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CELDT Levels Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 SDAIE Strategies Cluster - Web Map Choral Reading Graphic Organizer- Bubble Map Thinking Map TPR Think-Pair-Share Picture This Jigsaw Realia KWL Chart Learning Logs Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Think Aloud Numbered Heaps Verbal- Visual Word Association Reader's Theater Carousel Brainstorming Cubs Manipulatives EL Strategies Famous Person Mystery Hot Topics Cooperative Dialogues Pairs Check Choral Response Vocab Cards Inside- Outside Circle Character Matrix QAR Reciprocal Teaching Language Experience Approach Round Robin Frayer Model Five-step Vocabulary Activity Idea Starts Journals Anticipation Guide Samples Fall 11 Spring 11 Fall 12

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El Vuelo del Quetzal-Literature Calendar

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El Vuelo del Quetzal-Literature Calendar

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We’re a social enterprise based in India with the vision of providing a “book” for every child in his or her language. We produce AniBooks, which are basically simple animated stories powered by Same Language Subtitling (SLS) a scientifically tested and proven method for improving reading skills and…

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teaching materials worksheets printables math fractions handwriting geometry homeschooling classroom teachers parents geography spelling language puzzles

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The premier web service for creating professional educational resources. Used by teachers and parents around the world.

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Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension in the Content  Areas

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Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension in the Content  Areas

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This module describes how teachers can incorporate vocabulary and reading comprehension skills instruction into content-area lessons and will introduce you to a variety of effective practices-including the use of graphic organizers-to help students better understand what they read (est. completion time: 1.5 hours).

When you have completed the module, be sure to visit part two (below):

The IRIS Center Peabody College Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 37203 [email protected]. The IRIS Center is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Grant #H325E220001. The contents of this Website do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Sarah Allen.

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* For refund and privacy policy information visit our Help & Support page.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 1): Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension in the Content Areas

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This module describes how teachers can incorporate vocabulary and reading comprehension skills instruction into content-area lessons and will introduce you to a variety of effective practices-including the use of graphic organizers-to help students better understand what they read (est. completion time: 1.5 hours).

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This website is a production of Maryland Public Television/Thinkport in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education. The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S.

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This Beach Ball coloring page features a picture of a large beach ball to color. The coloring page is printable and can be used in the classroom or at home.

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Looking for a template to get your students started on a project? We've found some great Google Docs and Slides templates to use as they are or change up to match your classroom.

Sometimes, a content area teacher may not want to worry with the trouble of having students start a technology project from scratch. Instead, he or she may want to use an already-prepared template so that students can focus more on the content than on the mechanics of the technology. Here are some great Google templates for students to use either as their project starting block or for ideas. Note: Make sure you make a copy of the template before you begin using it!

Cross-Curricular Resources

Ask and Respond Template - Use this template and Google Slides to get information from your students about something they've read or studied, what they're thinking, or their favorite band.

Baseball Review Game - This great review game in Google Slides is technically for teachers and not students. But it was so great that I just had to share it with you.

BreakoutEDU Student Reflection - The most critical part of any breakout is the reflection done by the students at the end. This is a nice template to help them with that process.

Class Twitter Account - This Sheets template provides a way to manage Tweets sent out by your students from your classroom Twitter account.

Collaborative Yearbook - Let your students celebrate their school year by creating a Google Slide yearbook together.

Flippity - Flippity provides nine different templates that are designed more for teacher use, but could also be used by students. All of them take data from a Google Sheet and transform the information. My favorite is the Mad Libs one.

General Resources and Templates - There are a ton of different templates available at this website, including a cartoon template, a character map, Cornell note-taking form, and an iPhone Message template that could be great to have students create a conversation between two literary or historical characters.

Google Drawings Chess and Checkers - If only as a way to have students learn more about how Drawings works, these templates are a valuable classroom addition.

Google Drive Mastery - Gamify student mastery of Google Drive with this template.

Graphic Organizers - There are 30 different graphic organizers in this collection for Google Drawings.

Greeting Cards - Use Google Drawings to have your students create wonderful holiday greeting cards.

Infographic Templates - Eight different templates for creating beautiful infographics are available. Infographics are an excellent way for students to organize and summarize key information that they've learned.

Jigsaw Activity Template- Use this Google Slides template whenever students are placed in groups for a jigsaw learning activity.

