Writing Playground: Chalk Paper

Do you have any old sidewalk chalk laying around your house? Do you want to excite your students with a fun writing project? Try Chalk Paper!

Materials:

• White paper
• Tub of water larger than your paper
• Chalk
• Plastic knives

Instruct your kiddos how to handle the plastic knife in a safe way. I use to have my fifth grade students do this and at home my 4 year old, 6 year old, and 8 year old could all do this properly.

Have students take turns scraping chalk dust off of the chalk pieces onto the surface of the tub of water. Add different colors and create a film of colored chalk on the water surface.

 

Drop your paper onto the chalk dust and then quickly pick it up. Lay this paper out, chalk side up, to dry.

Older kids can help your younger ones with this step if needed. My daughters loved helping their little brother.

It was a beautiful day, so we laid ours out to dry on our picnic table. In the classroom, I laid them out on paper towels labeled with each kid’s name on a flat surface. They dry and look a little different, so labeling the paper towels helped identify which chalk paper belonged to which kid. You could even do this at home with multiple children.

Here’s what some of our dried papers looked like:

Then comes the fun part! In the elementary classroom, we used these to write poems on specifically. At home, my older children used them to write letters to friends and my four year old chose to stamp his name on the paper:

My kids ask to do this activity all the time. It doesn’t require a lot of supplies or time. Waiting for the papers to dry can be the most impatient part of the process.

Share your ideas in the comments on how you could use these marbleized papers in your classroom or at home with your own kids.

Happy Writing!

-Dr. Precise

Environmental Print

Environmental print consist of any letters or words your students or children see on a daily basis in their regular setting. My kids enjoy reading stop signs, exit signs, and any other sign that they see fairly regularly. Even reading cereal boxes, chip bags, and labels count as environmental print for encouraging young readers! Taking your child on a literacy walk can be done by seeking out environmental print and helping your child read these new words. Teachers can do this too anytime you are walking to recess or PE, you can stop your young students and allow them to read words they find on the walls. Taking along small clipboards or even tablets on these literacy walks indoors or outdoors, can also help students work in some writing. Journals would also be a neat place to keep these new words recorded and children could even illustrate their journals by drawing where they found the word on their literacy walk.

Photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya on Pexels.com

Pointing out words in our environment can be the first exposure to reading for some children.  They learn from an early age that words aren’t just for story books, but also for navigating their surroundings. Anytime we can connect literacy to our daily lives, young readers flourish.

Set a purpose for your walk:

Look for spelling words.
Studying verbs? Look for verbs.
Look for words from a recent story you’ve read together.
Search for new words.
Look for site words.
Find color words.

Now, grab your kids or students and go on a word walk!

Happy Walking!
Dr. Precise

#ReadingGoals: Comprehension for ALL

#ReadingGoals

I have been wanting to post an entry focused on secondary students and adults who are curious about updating and increasing their reading comprehension. At one time or another we have all struggled with understanding what we are reading. These #ReadingGoals steps will help focus any reader’s mind to better understand what they are reading. Here’s some tips:

While you read….

#1 Goal Focus: Set a PURPOSE

• Why am I reading this??
• How does this information benefit me??
• How can I use the information I’m gaining somewhere else in my life??

 

While you read….

Remember you have 2 voices in your head when you are reading:  

• Voice #1) reading the text
• Voice #2) having a conversation with the text

 

While you read, make sure you…

• VISUALIZE

##Create a mental image as your read##

• MAKE CONNECTIONS

Text-to-Self: How does what you are reading tie to your life, your experiences, and your knowledge?

Text-to-Text: How does this tie to something else you have read?

Text-to-World: How does this tie to something going on in our community?

• ASK QUESTIONS

What is that really saying?

What does that make me think of?

When you get Off Track:  

1) Identify where you lost track, go back, re-read. This takes some discipline, but you have to do it!

2) Make marginal notes while you read – make it fun: use a favorite pen, use mini sticky notes, use index cards, etc.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Now, go grab a new book and try out these strategies!

Happy Reading!

