Farr-Out Links to Learning » Reading

Guided Reading Materials

Jen — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 03:04:55 +0000

I have been developing a lot of workshops lately, so blogging has sometimes taken a back seat. Today I am posting the PowerPoint and some of the handouts I recently developed for a Guided Reading workshop I recently delivered in one of my schools. I hope you find them helpful. The workshop gave me a wonderful opportunity to work with some great teachers in our area. I miss my PLN interaction, but certainly enjoy the face-to-face interactions I am having as I get to know teachers in our area!

GUIDED READING

Guided reading has many of the same elements as shared reading. However, it is conducted with a smaller number of students and the focus is more on the individual reading need of each child. During guided reading, teachers work with students at their instructional level to guide them in using the context, visual, and structure cues within stories to generate meaning. By using instructional level texts that gradually increase in difficulty, students apply strategies in context and feel successful! While this strategy is often associated with students in the younger grades, it is also very effective when used in an AIS (Academic Intervention Services) setting, as well as with students of any age who are being challenged to read a genre of text they may not be familiar with.

Use the links below to access some of the material I shared during Guided Reading Workshops I facilitated in our region.

Materials posted to Slideshare include: overview materials, reading comprehension posters, and reading comprehension bookmarks. While the embedded file shown below will give you an idea of what the material looks like, you will find the download at Shareware shows better quality and is more complete.

Guided Reading Material

View more documents from farroutlinks.

Guided Reading Material (pdf file) – This file includes overview handouts, Comprehension Posters, and Comprehension bookmarks.

Literature Circle Workshop

Jen — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:35:07 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of working with a group of fifth and sixth grade teachers to deliver a workshop on Literature Circles. Below you will find some of the information I shared during the workshop.

LITERATURE CIRCLES

“In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author’s craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response.” (this definition was found at The Literature Circle website…visit the site to learn more)

Use the links below to access some of the materials I have shared during Literature Circle Workshops I have facilitated in our region.

The PowerPoint…

Some of the Handouts…

The material includes: Literature Circle overview handouts, label templates for role and question cards (print on regular address labels 3 across and 10 down), role posters, role worksheets. The embedded file does not appear to be showing each page appropriately, but if you download the file from Slideshare it does download intact.

Literature Circles Material

View more documents from farroutlinks.

Literature Circle Materials (pdf file) – Overview handouts, Role Sticker Templates, Discussion Sticker Templates, Role Posters, Role Worksheets

Honor the Memory of Dr. Seuss: Free Resources & Books

Jen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:27:15 +0000

What kind of book-lover/mother/educator would I be if I did not acknowledge Dr. Seuss’s birthday today? I dedicate this post to the memory of the man who made so many children and adults happy, successful readers.

Click on the screenshot image (found at the top of this post) to access the Happy Birthday Dr Seuss portal site I researched and developed as we celebrated Dr. Seuss day in our school. The site includes information about Dr. Seuss, his books, quotes (with buttons that students can use to have the phrases read to them), and links to games and online activities that feature the characters and imagination of the beloved Seuss. Explore the orange circles found at the top of the site to access the numerous links and resources I put together.

You can also gain access to four free digital Seuss books when you download and open a free kidthing account (you do need to download and install the program on your classroom or home computer). Use the code KTCODE-NEA5RAA to receive free books that you can project from your computer. The offer is good through March 30th, do don’t wait too long! I have pasted a copy of the offer I received below. I know it sounds too good to be true, but believe me these books are free! Click on the image below to go to the site and register for your free account. And, yes, they are trying to sell books, but I have to tell you I was impressed with kidthing. Let us know what you think by using the comment link found at the bottom of this post.

In addition to being a Dr. Seuss fan, I have been a long-time fan of the International Children’s Digital Library site. Whenever I share this site with librarians, foreign language teachers, general education teachers, and of course students we are all in awe at the number, quality, and diversity of books found on this site. Registration is optional, but if you register you can…

select the language you prefer to use
return to the last page you were reading
save your favorite books in a personal bookshelf
access these features from any computer

Enjoy the books and resources I have shared today and send happy thoughts upward (and around you) as you think of all the wonderful men and women who have shared their writing talent over the years. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!