Restating the Question

Restating the Question

Today I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Castetter's 4th grade classroom and do a lesson on restating the question when writing your answer. We began the lesson by connecting to the the YES! MAAM! Our focus was on just the first M--Me--Repeat key words from the question and provide a general answer. 

We started with reviewing the anchor chart and using turn and talks as we came up with the answer and practiced putting it in a sentence. 

Students then went back to their seats and we practiced getting our thoughts on paper. Students were asked to write two answers to questions and then we flipped the task and students were asked to write the question when given the answer! 

Below are student examples--We did questions 1 and 3 together as a class. Questions 2 and 4 were done independently and then students shared their answers. 

                                                                

Close Reading with Google Classroom Integration

Close Reading

Over the past week, I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Hochstedler's room and continue our work on close reading. Instead of a nursery rhyme, we used the book, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. This particular texts is great to use for so many different comprehension skills. The first day of this lesson focused in depth on characters, setting, and sequencing with the integration of using Google Classroom. We spent time showing students how to join the class, where to access items posted by the teacher, and how to turn in the assignment. The students were given a Google Slide where they had the opportunity to type and move pictures to sequence the story!

Here is the original teacher doc:

Add caption

Here is a student document after we completed the task:

On day two, we reviewed phase one, but turned our focus on phase 2 and phase 3. Since our focus was on reading comprehension and underlining words that we didn't know the meaning of, I was the reading voice for the students. As I read, students underlined words that they didn't know the meaning of. After we finished, a student would say a word, and then myself or a friend would clarify the meaning of the word.

Student Sample 1:

Student Sample 2:

 Our final stage of close reading focused on two questions, "Why do you think the animals helped the witch?" and "What happened next after the witch made the truly magnificent broom?" Answers to question 1 included: The animals were kind. The animals thought the witch was a good witch and wanted to help her. The answers to the second question included: "The witch dropped her cauldron and another animal helped pick it up." and "The animals continued to save the witch from the dragon."

Slide for Phase 1: Room on the Broom Phase 1 (Please just make a copy if this is something you would like to use in your classroom)

Copy for Close Read:

1st Grade Lexia Data Lesson

Lexia Data in First Grade

Today I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Kiel's first grade classroom. Our focus today was taking a look at our Lexia Data. First we talked about what levels first grade students should complete by the end of the year. I broke it down even further for them and set goals as to which levels they should be working on during the beginning of the year, mid year, and end of the year. From months August through October they should pass level 6, from months November to February they should pass level 8, and from March to May students should complete level 9. I had each student look at what level they were working on and color it in on their Lexia Data Graph. 

As a school we talk a lot about getting our minutes in, so today we talked about gaining those units throughout the week. Students in her room were unaware how they gained those units, so I explained that to get a unit they must fill up their blue bar across the bottom.Working with Mrs. Kiel, we set a goal for passing at least 8 units during the week. They were given a sheet where they can record their units gained each week for a month at a time! 

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Here are some of the students Data Sheets from our lesson today: 

             

Mrs. Kiel is putting these in their data binders. 

I have attached the images for first grade! I can send you the documents if that is something you would like to implement in your classroom! I can also change these to make them work for your grade level.