-Dr. Precise

How to make a GIFT BAG book

How to make a GIFT BAG BOOK

Making books in the classroom or at home is a great way to get kids excited about reading and writing. Children take joy in being the author! Use this tutorial to make a cute book that you can hang in the hallway at school or on your wall at home using … a gift bag!

Step 1: Gather your supplies.

Gift bag (any size/shape), paper, scissors, stapler

Step 2: Find the front of your bag and cut the right side and bottom completely out of the bag.

Step 3: Fold and cut paper to fit inside the “gift bag book jacket.”

Step 4: Staple the paper to the flap made inside the book by the left side folded into the bag – see the dotted line for where to staple. Lay the paper approximately where the line is, close the bag, and staple through the bag and papers – you will see the staples on the outside. 

Step 5: Make a cover for your book and begin writing!

Step 6: Hang on display.

Classroom applications: Students can… write their own story, write a sequel, write a prequel, re-write the ending to a book, keep a journal as they read, make a dictionary, make a how-to book, write about an experience, etc.

What can I do at home? Make this book with your child and ask them to write or draw pictures from books they have read, have them write about a family trip, have them make up their own story, etc. The ideas are endless!

Happy Reading & Writing!

-Dr. Precise

Engaging Readers through Writing

“Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out.” – Pam Allyn

I love the picture this quote paints for us as we think of the ways in which reading and writing can work together to increase student learning. These are some deep thoughts for the fun and carefree post I have planned!

Mini books are a way to engage students in the writing process and enhance learning and reflection.

Students can use their mini book to:

–re-write the ending of a story

–write a sequel to the story

–create a mini dictionary

–illustrate their understanding of the story

… and so much more!

Do you have your students use mini books as a response to reading? If so, add how in the comments! I would love to hear, and the rest of my readers would too!

HOW TO MAKE A MINI BOOK WITH BROWN LUNCH BAGS:

1. Take 2-4 mini brown or white lunch bags.

2. Fold them in half and bind them in some way. (I have punched holes and used fancy ribbon, used brads, stapled, etc.)

 

3. Have fun decorating the pages with colorful paper, lined paper, or computer paper so students can write in their new books.

(In this example, this student also created a hidden piece of card-stock inside the open flap of the stapled bag for more writing space. Some people glue this shut instead. Your choice!)

Parents: These are fun and easy to make at home too! You can make one with your child and use it in some of the same ways listed here or for countless other uses to get your child writing! Younger children can even use these books to illustrate their understanding of a story or to make their own picture book! The possibilities are endless!

Happy Reading (& Writing)! –Dr. Precise

Making Text-to Connections

Connections are important in almost any aspect of life, so why not focus on connections in literacy too? Teaching our students to make text-to connections builds comprehension, engagement, and enjoyment in reading. I don’t know about you, but when I feel connected to the character, setting, or situation within a story my engagement and enjoyment in the story are immediately increased. Use the following tips to teach students to make connections while they read in these three areas of connection building:

Text-to-Self

Luckily, each of these types of connections are defined in their titles. A text-to-self connection is when a connection is made between something in a piece of literature and a personal attribute or experience of the reader.

Examples: It could be a shared character trait between the reader and a character in the book. The setting of the story may take the reader back to a time when they were in a similar location. The reader may have a similar life experience to one of the characters within the story.

We want our students to notice these connections and ultimately use them to increase their comprehension of what is taking place in the story.

Text-to-Text

Text-to-text connections happen when something from one book makes you think of something from another book. For example, my two year old has noticed that there are raccoons in a hole in a tree in both “I am a Bunny” by Richard Scarry and in “Little Blue Truck” by Alice Schertle. What a simple element to notice between these two books, but this is the beginning of these text-to-text connections! This is exciting as a teacher and a parent, and these connections need to be nourished. While you read with your students/children, aid in pointing out these similar elements across familiar books and experiences. Then, sit back and watch your kiddos do the same!

