Helping Young Students Pick Good Fit Books for Independent Reading

This year I am having my intervention students take just right leveled books from my classroom library weekly. Many of their classrooms are filled with books that are far above their reading level, so I hope access to books at their level will encourage them to read more!

I was recently introduced to the IPICK system, and I think it works well:

I- I look through the book.
P- Purpose? Why are you choosing a book? Does this book best fit the purpose?
I- Am I interested?
C- Can I comprehend it?
K- Do I know MOST of the words?

The only component missing is stamina/endurance- does the student have the stamina to read the entire book? I like to talk to my students about this as well.

See video for an explanation:


Here's the small sign I created to hang over my library for student reference (feel free to use!!):

IPICK -

Students have really enjoyed taking 5 different books home weekly, in addition to the books they can check out from their library or from their class. This simple system has changed my room from reading intervention class, to a place to discover books. It has certainly created more motivation to read for these young students already.

Be well! Read on! Enjoy these first days of school! I'm heading into week 7 already?!

Lessons from the King's Speech: Become More Fluent with Phrased Reading

Sadly, I had this post ready to go a few weeks ago...and blogger had a blackout for a couple of days and I lost 90% of this pre-drafted post (What was that about anyways?). So now I'm going to give it another go...but I don't think there's any possibility it can be as wonderful as the initial post.

My husband and I finally watched the King's Speech this weekend. In the movie King George IV employs this absolutely eccentric speech therapist to deal with his debilitating stuttering problems. It's a wonderful movie. Every teacher (or parent) out there should see it, it's very inspiring.

Some of the teaching strategies this renegade speech therapist used were clutch (as my bball loving husband is fond of saying...). I noticed the the speech therapist encouraged the King to speak in phrases. Towards the end of the film he marks up the King's speech with line break and underlines key words to emphasize. The therapist used one of my favorite fluency building strategies- phrased reading.

Phrasing text is something I learned about in grad school from The Fluent Reader by Rasinski. I have used this fluency-building strategy time and time again with poor readers, which encourages them to read in meaningful phrases, improving overall fluency and comprehension.

What is Phrased Reading?
Phrased reading is simply breaking any text up into meaningful phrases, usually using hash marks to denote the beginning or ending of a phrase.

Why use Phrased Reading? Which students need this strategy?? 
Short Answer: Students with poor comprehension or fluency, and your English Language Learners.

I use phrased reading with my readers that cannot read in meaningful phrases. You know the students- they read waaay too fast or waaay too slow, they shoot through punctuation without so much as a hello, or they are expressionless when reading a text brimful of personality. These are the students that are merely decoding the text. Students that are not reading in phrases will have a hard time comprehending what they're reading. Phrased reading encourages these students to break the text up according to meaning.

Many English Language Learners need explicit instruction for fluency. Knowing when to naturally take pauses in English will improve your ELLs fluency and comprehension. For ELL students it's important that you include explicit instruction on how to break text into phrases. It's also key that you do a lot of modeling before you have the students practice this strategy independently. Kids jump at the chance to phrase text because it's fun. Just make sure they have seen you model it several times before they try it on their own- especially your ELL students.

You can use this fluency-building strategy with kids of all ages. I use it successfully with students in grades 3-5. My husband, a high school English teacher, taught his 10th graders how to phrase text.

How Do you Phrase Text?
See the example below. There isn't an exact science to phrasing text. You add hash marks (or any mark that works for you) when there's a natural pause.

I also like to explain it this way-- "We'll put marks in the text where we take little pauses. After we add the hash marks, we'll group the words together in between the hash marks. Everything from one hash mark to the next is a phrase- so we should group those words together as one idea." Communicating this concept is important so your students understand that they're not practicing pausing throughout a text, but that they are learning group words together into meaningful phrases.

