Happy Friday! I hope you have had a fantastic week. This summer I am reading "The Reading Strategies Book" by Jennifer Serravallo. I have heard amazing things about this study and can't wait to share learning with all of you.
I am participating in a blog link-up for the study. I can't wait to jump in and want to thank our host Teaching Little Miracles for this opportunity. I love collaborating with other teachers. The schedule for the different goals is listed below. We will be reviewing two goals a week.
Getting Started
Now that we have that part out of our way I am excited to jump into the first section of our book study.
Goals
As teachers' we are always setting goals. We set goals for ourselves and goals for our students. I love seeing the excitement on a students' face when they see the progress they are making towards meeting their goals. I also know how overwhelming goal setting can be. You might even be thinking in your head, "Oh, great...just what I need, one more thing to keep track of. I barely have time to get in all of the curricula I am responsible for teaching". Stick with us during this book study. Goal setting doesn't have to cause extra stress. I truly believe the results you will see will be amazing.
The way the author has set up the book it is easy to navigate. I love how each goal tells you who it is used for, the level of the text, genre, teaching tips, prompts you can use with that strategy and so much more!
I don't know about you, but I am definitely a visual learner. So, seeing the visuals that are available in the book helps.
Here are a few tidbits that I have taken away from the getting started section.
- The first step is making sure we are matching the right goal with the right reader. (pg. 2) We have to know where our students are so we can meet their need.
- The level of text a reader can read needs to be considered when choosing strategies.
- As teachers, we need to make goals visible to students as a reminder what they are working on during their independent reading time. (pg 8)
- Visuals should be seen as a tool to help them practice a skill that will eventually become automatic. (pg 9)
- Strategies should be introduced one at a time. This allows us as teachers to guide them through practicing the strategy before moving on to a new one. We want to make sure they feel secure in the strategy before moving on to a new one. I love how it shows on pg 10 the process. Students practice strategies repeatedly with many books they choose themselves on their own reading level. (pg 10)
- Think of prompts as gentle ways to encourage the child to do the thinking, talking and working through. We are there to give gentle nudges. (pg 11)
- Look for patterns in students needs when grouping them for conferences.
- Use the ideas in the book to help when planning think alouds during interactive reading.
- Create visuals for students when teaching to help students remember what we say. (pg 15)
- Start with what students can do, pick a strategy and begin.
My favorite quote from the book is below. I hope it hit home with you as much as it did me.
"We must meet children where they are, we must understand them well to teach them, and we must offer them the right amount of supports and challenges to grow." pg 19
Be sure to check out the link-up to see what others have to say about the book as well.
I look forward to seeing you next week and reading your thoughts.
An InLinkz Link-up
Blessings,
Hi Kara! Thanks for joining me! I love how you mentioned looking for patterns when grouping students for conferences. That would certainly help with time, which has always been a challenge scheduling one-on-one conferences. Also glad you mentioned considering the reading level when choosing a goal for students! So important!
ReplyDeleteCrystal
Crystal, Thank you so much for allowing me to join the fun! I can't wait to hear other teachers take on this amazing book!
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ReplyDeleteI, too, am a very visual learner, so the way this book is organized is perfect! I'm also a fan of the lesson language she provides. Sometimes just hearing how another teacher phrases things can make such a positive impact on my instruction! I'm glad to be doing this book study with you!
ReplyDeleteKatie, I completely agree! :)
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