Text-to-World

When a connection is made between something going on in the world around you and in the book you are reading, an instant interest is peaked. These connections are labeled as text-to-world connections and should be fostered in our young readers. As a former fifth grade teacher in the beautiful state of Missouri, I use to read “Night of the Twisters” by Ivy Ruckman in April or May each year – tornado season. I would use this as an interdisciplinary unit to work in science on tornadoes, tornado safety, poetry as we wrote tongue-twisters (see what I did there??), and various other content areas. Text-to-world connections can be found within the setting and content of a story through location, weather, events, etc.

Classroom Strategies:

Bookmarks: Have students keep text-to bookmarks with them while they read a book, for example this free bookmark template download: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Text-To-Connections-bookmarks-4055927.

Post-It notes: Students can be given 3-6 Post-It notes with the goal of finding 1-2 of each type of connection while they read. They then are engaged in writing about the connection and placing the Post-It within the text.

Reflection Journals: Have students write about these types of connections specifically in their reflection journals after reading a story or text.

Teachers & Parents: While reading with students/children, model these connections! Say, “This makes me think of when….” or “I feel the same way when…” So our kiddos can also start making these connections while they read on their own. Feel free to share comments of how you integrate text-to connections when you read with your students or children at home!

Happy Connecting!

-Dr. Precise

Summer Reading List

Hello, Readers!! I have missed posting to Dr. Precise’s Literacy Playground, so I hope to get this site up and going again!! Today I am sharing a helpful resource for parents, teachers, and students!

Needing some ideas for your summer reading list? 

As a member of the International Literacy Association, I really enjoy the resources they supply! Today I am sharing a link to their 2018 Choice Reading lists pamphlet. Enjoy!

Click to access choices-2018-reading-lists.pdf

Happy Reading!

Dr. Precise

Summarizing what we READ

“Though our memories of being asked to summarize might not be fond, research has long indicated that teaching children to summarize is a helpful tool in teaching reading comprehension” (Keene & Zimmerman, 2007, p. 230).

Oh, to summarize. It can be as simple as asking a child: “What was the book/paragraph/page about?”

An easy informal way to assess a child’s comprehension is to ask them to summarize what they have read. Does their summary make sense? Then they understood the reading. If not, they did not fully comprehend the reading.

Modeling and Thinking Aloud while you read can be the best ways to teach a child to summarize. Modeling, in the literacy world, refers to demonstrating or showing a child how to read a passage and put the information into their own words. Thinking Aloud is sharing your thoughts with your listener. Saying statements like, “This reminds me of…” “I had an experience like that…” etc. while you read – setting a positive example of how to connect with the text and ultimately be able to summarize and comprehend the text.

There are many fun ways to have students summarize texts.

Haiku: Somebody Wanted…, But…, So…

One strategy I have learned and loved having my students complete was a summary Haiku. You explain to the child the ‘Somebody Wanted…, But…, So…’ strategy and write the Haiku in this format. (Haiku: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables format). The first line will be the exposition/rising action of the story, the second line the climax/conflict, and the final line the falling action/resolution.

Hot Seat

In the ‘hot seat’ a child takes on the role of a character from the book and the ‘audience’ asks the ‘character’ questions about the book. This strategy is great for asking kids to summarize or to share specific information from the text.

Sketch-to-Stretch

A fun way to have a student summarize their reading is through drawing their summary. Kids can draw scenes, create comic book style drawings, or create a new book cover based on their summary.

Parents & Teachers – try this out right away! Pick one of these strategies or just get in the habit of asking your children/students to verbally explain the stories they read. Learning to summarize will be beneficial for your kiddos for years to come!

Happy Reading!

Dr. Precise

 

Resource: Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction by: Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann, 2007

Can we read that again? And again…

When we read something once, we usually get it – but if we read it again comprehension increases. Sometimes it can be difficult to get kiddos to read something even once, but with each repeat reading their confidence, comprehension, and fluency increase. Rereading is an extremely beneficial strategy.

 

“Re-reading or Repeated Readings”
Re-reading is a strategy parents are highly familiar with, but possibly didn’t know it had a name or purpose. It is also highly beneficial in the classroom and corresponds greatly with the current popular trend of Close Reading (we’ll cover this another time!).

