so, write the titles below:
Mini-Lesson 10: How do you keep your chapter book and
journal organized?
What can you do to organize your chapter book and reading journal? I am going
to incorporate duct tape bags this year. Students will cover a large Ziploc zipper
bag with neat rows of duct tape and keep their bag in their backpacks to transport
their chapter book and journal every day. Instruct students that they should have
NOTHING else in those bags.
As for the reader’s response journals, I am going to include blank books (not the
diary type) on my class supply list. The journal pages can have some color, but they
should be mainly lines and not overly decorated. They are a motivator for students.
If students do not bring in a blank book, then they are going to receive a
composition book.
Along with making the bags, students will learn how to keep a table of contents at
the front of their journal and how to number the pages at the bottom right corner.
Soon, they are going to learn how to write journal entries in their books.
Explain to your students when they check out books from your classroom library, the
school library, or the county library, they are held accountable for the books. Students
should keep the books neat and not written on with pencil or pen. The pages should
not be bent. If a book is returned destroyed (or is missing), the student who borrowed
the book will be held accountable. A book should never be crammed in a desk.
Here is where I make checking out available to the students. I explain how the library is
organized and how I expect it to remain throughout the year. Here are a few pictures
of how my books are organized.
These are my expectations for my classroom library:
1.
Books are returned in the best condition after they are read.
2. Books are placed in the correct bins.
3. Books are placed upright and not backwards, upside-down, or sideways.
4. No pieces of scrap paper or pencil shavings should be in the book bins.
Nothing should be in the book bins besides the books themselves.
Mini-Lessons 11-13: Reading Closely: Text Features
What is the purpose of text features? I can name certain text features and
understand why the author decided to include those text features with the text.
Students have their new journals, transport bags, and have delved into their book
choices a bit. They are going to start learning about text features because even their
journals will have text features (they will cut photocopied sheets every once in a while
to enhance their entries).
Knowing text features is critically important. It is going to help your students
to be stronger at journaling when they begin. Having a few hands-on experiences with
text features is going to help them to remember when they spot specific text features in
their books and magazine articles.
#1: Ask students what the world would be without text features. Take out a small packet
of text without any pictures or text enhancements. Then bring out a magazine article.
Make sure the text for both is around the same length—or ideally, the same article. Ask
students to discuss with their reading partner which they would rather read—and why.
Good examples of articles are: “Can Eating Bugs Save the Planet?”, “Tracking a
Twister”, and “The Hunter of the Hunted?” from Scholastic SuperScience. Hopefully the
author’s use of illustrations and text features helps you to understand why I chose these
articles.
From there, define what the different kinds of text
features are, and tell your students that they are going to
see many examples with this lesson.
I would start pointing out text features in a book and
then a few magazine articles on the Elmo.
For the book, I would start with a book like the National
Geographic Kids Almanac, a book that is bound to have
a plethora of text features like sidebars, titles and
subtitles, illustrations, captions, maps, and charts.
I would then use magazine articles from any of the Scholastic, TIME for Kids, Weekly
Reader, or National Geographic Explorer magazines. One neat resource I have are two
of the same article, “Coral Reef Rescue”-- one in our TIME for Kids anthology from the
Macmillan Treasures reading series and then the other in the TIME for Kids magazine
from November 10, 2006. However, different text features were used—which makes for
an interesting lesson!
#2: Next, model how to use “Search and Find” with a leveled reader that is rich with
text features.
Search and Find from Mosaic Listserv:
http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/Text%20Features%20Search.pdf
After modeling how to fill out the chart in front of the class, have students work in
partners or trios to analyze the text features in another leveled reader.
#3: The third mini-lesson is about the purpose text features serve. Photocopy an article
with just the text features and not the text. It is preferable to get a feature-rich article
that is written above grade level. Leave the gaps for students to take notes about what
they learned from the features. Ask students what they believe the article is about.
Follow with another article where you just have the text features as well. After students
have discussed both, tell them that the articles were at a higher level. Even if the words
were there in front of you, the text features could have still informed you about what
was going on in the article.
After the mini-lesson is over, students can make a text features poster using older pages
from magazines. They can cut out the text features in groups of 3 or 4 and label them.