Meme Template - There's nothing students love more than creating memes. Turn them to an education use by having them create one that demonstrates their learning using this Google Drawings template.

More than 40 Google Drawings Templates - These are amazing templates that are perfect for students of all ages in math, ELA, science, and notetaking/organizing information.

Motivational Poster Template in Google Drawings - Have your students use either the horizontal or the poster to share a favorite quote, a main idea, or something important to them.

New Templates from Google - Google has released a variety of new templates, including a nice book report template from Reading Rainbow.

Personalized Scratch-Off Templates - This website offers a fun and easy way to create personalized scratch-off cards that can be printed. The template is included.

Power Up Your Spring with Flowers - Use Google Slides to help your students create beautiful flowers for a special someone. Have them list words that describe their creations or, for older students, have them create a poem or short story about them.

Print Custom Sticky Notes - This great resource from Tony Vincent includes a Google Slides template along with specific instructions on how you can design and print your own sticky notes.

Stop Motion Animation with Google Slides - This innovative idea has hundreds of potential uses in the classroom.

Tammy Worcester Tang's Favorite Templates - Our favorite convention speaker, Tammy, has 40 templates perfect for student use.

Topic vs. Topic Infographic - Use this topic to have students create an infographic sharing the differences between two concepts.

Twitter Fictional Account Template - Use this Google Drawing template to have students create fictional Twitter accounts for literary characters, famous people in history, scientists, and more. The creator of this template also offers an infographic template, Harry Potter's Daily Prophet newspaper, templates for Time Magazine and National Geographic, and a comic book template.

Vocabulary Slide Deck - This great template based on the Frayer model is a perfect way to learn any new words.

Wanted Poster - This template is perfect for learning about famous people in history or characters in literature.

Elementary Templates

Elementary Student Newspaper - This is the perfect way for elementary students to create a classroom or project newspaper. It includes room for several articles, ads or quotes, graphics, and even a graph. The template is available for both a one-page and a two-page newspaper. Older students may use this template with four articles and accompanying graphics. If your students need to create a newspaper about colonial times, this template and accompanying rubric will work well.

Leprechaun Scene - This activity has younger students create a scene with the drawing, graph their items, and complete word/number sentences.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Sorting Template - Have your elementary students do this fun activity to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2.

Pattern Block Templates and Activities - Google Drawing makes this template very easy to use for both you and your students.

Pixel Art Template - This template, at its simplest level, is a paint-by-number activity great for younger students. At its more complex, students can use the template to create fun pixel art.

Presidents Day Hyperdoc - This great template for grades K-2 is perfect for February.

Super Digital Citizen - Have your students in grades 2-5 practice their digital citizenship with this innovative template.

Self Evaluation - This is a very simple evaluation form for elementary students to complete about themselves. It asks them "How is it going for you?" in several different subjects: writing, reading, and math.

English/Language Arts

Build a Snowman and Write a Story - This is a simple to use template in Google Slides that lets students get creative while building a snowman and then describing it, for vocabulary practice, or writing a story about the snowman. You can use the same idea with anything that students can build, from the parts of a plant to a gingerbread house.

Cloze Test Generator - Scroll to the bottom of this page to download a copy of a great cloze activity template in Sheets.

Reading Chart - Use Google Forms to create a live reading log. Instructions are available here (scroll down to the third activity).

Reading and Writing Tools - Here are 12 more templates perfect for the ELA classroom. They include different charts and concept maps, as well as a plot diagram and a journal.

Short Story Graphic Organizer - This Google Slides template helps students to organize their thoughts when writing a short story.

Springtime Magnetic Poetry - Have your students create wonderful poems about spring using Google Drawings.

St. Patrick's Day Magnet Poetry with Google Slides - This template includes more than 60 words and phrases that students can use to create fun poetry or a story.

Valentine's Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings - This idea of using Drawings to create a template with words that students can use to create their own poetry is genius. You can reuse the basic template for other holidays and themes, simply changing the graphics to match.

Writing Prompts - With these templates, you have a choice of writing prompts with pictures or journal templates with blank layouts. As always, make sure to Make a Copy of the template before you begin using it.

Mathematics

Analyzing Shoe Sizes - The "Analyzing Shoe Sizes" activity contains many mathematical concepts and student activities for students to complete. Ideally, this activity would be appropriate for students in the 6th through 8th grade using Google Slides.