Children gravitate toward their favorite books just as adults do, but their books are shorter and can be realistically enjoyed daily if they so choose.

When a child reads a book only once, they may comprehend or understand the text, but… Did they know all the words? Did they make all the text connections possible? Did they visualize while they read? Etc.

If a child reads the same book a second time, many of the words they struggled over are now more readily recalled. One benefit is also that they now make more connections to the book (recalling their own similar experiences or other similar story plots).

Imagine if they read the book a third time? Some parents are currently thinking, what about for the hundredth time? Because yes, many of our children request the same bedtime story nightly for weeks on end. This can seem to be redundant, but actually, your child is gathering more and more information from the book each time. Teachers wonder how they can possibly work in reading the same book multiple times when just one time was hard to arrange in their packed schedule.

Even re-reading a section of a chapter to investigate setting or to analyze characters has the same effect in the educational setting. Re-reading a selection of a text in a different content area (i.e. a section of Return of The Indian in Social Studies) is a way to maximize learning in reading and content area knowledge.

Whether you are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the twelfth time or chapter one of Night of the Twisters for the second, your children/students are benefitting from this repeated reading in multiple ways.

Benefits in a nutshell:
1. Increase in vocabulary understanding
2. Increase in comprehension/understanding of the text
3. Increase in reading confidence as fewer words are a struggle with each reading
4. Increase of text connections made which boost comprehension exponentially
5. Hours of enjoyment

Happy Re-reading!
Dr. Precise

Question-Answer-Relationships (QAR)

QAR is a strategy that has increased in popularity over the years. It is used when you are assessing your student’s reading comprehension. When we read to children, it is crucial that we stop and question frequently to check if they are understanding the book – fully comprehending the text.

The QAR strategy explains to children the different places they can find answers to comprehension questions. These types of question-answer-relationships fall into 4 categories:

1. Right There. From my experiences as an educator, students like these the best. Why? Because they are the easiest. Also because when kids answer these, since they found the answer directly in the book, they know they have the right answer before they turn in their paper or before they answer out in class. These are questions that can be answered directly from the book or passage they are reading. Very simplified example: “What color of dress was the main character wearing at the tea party?” This will come directly from the text: “… was wearing a blue dress at the tea party.” The answers to these questions can be something the child remembers directly from the text, or they can merely skim back through the pages to find the answer. These questions do have their place in comprehension. They could be details from the story that are important to the overall understanding of the text, they could direct the student’s attention to a detail that will be important later on, etc.
2. Think & Search. These questions require the student to look in several parts of the reading materials to fully get the correct answer. For example, “How is one character different from another character in a given book?” Well, there will be a multitude of examples from the book to pull together to answer this type of a question. The answer can be found in the book though, just not in one nice location as it would be for the ‘right there’ questions.
3. Author & Me. The answers to these questions require students to gather information from the book they are reading and information from their own background knowledge and experiences. For example, “How are you similar to the main character of the story?” The child would then think about themselves and the experiences and compare them to information from the story about the main character. This also aids the child in making text-to-self connections which are so important for full comprehension of a story.
4. On My Own. Students often get stumped on these types of questions. These are questions which require the student to come up with their own response without gathering any information from what they are reading. Therefore, the answer to these questions are not in the text at all. An example could be, “What would you do if you were in a similar situation as the main character?” The student has to respond with their own ideas of how they would act/respond. There truly is no ‘wrong answer’ here – unless their response is completely off-base. This can stump children because they want to have the ‘right answer,’ but for these types of questions – each individual student will have their own answer different from everyone else’s.

Teachers: Teaching this strategy and displaying it on anchor chart in your classroom will work wonders with your students when they constantly ask, “Where do I find the answer?” You can review over the four types of question-answer-relationships to see how and where they think the answer can be found.

Parents: This strategy hopefully gave you some ideas of how to ask questions to your child when you are reading aloud to them at home. It is always a good thing to stop and question our children while we read to them to see that they are “getting” the information.

Happy Reading!

Dr. Precise