Text Phrasing Example:

Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein

There is a place/ where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,/
And there/ the grass grows soft and white,/
And there/ the sun burns/ crimson bright,
And there/ the moon-bird rests/ from his flight/
To cool/ in the peppermint wind.//

Let us leave this place/ where the smoke blows black/
And the dark street winds/ and bends.//
Past the pits/ where the asphalt flowers grow/
We shall walk/ with a walk/ that is measured/ and slow,/
And watch/ where the chalk-white arrows go/
To the place/ where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk/ with a walk/ that is measured/ and slow,/
And we'll go/ where the chalk-white arrows go,/
For the children,/ they mark,/ and the children,/ they know
The place/ where the sidewalk ends.//

Phrased Reading Teaching Tips
While the teaching trenches I've developed some ways I personally like to teach phrased reading. Here's what I've got for you:

• Use poetry! There are a lot of natural line breaks, and it helps students understand the concept of reading in phrases.
• Copy a page from a text your students are already reading, adding hash marks to the text.
• Using light pencil marks, phrase the text in your books- kids LOVE this!
• Make sure you emphasize that you are grouping the words together between the hash marks, and not merely pauses at the hash marks.
• Use the model of gradual release when teaching this strategy: Model first. Try phrasing a text with the kids. Then have the kids try it on their own. Of a 3 stanza a poem, I model on the first stanza, get their help on the second, and have them try it independently on the third.
• Phrase a text weekly! Kids will get the hang of it quickly- it can even be used as a center activity.
• Steer kids away from taking HUGE, dramatic breaths at the hash marks. Many students are inclined to UP the drama...so try to prevent it with a little pre-teaching.
• Use a quick rubric to assess your students fluency on a given text before the phrased reading lesson. Then have your students reread the same text, and reassess their fluency using the same rubric.
• Give the students the rubric and ask them to grade themselves pre-phrased text and post-phrased text. You can also have your students partner up to assess each other.

Follow these links for more phrased reading goodness!!
5 Surefire Strategies for Developing Reading Fluency
Learning About Phrases to Improve Fluency and Comprehension
Phrase Craze

More about phrased reading:
th

Rasinsky, the fluency guru, speaks:

Be Well! Read On! And check out The King's Speech- you'll be a better teacher for it.

Reconnecting to Community Literacy, Part 2

I visited Harbor House again this week to read aloud to a group of K-1 students. The visit was brief (I had to get to a celebration for my hubby, who finished his masters in composition this week-woot woot for him!), but the read aloud time with the kids was just lovely!

The book I read this week was Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo, Illustrated by Laura Regan. I found it at my public library last week, and I'm so glad I did- I love it, my toddler loves it, and the K-1 students couldn't get enough of it today! They asked me if I could read it again to them next week- oh they're such sweeties!

I choose this book at the libray because it is a true story about a penguin that lives at the California Academy of Sciences, a fabulous museum in San Francisco that houses an entire colony of African Penguins.

Before I read the book to the little wigglers I asked them what they knew about penguins. I was impressed with their collective store of background knowledge- especially because this is a diverse group of youngsters, a few can't speak English yet.

This is what the kids knew (or thought they knew) about penguins:

• They waddle (I was especially impressed that a 1st grader used the word waddle, so I asked her to demonstrate a waddle for all to see)
• They live in the north pole with santa
• They like to live where it's very cold- in the ice
• They like to stand on ice. (I think she said icee, but I helped her out)
• They slide on their bellies and swim in the water (hmmm, reminds me of the cover picture)

This book instantly intrigued these little ones because it begins by dealing with their assumptions about penguins- these penguins don't like ice, but like it warmer.

In the book, Pam, an aquatic biologist, helps to problem solve when Pierre began losing his feathers. She makes a penguin-sized wetsuit, so that Pierre can swim in the cold water with his fellow penguins.

The book is short and informative, and it rhymes all the way through. I love the way the book is playful, but educational at the same time. There is also a Q and A section with Pam the Biologist at the end. It is simply cute! Your K-2 aged little people will love Pierre and especially his custom-made wetsuit.

And if you live in the Bay Area and know the California Academy of Sciences- you must check out this book.

See Part 1 of Reconnecting to Community Literacy here.

I'm linking this post up to Facts First! Nonfiction Monday:

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Great Kids Books.

Read on!

Read Alouds Online? Check out StoryBookOnline!

I love love love Read Alouds. Here's why:

• Read Alouds are enjoyable (entertaining) for kids of all ages
• They encourage a love of reading- who wouldn't love cuddling up and hearing a good story?
• Kids are able to listen to text above their reading level which helps them to learn new vocabulary and improve listening comprehension
• Reading Alouds improve fluency. When kids hear competent readers read, they learn how to read out loud well and began to mimic the master reader's expression, intonation, rate, phrasing, etc... 
• Read Alouds engage students that struggle with reading 
• Reading a chapter book (non picture book), can help transitional readers build confidence- so they feel ready to tackle chapter books independently
• They widen students' perspectives and build background knowledge
• Read Alouds are especially essential for non-native speakers for all the reasons mentioned above
• They are an excellent way to teach/introduce a complex subject. I especially love using read alouds to teach middle/high schoolers about history. There are moving picture books about Hiroshima, the Japanese Internment in the US, affects of radiation, civil rights, slavery, etc...

