An ordinary day with ordinary thoughts

Today, I finished my second reading series in Ready! Set....Read , a reading program for 3-7 year olds that I volunteer for at a local children's museum. I am finding my way slowly through the programming. Although I have three activities strategically planned through the course of the reading, I never seem to be quite prepared. My biggest challenge is gathering them from their play to listen to the story. Today, after arraying the space with beach balls, towels, and shovels and playing hawaiian music, I began to play games. I think I was too intimidating because none of the kids approached but continued to play with the other exhibits and their parents. So exhausting my efforts to entice them to story hour, I followed my co-workers suggestion and simply began to read " Punia and the King of Sharks" aloud. In no time, the kids were on the towels listening to the story. The younger children toddled back and forth between the story, playing with the clay and then coming back to hear the interesting parts. The older kids, for the most part listened, but asked questions after each page and I answered them, trying to maximize inquiry and interaction. I had a post reading activity planned, but by the end of the book, the older children's imaginations could sit still no longer and they were off like a shot.

I am again reminded at how important those three minutes of introduction are. It's crucial to hook the child and keep them hooked.

I think in the future, I will try engaging them with a game in the beginning, playing Criss Cross Applesause or bring musical instruments in=--- pertaining to the theme of course. Then I might begin with an interactive poem introducing the story and seamlessly slide into the reading of a picture book.

Tune in next week to see how these work!!! and by all means, offer suggestions of your own!
:)

Storytelling in the Classroom

We all tell stories. Stories shape our life histories and our social life. They are the voice of our cultures, impressions, and thoughts. They give us the window to other worlds and slake our thirst for discovery. Stories are the maps of our souls and the key to our humanity.

Stories tell us who we are and where we are going. They give us insight into our community. They also are powerful instructional tools promoting critical thinking and problem solving. In the classroom, stories can be used to improve reading and writing skills by allowing the student to explore the basic structure of a story. Every story has concievable beginning and a definite ending.

A exercise used in theater that would help students with story structure is called " Storytime". In this activity, the students are given partners. They choose a letter, A or B. Partner A is then given a minute to think of something significant that happened in his or her life. Then Partner A is instructed in three minutes to tell that story to Partner B. If the story is finished before the minute is up, then Partner is A is instructed to tell the story again with any embellishments they can think of. After Partner A is done, Partner B is to make a comment beginning with " I noticed" The comment can be an observation, positive feedback, or anything else that struck Partner B. For instance, Partner B can say " I noticed that you used the word "and" a lot. It really helped me follow the story." ect.
Then Partner A and B switch.

Throughout the course of the activity, the teacher can build by switching the Partners throughout the classroom and encourage students to add to their stories or use different aspects. Usually, as the person switches telling partners, the story grows with gestures and embellishments.
Dicussion can be follwed with:
How did you feel when you told your story?
How did Partner B feel?
What did you notice happening with the stories in this activity?
Did stories differ from person to person?
What does this say about the story?
Could you pick out Beginning, Middle, and End?
Coudl you draw out anything significant from your story or others?
How might we use this when we read a story? What things should we look for?

A Book Recommendation

When Kids Can't Read What Teachers Can Do by Kaylene Beers is an excellent guide for teachers grades 6-12 offering lesson plans and suggestions and strategies to improve reading comprehension. Unlike other books that I have read on strategies, these ones are relatively straightforward and easy to facilitate. One of the lessons I particularly enjoy involves having the students create bookmarks where they record either words they don't know or different observations about characters. It's really quite brilliant because the students not only are apply self-regulated strategies when reading, but also, they have a bookmark readily available!!!!

Gilad Shalit's When Shark and Fish First Met

I was moved by the power of a simple story and reminded how much words and stories mean to us all. The movie shows children from a middle school in the Bronx reading Gilad Shalit's When Shark and Fish First Met. The words reach out. The story speaks.

The more I head through the Masters Program, the more convinced I am that working with families is crucial to education-- Viewing the student as simply a student, to me, is a disservice to that child. Literacy begins in the home which informs and enhances the classroom experience. I think it’s necessary not only to ‘work” with parents, but also to understand and acknowledge that the family offers the best and most valuable educational experience a child can have—especially in literacy. To teach a child reading depends on family interaction.

And now, for an interesting idea to encourage family literacy!!!!

Lesson plan Website and Resources.

Teacher Vision: online teaching guides and websites

Four Reading Strategies

Click on the books above to go to Four Reading Strategies for High School Students By Kathie Steele of Chugiak High School

Tutorial on Teaching the Big Question: A Reading Comprehension Strategy

How to teach a Big Question posted on Teacher Tube. The lesson presented here is very effective in liberal arts classrooms, particularly useful in teaching a story. Accompanying resources to this video are found at the following website:
http://www.ctap4.org/infolit/questions.htm