The photo below is from a few years ago; I think it is actually better to focus on the text
features from one article rather than an entire magazine. The lesson took quite some
time, and the quality was not what I exactly desired, but it was my first time trying the
lesson. Students can think deeper about text features from one article. Also not to cut
up magazines that can be of use to you in the classroom, you can use photocopied
articles from a book like The Source Book of Short Text from The Comprehension Toolkit
by Stephanie Harvey.
Mini-Lessons 14-18: Using Sticky Notes to Document Your
Reading
Post-It notes have to be introduced in your reading classroom in the first month of
school. They serve numerous purposes. Students need to understand that thinking
about reading is a constant process, not one that just takes place AFTER reading. It
is important to make predictions or inferences towards the beginning of reading.
Students also need to understand the KIND of thinking that should take place on Post-It
notes. Students should not just place a Post-It note next to a picture of a golden
retriever and label it “Aww!” or “Adorable dog!”
#1: Since I just covered text features, I would first use Post-It notes for a short lesson that
revolved around text features. Explain to your students that the notes are wonderful for
non-fiction AND fiction—and can help you to discuss your reading or write a journal
reflection about text. Have students go through an article in partners while sitting in the
meeting area. Hand the partners 10 Post-It notes. Give them about 10 minutes to go
through the article and reflect on the author’s use of text features. Preferably, give
about three different articles out to the class so the discussion does not fall flat
afterward—and multiple groups contribute to the discussion.
#2: The second Post-It note lesson revolves around teacher modeling of reading a
chapter book. It should be a book with an invigorating first chapter or first five pages. I
like the introduction of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner or the first few chapters of
Loser by Jerry Spinelli. Model your inferences and questions about characters and
events as you read. Make sure you read in advance—and perhaps even write the PostIt notes in advance.
Remember, it is good to write notes that start with “thinking stems” like these:
This reminds
me of….
What may
happen next is…
I wonder
why…
Make sure you do not read more than 10 minutes. You want to keep the pace up—and
not lose sight of your lesson. Then on chart paper (do this in advance for now), show
your students how Post-It note-taking transfers to a descriptive journal entry.
If you want to extend the lesson to a partner activity, hand out a printed first chapter of
a book. I write children’s books, so this is fairly easy for me. Hand partners about 8-10
Post-It notes as well to “document” their thinking.
#3: Today is where students pull out their reader’s response journals. Have them model
Post-It thinking while reading their chapter book (or the first chapter of a chapter book;
place these out in advance in case students claim they do not have anything to read).
Explain to your students that Post-It thinking is something you do not have to go through
with constantly—yet it is something you should do over the course of reading (and not
just at one part of a story).
Continue this for two more mini-lesson periods to help students carry out the process
farther. Discuss after 15 minutes both days. This set of mini-lessons is going to easily make
way for Inferencing.
Mini-Lessons 19-20 (or 21): Thick vs. Thin Questions
Questioning is important as you read. However, you have to question a specific way
to really prove you understand what you are reading.
I first learned about Thick vs. Thin Questioning from Beth Newingham’s website.
Her website featuring thick vs. thin questioning:
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/thick_or_thin.htm
I like how she compares “thick” and “thin” to sandwiches. At the beginning of the
lesson, you can take out two sandwiches: one with one piece of meat on two slices
of Wonder bread—and the other one a Publix sub (or whatever delectable subs are
served near you; Publix is a popular grocery store in Florida and Georgia).
When you look at the two types of questions, thick questions always lead to a strong
discussion. More than one inference can be shared. Yet with thin questions, there is
always one correct answer—and conversation falls flat.
State testing asks thick questions—questions that require you to do more than
locate an answer. Thick questions require you to make sense of what you are
reading. For example: Why did an author choose a specific word in a description?
How did the author show that ____ was a brave character? How did the author
show through his choice of words that it was a terrible situation?
I like how Beth has a basket where students can ask thick questions about a specific
story. She includes hers in her daily read-aloud so students can better recognize
them.
Here is an article I enjoy using: Mighty Krakatoa and Mt. St. Helens by Alexis Burling. I
have it in my classroom Storyworks collection from when I subscribed. (It is primarily
for the skill of comparing and contrasting-- and I use it again for that purpose.) She
includes files on her website, so here is the link:
Mighty Krakatoa and Mt. St. Helens
http://alexisburling.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/stw_yt_krakatoa-and-mt-saint-helensnovdec09.pdf
You can use one of the articles for questioning—or both. If you use both, do it over
the course of two days. I like Alexis’ word choice and focus on that a lot with my
questioning. Here are the questions I ask and the think-alouds I model to my
students during this lesson (bold words are emphasized in my speech):
Mighty Krakatoa:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Think-Aloud: Mighty Krakatoa: Mighty
means strong, and I know that Krakatoa is
a volcano that erupted over 100 years
ago. It says before I read the article the
explosion was felt around the world. I don’t
think everyone felt it, but it seemed like it. It
must have had a tremendous force!