Area of Shapes Scavenger Hunt - Using Google Slides, students can document shapes they find around them and then calculate the perimeter and area of those shapes.

Battlesheets - Have your students practice grid coordinates and logical thinking as they play the familiar Battleship game in Google Sheets.

Discovering Pi with Google Sheets - Eric Curts provides another excellent lesson and template. In this lessons, students "measure real life circular objects, examine some calculations, look for patterns, and discover what Pi is and what it means."

Division Brownies - This fun template will help students solve a very real-world problem of how to fairly divide a pan (or pans) of brownies.

Exploring Surface Area - This is an excellent template with lessons for exploring surface area using Google Slides.

Exploring Tangrams with Google Drawings - This site includes a free blank template with all the tangram pieces already created, a dozen pre-made tangram puzzles to solve, and detailed directions on how to manipulate the shapes using tools in Google Drawings and create your own tangram puzzles.

Game-Based Learning with Google Slides: Coordinate Plane Battleship - This is a great way to incorporate some fun into Algebra class.

Google Graph Paper for Math - If you're a math teacher, you will love these seven different templates for graph paper.

Interactive Clock Face - This is a really clever template that lets students learn about telling time using an analog clock and two interactive hands.

Math Dice - This is a great game for elementary students to play.

Templates for Science/Social Studies

Exploring Human Heredity - High school students work in groups of three to investigate human heredity with this template.

Historical Facebook - Students can plan a "fake" Facebook page for a historical figure. A literary Facebook template is also available.

Historical Tweets - Using this Google Slide template, students can create "fake" Tweets from historic (or literary) figures they are studying.

Infographics Toolbox - Challenge your older students to take existing data they would normally just read over and create amazing infographics highlighting key points with this beautiful template.

Map of the United States - Use this colorful map of the US to study any type of geographic, political, or historical data.

Virtual Museum - Have students create their own museums to showcase their learning with Google Slides.

Technology Applications - To help your students master Google apps, you can use the Google Docs Scavenger Hunt and the Google Slide Scavenger Hunt.

If you would like to learn how to create your own templates in Docs, this four-minute video is perfect. And learn how to take basic templates to the next level with - an innovative lesson in Google Docs that contains everything the student will need. You can find additional HyperDocs by searching the hashtag #hyperdocs in Twitter.

Learn more about Google with TCEA's monthly free-to-members Get Your Google On webinars, available live and on demand. Join us the first Thursday of each month for more powerful ideas about all things Google.
(Additional resources for this blog were added on April 8, 2018.)
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Google Templates for Students (Updated) - TechNotes Blog - TCEA

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Looking for a template to get your students started on a project? We've found some great Google Docs and Slides templates to use as they are or change up to match your classroom. Sometimes, a content area teacher may not want to worry with the trouble of having students start a technology project from scratch.

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Do you ever feel sluggish and unmotivated when you teach? Do your students?

If so, that's okay!

Even if it's not ideal, it's completely normal for all of us to feel low on the motivation scale every now and then.

But if you're lacking the motivation to teach your English students, just imagine how that will affect their motivation to learn.

For those times when you and your students need a good pick-me-up, there's nothing like a rousing, motivational song to get everyone's brains moving.

Music moves people. It affects us on a deep level, connects with us in ways that nothing else does.

That's why we've put together this playlist of motivational songs in English that you can play for your ESL students. Whether you're teaching beginners or advanced students, there are benefits to pressing "play" today-or any time you or your students need a boost!

When you use these songs in class, keep a couple of things in mind.

First of all, the main reason I've chosen these songs is because they're motivational. Sure, they all contain potential lessons on grammar, sentence structure or vocabulary, but that's not the main focus here. In fact, if you play an upbeat song, but then only focus on something like irregular verbs, it might backfire on you and demotivate your students.

Because of that, it's a good idea to review any unfamiliar vocabulary with your class before listening to the song. Listening to a song for language purposes is challenging enough. There's no need to throw new words into the mix. Give your students a head start by making sure they'll understand all the words that they hear.

Second, music is a part of today's culture, and that means that many songs will have cultural elements that are unfamiliar to your students. Be sure to check the lyrics for anything that might not make sense (for example, you can't get the message of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" if you don't understand that she's rich).