Check out Storyline Online to hear quality picture books read by members of the screen actors guild. I discovered this site a couple of months ago. My students like using this site at home to listen to the books online. Many of my students' parents do not speak English, so this is a great way for them to build their fluency, background knowledge, and vocabulary.


Here's a couple way to use this site:

• You can sit with your student/child as they listen to these books online. Then you can have a conversation about what they read. What did the characters learn? Did this remind them of another book (why?)? What was the most important part of the story? What questions do you have after reading?
• If you're a teacher, you can use this as a listening center in your classroom.
• Have your child/student listen to these books independently. Talk to them about the stories afterwards. 
• Have your child/students read the stories multiple times.
• Turn the volume off, and have your child/students retell the story in their own words.
• Turn the captions on; this helps with word learning! Seeing the words at the bottom of the screen AND hearing them read is an excellent way to build a student's vocabulary.
• Use the provided activities to extend learning.

What are your favorite books to read aloud?

Read On!

Reading Comprehension with Ease: The Click/Clunk Strategy

Teaching comprehension can be daunting. It requires that students have a toolbox of reading skills in place, and that these skills function seamlessly. When one of these skills lacks (vocabulary, fluency ability, conceptual reasoning), understanding the text can be challenging for the student/child.

Many poor readers struggle with monitoring their comprehension while they're reading. Good readers, like you and me, do this naturally. When we're confused- we question the text, reread the paragraph, or even go to a second source to find more information. Poor readers are not always aware when they need to reread for clarification, and they may be unsure when or how to ask a question when they're confused.

I came across a brilliant comprehension strategy on Intervention Central earlier this year called Click or Clunk. I've been using this strategy all year (with great success), and many teachers at my school have also started using it.

When the child has read a page/paragraph/chapter (or when I have read a portion of text out loud) we stop and I ask them to Click or Clunk. Students say Click when they understand what they read, and Clunk if they're confused. If they say Click, they retell what was read. If they say Clunk, they ask a question that will help them to clarify the text.

This is so simple, yet so empowering for kids.

Here's why it works so well:

• The kids that understand the text synthesize the material for the other students- which is good for the "clickers" and the "clunkers".
• Students that think they understand the text (but don't), are pushed to explain their thinking. Usually this process helps them to realize their misconceptions- which, in turn, helps them to more fully understand the text.
• All students are eager to help each other understand the text and usually answer each others questions really well.
• "Clunkers" learn how and when to ask questions while they read. They learn how to explain their thinking.
• Students pay better attention to the text when they are asked to share so specifically.
• It's easy! Kids can easily do it independently!
• Kids like it! My students ask to do Click or Clunk, even when I don't have it scheduled into the lesson.
• It gets students talking A LOT more (and the teacher talking a lot less). When students are truly interacting with text in a lively discussion- they comprehend a whole lot more!
• Did I mention that it gets the kids talk A LOT more??!

How I use Click/Clunk:

• I use this in small group (3-5 students) discussion in reading sessions with my students. But you could easily use it whole class.
• Some days I have students get into pairs. Students switch off reading. At the end of every page, each student Click or Clunks.
• I use it as an exit ticket at the end of my reading session with the students.
• I made comprehension cards with different comprehension strategies- one is labeled for monitoring with Click/Clunk. It reminds the students to retell for Click and ask a clarifying question for Clunk. Despite the simplicity of the activity, my student really like have the card in their hands to help remind them how to Click/Clunk.
• I try not to do any talking. I choose the first student to talk, and then they call on each other. This takes me out of the conversation (for the most part), and helps the kids to have a healthy discussion on their own.

Teachers, I hope you get a chance to try this with your students! Parents, I think you could easily try this at home with your elementary aged kids. The more you get your student/child to talk about what they're reading, the better. This interactive and simple way of comprehending text is a little less daunting- for both the student and the teacher!

Read On!