Q: Strange noises were made since March.
Why do you think this was so?
Q: Why did Alexis Burling use the words
“pop” and “BOOM” to describe the
volcano’s eruption? What other words
were used in that same paragraph
(paragraph 2) to describe the eruption?
Q: Krakatoa was once a “sleeping giant”,
and now it was awake. What do you think
that means?
Think-Aloud: People had all kinds of
reactions, and it said all those efforts were
useless.
Q: How does Alexis describe the morning
of the eruption in the second-to-last
paragraph? (Note for you: She used
personification in that paragraph!)
Q: At the end, Alexis mentioned “Anak
Krakatoa”. Why?
Mt. St. Helens:
•
•
•
•
•
Think-Aloud: Since this volcano erupted
more recently, hundreds of lives were
saved before the eruption. Over the
years, we have gotten more and more
technology. Over 100 years ago, there
was barely any “technology” at all.
Q: The forest, bridges, and roads were
“reduced to a sea of smoldering ash”.
Why do you think Alexis used these words
to describe the damage?
Q: In the second paragraph, can you
find an example of order of events?
Explain.
Q: Why do you think there were so many
curious tourists watching for the eruption?
Q: What words did Alexis use to describe
the eruption in the last two paragraphs?
Alexis also has other short articles you can discuss here:
http://alexisburling.com/classroom-magazines/grades-3-6/
You can then show the article with Post-It notes, copied twice, with notes that have
thick questions/inferences and notes with thin questions/inferences. Students need
to see the difference so they do not write thin thoughts on Post-It notes. Examples of
“thin” notes are:
• “That’s a huge volcano!”
• “I wouldn’t want to be near that volcano!”
• “Wow!”
• “That’s an awesome drawing!”
• “I wouldn’t want trees falling down on and by my car!”
Yeah, you get the gist.
One more mini-lesson I would do with questioning is model it with a picture book. I
am sticking to a book Stephanie Harvey recommends in The Comprehension
Toolkit: How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting.
It is from Stephanie’s “Follow Your Inner Conversation”
lesson. By going to
http://comprehensiontoolkit.com/samples/01LessonP3.pdf, you
can read her modeling (and hopefully feel enticed to
purchase the toolkit because it is an essential classroom
resource). The purpose of her lesson is: “Model your
inner conversation as you read aloud and leave tracks
of your thinking on Post-Its. Review your Post-Its and
label what you’re thinking and doing as you read.”
The lesson takes 1-2 days, depending on how in-depth
you go with it.
Mini-Lesson 21: Making Strong Inferences from Pictures
An inference is a prediction about a story’s events, characters, mood,
etc. Analyzing pictures can help you to make awesome inferences.
There are some wonderful picture books for “storytelling”—one of my
favorites is The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The book encourages students
to analyze facial expressions, what is going on in the background of
pictures, and action, despite there not being any words. The first part of
the book introduces the setting and the predicament. Model inferencing
for your students to better understand the skill.
You can also make inferences with The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris
Van Allsburg.
Mini-Lesson 22: Making Strong Inferences from Text
An inference is a prediction about a story’s events, characters, mood, etc. Reading
a story or article closely helps you to make awesome inferences.
This is where writing from me comes in—my first attempt at a children’s novel,
Second Chances. Ask your students, in partnerships, to make sense of the flashback
I referenced for the first few pages.
Making Inferences with Fiction
September 29, 2006
It was a typical Thursday at Wadesboro Elementary School, so typical that
it blended into every other day I had ever spent at school. Mrs. Wilkins was my
second-grade teacher, and she was always really considerate to us, no matter
how traumatic a situation we caused. However, things would change
completely that day, particularly between my best friend Seth Morgan and me.