Without further ado, let's get motivated!

1. "Don't Worry Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
When you worry your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy
I think almost everyone is familiar with "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin. Though it's been around the sound waves for a while, it still makes a great motivational song for ESL students, particularly beginners, since the words are clearly articulated and the music isn't distracting.

Before introducing this song to your class, start with a discussion question: What makes you happy? Encourage students to share, especially if they have any particular music that gives them a boost. Then cue it up for the class.

Before hitting "play," though, take a minute to point out that McFerrin does have an accent. Depending on where you're teaching English, this may or may not be an issue for your students.

The first time you play it, let students simply listen to the song. The second time through, however, challenge them to a lyrics shuffle. Give students a copy of the lyrics cut into single lines and shuffled. Ask students to arrange the lines in the correct order as they listen. Then give it a third listen so students can double check before going over the lyrics together.
Call on me, brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
As a follow-up activity, have students brainstorm things that make them happy, and then make a collage with those words and ideas. Let each person take a few minutes to share their collage with the class.

2. "Lean on Me" - Bill Withers

"Lean on Me" by Bill Withers may be a classic, but it still has relevance today. No one can get through life without friends, and that's doubly true for your beginning ESL students, who will love this song. Its simple melody and articulated lyrics stress the importance of working together, just like your students need to do on a daily basis.

Before you play the song, ask your students to talk about a person who helps them feel better on a rough day. Have them talk about their friends and family in groups of around three students each.
Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough,
Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you, Babe
For this song, try using a cloze activity. Using the lyrics to the song, blank out every fifth word. Then have students fill in the blanks as they listen. Three times should be enough for them to fill in most if not all of the blanks.

As a follow-up activity, ask students to write a paragraph on why friends are important to them, or a paragraph that describes a good friend.

This song isn't just for beginners, either. Your advanced students might enjoy the challenge of writing out the lyrics as they listen (like a dictation).

3. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Who among us, your ESL students included, hasn't faced daily challenges in our lives? "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is great for giving you and your students a boost when you might feel like you're hitting a wall.
We are the champions, my friend
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
When you review vocabulary before starting the actual lesson with the song, be sure you talk about "ain't" and how it's used in English-in casual speech but not in anything formal-and how it's a not actually a contraction.

After you cover that info, ask your students what obstacles they have overcome in their lives. You might be surprised at the answers your students give.

Play the song once for your students, and then play it a second time, asking students to write down any obstacles they hear in the lyrics.

As a follow-up, ask students to write a short note or card to a friend. They can express thankfulness for the friend being there for them in the past, or their own willingness to be there in the future when the friend needs them.
Do what you want but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me
4. "We Are the Champions" - Queen

Every high school sports team is familiar with "We Are the Champions," and for good reason. Nothing says encouragement like a vow to fight till the end. Your students may already be determined to do that on the road to English fluency but if they're faltering, this song will definitely give them a boost.

Before sharing this song with your intermediate students, ask them to share a mistake they've made and how that mistake helped them improve. That's what this song is all about, after all.

Let your students give the song a listen and then give them a set of doctored lyrics. Include about 20 mistakes throughout the song (writing "we'll keep on flying " rather than "fighting," for example) and have students circle the mistakes as they listen to the song with the lyrics in front of them.
Whoa, we're halfway there, whoa, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear
Whoa, livin' on a prayer
Follow up with a role play in which one student offers encouragement to another who has failed at something.

5. "Pocketful of Sunshine" - Natasha Bedingfield

Like it or not, sometimes things look bleak, and that's when we need a little encouragement, a little light. That's where "Pocketful of Sunshine" comes in. As your advanced students listen, they can imagine their own happy place that gives them a boost when the going gets tough.

Start by asking your students to discuss their favorite type of weather and share why they like it. Then start the song activity.

This song is a fast one, especially for ESL students who are trying to listen to the lyrics. So the first time through, just let students listen. The second time through, ask students to draw while they listen to the song. Make sure to stress that students should draw how they're feeling. You're not looking for great artwork necessarily, but rather emotion on the page. Give each person a minute to explain their picture to the class and share how the song made them feel. Then listen to the song a third time with the lyrics in hand.

As a follow-up activity, ask each person to choose an emotion and make a collage depicting that emotion. Then ask each student to write a paragraph that explains their collage and post the paragraphs under the posters in your room.
Bring English immersion to your classroom!
6. "Livin' on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi

Call me a sucker for a classic hair band, but on a bad day Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" always puts a smile on my face. I expect your advanced ESL students will feel the same.

You'll need to take a few minutes to explain some of the informal pronunciation in this song (gotta, livin'), but no doubt your advanced students will be ready for the lesson.

Start your lesson by asking the students what gives them strength when they want to give up.

This song tells a story, the story of Tommy and Gina. As students listen to the song, ask them to take notes on the couple's story. Where do they start in life? What happens? How do they encourage one another? Your students will need multiple opportunities to listen to the song. Play it by ear (pun intended) in deciding how many times your class needs before discussing it as a class.

As a follow-up activity, ask students to write out the story of Tommy and Gina and include an ending to the story. Ask volunteers to share their ending with the class.

When it comes to encouraging and motivating your students, some music may be all you need. But these songs will do double duty because the message gives a boost as well.

So, hit "play" and feel good!

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.

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6 Highly Motivational Songs for Sluggish Students in English Class

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Do you ever feel sluggish and unmotivated when you teach? Do your students?If so, that's okay!Even if it's not ideal, it's completely normal for all of us to feel low on the motivation scale every now and then.But if you're lacking the motivation to teach your English students, just imag

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Animal Life Cycles, All Around | Lesson Plan | Education.com

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Life cycles go around and around! In this arts-integrated lesson, students will research various animal life cycles and create a tableau as the final product.

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The Most Magnificen Thing-Lesson Plan and activitie

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The Most Magnificen Thing-Lesson Plan and activitie

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Anchor Charts 101: Why and How To Use Them

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A primer for newbies and a refresher for anchor chart pros!

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Grades

K - 1

Lesson Plan Type

Recurring Lesson

Estimated Time

Three 30-minute sessions

Lesson Author

Publisher

Student Objectives Session 1: Interactive Read-Aloud Session 2: Hand Washing Lesson Session 3: Making Cards Extensions Student Assessment/Reflections
STUDENT OBJECTIVES

Students will

Use their prior knowledge to comprehend events in a story

Preview a story and periodically predict what will happen in the text based upon knowledge gained while reading and through discussion

Make personal connections to a text

Retell the main events of a story

Relate how germs are spread and what the consequences are

Use the Internet to access information about hand washing and to create a "stay well" card

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Session 1: Interactive Read-Aloud

Before reading

Introduce the story, Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten, and ask students to give reasons why a teacher might have to stay home from school. Ask students if they have ever been sick and what things they had to do to get better. Discuss vocabulary that will help in understanding the text, such as flu and temperature.

Talk about what schools and students do when a teacher cannot come to school. Have students explain what a substitute is and how they can help when a substitute comes to their class.

Ask if there is anything people can do to help someone who is sick (e.g., make them a get-well card, take them soup). Tell students that you will be talking about a way to help keep people from getting sick.

During reading

Ask questions to guide the discussion and highlight strategies that good readers use. The following questions can be asked as you read the corresponding page numbers, but remember that the reading should be interactive so take cues from your students and tailor your questions according to their needs and responses.

Page 1: Who is Miss Bindergarten calling? (–the substitute or the principal) Why? (–because she is too sick to come to school)

Page 8 and 9: What do you notice about the beginning letters of the kids' names so far? (–they are in alphabetical order) You would only mention this aspect if you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of names in the story.

Page 9: What is happening to Franny? (–she is getting sick)

Page 10 and 11: Why are both Franny and Miss Bindergarten staying home from school? (–they do not feel well enough to go and they need to keep their germs to themselves)

Page 15-17: What kind of cards are the kids making for Miss Bindergarten? (–get-well cards)

Page 17: What is happening to Lenny? (–he is getting sick too)

Page 22-23: What is happening to Raffie? Do you notice something that keeps repeating in the story, like a pattern? (–people keep getting sick) Explain that good readers watch for patterns to help them predict what might happen next and to understand and remember the story.