Seth was not the typical second grade boy. He had dark brown hair and
thick glasses. He was also a lot smaller than the rest of the boys in our class. It
seemed as if every boy towered at least a foot over him. His voice was also very
high and possessed a nasal quality. Yet what made him stand out even more
was that he was a complete brainiac for his age, reading on at least a fifth
grade level. While everyone toiled through Horrible Harry and Time Warp Trio
books, he would sit and read books way beyond his age. His favorite of all was
Johnny Tremain. He could multiply and divide really well, and he was fascinated
with science. When he grew up, he wanted to become a crypto zoologist, while
I was completely fascinated at the time with becoming a race car driver. Yet
even though Seth and I seemed incredibly different, we possessed a lot of
similarities. We met through our fathers before kindergarten because they both
worked in carpentry. They got around to talking when my dad mentioned that I
was already reading, and Seth’s dad chuckled, mentioning that he had been
reading just before he turned four. We then met of course, and the rest was
history.
However on that fateful Thursday, we were on the swings, discussing the
rules of chess. Seth enjoyed playing with his father, and I appreciated a lot of
what he did, even though I was not as brilliant. All of a sudden, Dillon Randall
and Patrick Delmar came marching up to us. Patrick grabbed at Seth’s glasses
and vengefully snapped them in half. Dillon then followed Patrick and knocked
Seth out of the swing with great force. Seth began bawling his eyes out, and the
two boys persisted even more. I just sat there, appalled on the inside but not
displaying much emotion on the outside. I was speechless. Suddenly Dillon
swung on his heels and blurted out to me, “Are you actually going to keep
hanging out with this dork?”
My mouth was as dry as the Sahara Desert, and if they would have poked
me in any way, I probably would have bawled my eyes out. Seth’s eyes were
brimming with tears, glancing pleadingly in my direction. He may have been
thinking, Please, set them straight, yet I was numb from head to toe. I did not
want to be in Seth’s predicament and a crowd began surrounding us (as well as
Mrs. Wilkins), so I blurted out the first thing my preposterous mind told me to say“No, Dillon. I am not going to be his friend anymore.”
It was like Pandora’s Box had opened at that moment. Seth was
devastated with his mouth hanging open. His lip with quivering and he began
shaking from head to toe. I was even more devastated that I betrayed him. Yet I
could never take that moment back; I had to move on. Dillon and Patrick were
beaming with delight that I had caused harm to my best friend. A few
particularly mean kids, one named Jordan and another named Brent, began
clapping. Seth then ran for his life.
Mrs. Wilkins broke up the fight and hauled the two instigators down to the
front office on their heels. Seth was escorted by a girl named Emily to the
guidance office. She was a kind, quiet spirit who cared about everyone in her
class. She consoled him while I sat in the swing like a complete fool. An
extremely introverted boy named Jonathan than looked at me and snarled,
“Good going. You hurt your best friend.” He then disappeared when another
second grade teacher, Ms. Morrow, gathered our class to bring us inside. I
followed reluctantly, struck, eventually out to become sort of an outcast.
The thing was, we boys had so much to hide. I really wanted to tell Seth
that I was sorry, but over time, that desire faded. Dillon was also really intelligent,
though he never wanted to admit it to everybody. He had seemed fine up until
that point, back in kindergarten and first grade. Patrick was the instigator of all,
very harsh and controlling of all his friends. Nobody wanted to have him on their
bad side, though perhaps Patrick also had something to hide.
It would be almost by fate that this entire crowd reunited for fourth grade.
Our somewhat unfortunate teacher, Mrs. Farley, had Seth, Dillon, Patrick, Emily,
Jonathan, Jordan, and myself on her roster. I am sure she was half mortified at
first and asking the front office to remove at least one of the two bullies from her
class. Yet everything progressed, and at Open House, I was staring at Mrs.
Farley’s fourth grade class list including all our names.
Make 5-8 “thick” inferences from this text. What can you gather from the
description of the characters and plot?
Afterthoughts Regarding Inferences:
Inferences go a little farther with the “backpack” lesson, adapted from Tanny
McGregor’s trash lesson. I pack a bag with approximately 8-10 items to have
students make inferences about the “person who owns the backpack”. I also have
four other backpacks where students will determine (when I read a description)
which “student” “owns” which backpack. Some backpacks will be “organized”
while others will not. At the end of the lesson, we discuss how we made inferences
and how making them helps us to be better readers.
Mini-Lessons 23-27: Expectations during Reading
Conferences
Every week to week and a half, I will conference with you about your independent
reading. What do I expect during reading conferences?