Page 24-25: What can you tell from the pictures about how the characters in the story are feeling? (–they are starting to feel better)

Page 29: If you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of the kids' names you can ask the following. Where are we in the alphabet now with Ursula, Vicky, and Wanda? (–getting close to the end of the alphabet, so we are probably getting close to the end of the story)

Page 38: What happened to Mr. Tusky? (–he caught the sickness Miss Bindergarten and the kids in her class had)

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After reading

Tell students that you don't want to be sick and have to miss school. Explain that there is a terrific way they can help keep everyone in the class healthy—by washing their hands! Discuss what germs are and how they make people sick, and end the session by telling students that the best way to get rid of germs is to wash them down the drain!
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Session 2: Hand Washing Lesson
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Access the Handwashing Teaching Module for lessons and activites that focus on the importance of hand washing and the general principles of germ transmission. Lesson 3 in the module provides techniques for proper hand washing. An evaluation sheet is provided to assess how well students follow the hand washing steps.

Check the Great Ideas for Handwashing Educators for additional education methods related to hand washing. Students may also enjoy the Henry the Hand theme song.
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Session 3: Making Cards
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This session is intended to help students explore the read-aloud in personal and exciting ways and to assess their knowledge of good hand washing techniques. Ask each student to make a "stay well" card for a friend or relative. Enlist an upper-grade class to help students make their cards.

Have students access the My Card Maker website and choose the cover for their cards. For the message section, students should dictate or write the basic steps for correct hand washing. Students can then print the cards and give them to their friends and relatives. Make sure that students remember to also tell the recipients about the story they read in class and explain good hand washing techniques to them. It's helpful to attach an evaluation sheet with each card to ask the recipient for feedback on whether the student was able to tell about the story and explain why hand washing is important and how to wash. The evaluation sheet can be adapted for the purposes of your lesson.

EXTENSIONS

Design a poster about good hand washing techniques to be posted in the school bathrooms and above classroom sinks. When distributing copies of the poster to other classrooms, students can retell the main parts of the story Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten and explain why it is important for students to wash their hands in school and at home. The class or teacher can fill out an evaluation sheet.

Help students compose a class book explaining the routines they follow in class each day. If students are advanced enough to write on their own, divide them into groups to write different chapters such as "Our opening routine" or "How we go to lunch," etc. For less experienced students, allow students to dictate the text for their book while you write for them. Students can then illustrate the pages. The final product serves as a good resource for substitute teachers and helps establish the classroom community.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS

Since this is an interactive experience, you can constantly assess students' understanding during class discussions. For example, do students base their predictions on the text or are their predictions random? Do they pick up on the pattern presented in the story? Do they understand and use the new vocabulary? Kid-watching is the best assessment method during an interactive read-aloud.

Use the evaluation sheet to evaluate each student's ability to retell the main events of the story and to relate the importance and proper techniques of hand washing.

Read other patterned or predictable texts with students and observe whether they can find the patterns and make accurate predictions. Provide these types of texts for independent reading and discuss with students what patterns they noticed or how well they were able to predict what would happen.

Have students make a chart highlighting the strategies that good readers use, such as look for patterns, make predictions, check predictions, and so on.

Anecdotal records documenting student responses in both whole class and individual settings can also help assess students' understanding of the concepts presented during the lesson.

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miss bindergarten stays home from kindergarten

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Catching the Bug for Reading Through Interactive Read-Alouds - ReadWriteThink

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Grades K - 1 Lesson Plan Type Recurring Lesson Estimated Time Three 30-minute sessions Lesson Author Publisher Student Objectives Session 1: Interactive Read-Aloud Session 2: Hand Washing Lesson Session 3: Making Cards Extensions Student Assessment/Reflections Students will Use their prior knowledge to comprehend events in a story Preview a story

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If there is a literacy topic I feel passionate about, it's text dependency. I became a teacher in the era of "text to self" connections. In my early teaching years, I was a pro at teaching kids to make personal connections to read-alouds and other texts. I didn't realize until years later how important it was to require students to dive into the text to ensure they truly comprehend it.

What are Text Dependent Questions?

Simply said, text dependent questions are those which can only be answered using evidence from the text. These types of questions are critical in a close reading lesson because they require students to read and reread the text in order to answer the question successfully.

Look at the examples and non-examples in the chart below. Ask yourself, "Does the student need to have read the text in order to answer the question?"

Why Do I Ask Text Dependent Questions?

In primary grades, it is common for students to want to share personal connections to the text. Every primary teacher has experienced a read-aloud where one child waves their hand furiously to tell a story about his dog- only to have five more children raise their hands to tell about their dogs. While this is par for the course in primary grades, and quite adorable, the more time we spend with students talking about personal experiences, the less time we spend helping students see how to make meaning of the text. Text-to-self connections are valuable, however, in the initial steps of a close reading lesson, it is critical to ask questions that focus solely on the text. After students have answered questions about the text, they have a common, deeper understanding of the story or content. At this point, the discussion involving students' personal connections becomes much more meaningful for all members of the class.

For example, if the class was reading about community helpers, and several students wanted to discuss their experiences with the vet, the teacher would ask students to wait until later in the lesson to share their personal connections. The teacher would first ask several questions about the text so that all students had equal access to information about veterinarians. Once all students have this common understanding, students are invited to share their personal experiences. At this point student's insights are an added value to the learning.

Many schools and districts require teachers to use scripted reading programs that contain comprehension questions. Unfortunately, some of these questions do not require students to have read the text in order to be answered. Don't throw your teacher manual away! Many of these questions can be tweaked into text dependent questions with little effort.

It's also possible to ask students to use these question builders to help them use evidence from the text.

Here are examples of questions that were tweaked to become text dependent.

How do I write text dependent questions?

I refer to the Common Core ELA Literature and Informational Text standards and use question stems that target standards from each section (Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas). For helpful text dependent question stems that can be used for any text, I have created a resource that will help you ask questions and facilitate discussions that encourage higher order thinking while covering ALL of the informational and literature standards.

How Text Dependent Questions Transformed my Teaching

When I used to read-aloud to my students I would read the entire story one time and ask all the comprehension questions in one sitting. I didn't prepare questions ahead of time so I asked basic story element questions i.e.: who are the characters, what is the setting, problem, etc.. When I came to tricky vocabulary words, we would discuss the meaning. When I felt my kids were confused, I threw in some inference questions.
Second Grade Examples:
I didn't realize, until years later, when I studied close reading, that there was a better plan of attack. Based on some research by Timothy Shanahan, Doug Fisher, and Nancy Frey, I started planning my read-aloud lessons around 3-4 sessions, which I now call "Close Looks." The first day, I read the story or text aloud simply for pleasure. I want my kids to enjoy the story without many disruptions or stopping points. The second lesson is our first "Close Look." We read the story again, in entirety, and I stop to ask basic "Key Ideas and Details" questions. I write these questions based on the KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS Reading Literature or Informational Text Common Core Standards.
Second Grade Examples:
The Third lesson, or "Close Look," I revisit portions of the text with the students. I ask questions about the craft and structure of the text. I derive these questions from the CRAFT AND STRUCTURE Common Core Standards. We revisit pages to discuss vocabulary words, text features, and text structure. This day is probably my kids' favorite. They love to analyze why the author made certain word choices and the reasons the words are written in fun ways.
Second Grade Examples:
During the final lesson or "Close Look," we dive deeper into the text. I base these text dependent questions on the INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS standards. This day is built-in to spend time studying illustrations or text features. We also revisit parts of the story to discuss tricky parts that require inference. If we have read another related text, we make text-to-text connections.

Text dependent questions are also a great way to provide opportunities for students to discuss their thinking with others and work on their speaking and listening skills to meet the core standards. Learn how I explicitly teach my students speaking and listening responsibilities in my Discussion Strategies and Accountable Talk in the Classroom post.

By spending three to five days closely reading a book, my kids become experts. By the time I ask text dependent questions over the span of lessons, I have covered all Common Core Literature or Informational Standards. But, the best part is my kids fall in love with every book we close read. They talk about the plot and characters at home and on the playground. This just wasn't the case when I only read the book with them once. During independent reading, they fight over We have done all the work for you and have Stick and Stone, Beekle, Turkey Trouble, Creepy Carrots just to name a few. For Valentines Day, the kids choose their favorite read-aloud and decorate their boxes to represent it. I promise, once you try a read-aloud this way, you will NEVER go back to your old ways. written text dependent questions for over 100 children's books.

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Text Dependent Questions If there is a literacy topic I feel passionate about, it's text dependency. I became a teacher in the era of "text to self" connections. In my early teaching years, I was a pro at teaching kids to make personal connections to read-alouds and other texts.