This short series of mini-lessons will model expectations for a one-on-one reading
conference. For the first mini-lesson, you need to choose a chapter book, modeling
Post-It notes from the first chapter with a journal entry. Bridge to Terabithia is my
choice, though it is totally up to you.
Model notes from a few comprehension strategies over
the course of the next few days. I use CAFÉ strategies
and a few others as well. Keep a list of strategies your
students can address when they meet with you at the
back table for their very first conference. I start with
three easy strategies (a very simple menu of options) so
students do not feel overwhelmed.
Strategy #1: Playing Mind Movies (CAFD:
Make a picture or mental image)
Mini-Lesson #23: (2 days: 1 day of reading the first
chapter, 1 day of modeling) My favorite strategy of all is
playing mind movies, which works well for the first and
second chapters of the book when the author focused on running. When I focus on
mind movies, I look at how the author addressed the five senses—so I look at how
anticipation was built up from the first few paragraphs to where Jess was beat by
Leslie in the footrace. I show students my Post-It notes and journal entry using the
projecting device at the front of the classroom using the thinking stem, “The
strategy I used during my reading is: _______________”.
Mini-Lesson #24/25: (2 days: 1 day of reading the first chapter, 1 day of modeling)
Another VERY good read for mind movies is Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, which
is a good choice for modeling the next day. I have the Post-It notes and journal
again, but this time at the back table. I am modeling being a student for five
minutes with a student playing the role of “teacher” (reading a script I wrote for him
or her). I will explain how playing mind movies, strategy #1, aided in my
understanding of the first few chapters of Dragon Rider.
Strategy #2: Ask Questions throughout Reading
Mini-Lesson #26/27: (2 days: 1 day of reading the first chapter (“Me and Darrell
Sikes”), 1 day of modeling) This CAFÉ strategy was already modeled a few days ago
in a recent mini-lesson, so I model this again as a “sample conference” with the text
Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell. Sahara is obviously encountering a challenging
time. Questioning can be about why her dad left and what she has written about in
her plethora of letters. Sahara is angry and attracting a lot of attention from her
principal—and her mother is angry because she almost feels like she is “losing” her
daughter. Students who have encountered this challenge in their lives will be able
to relate to this lesson well—and perhaps they will be able to develop Post-It notes
to aid in my model “conference”.
The following day, as the student playing my role and I “converse”, the class can
see how a sample conference goes once again. Remind them that two strategies
for beginning of the year conferencing have been reviewed so far: Mind Movies and
Ask Questions Throughout Reading.
Strategy #3: Infer and Support with Evidence
Mini-Lesson #28/29: (2 days: 1 day of reading the first chapter, 1 day of modeling)
The choice for this last text is another relatable one: Joey Pigza Loses Control by
Jack Gantos. The story starts with a situation where Joey’s emotions go haywire—
where his dad makes an ultimatum that he will not be using his patches for his ADHD
any longer. A lot of inferences can be drawn from the dialogue between Joey and
his father. In some instances, students may know how Joey feels because they
could have encountered a similar situation.
The following day will be the last model conference before I let students read for
three days for their mini-lesson (mini-lessons 30-32). Students will choose one of the
three strategies to prepare for their first conference. They will only be allowed to use
one of the strategies.
Mini-Lessons #33-34: For two days, six students (three each day) have conferences
before their classmates in the meeting area. I will not be scripted—and neither will
they, so we may falter here and there. One other student will be in charge of using
the class timer for five minutes to make sure we meet for no longer than that time
allotment. Another student will video record the conference to watch back later—
for the student and I to use as a learning experience. I meet with the six students in
advance—after monitoring their reading closely for the past three days—and
explain to them what the “model meeting” will entail.
Mini-Lesson 35: Writing a Book Review
We have a book review display on the wall. What do I expect from you when you
write a book review?
This is the last “beginning of the year” mini-lesson. Post-It note-taking, journaling,
book choices, and conferencing procedures have been established. It should be
around the fifth or sixth week of school by now.
I model what I expect on large index cards. I have examples from former students
on display.
Student Name:
Book Name:
Author:
Stars Rewarded: (up to five)
Summary:
I model strong summaries and weak summaries (all written by me so as to not
humiliate any former students’ work). Students will not write reviews today, yet they
are preparing to at this rate.