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This is a one-on-one strategy for interventions that support the development of confidence as a 'writer.' Practice with the conventions of writing with the support of a 'more capable other' in brief, frequent experiences accelerates independence and a core of sight words!

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Welcome back to Preschool & Kindergarten Writing Lessons, a 10-week series from The Measured Mom and This Reading Mama {that's me}. I don't know about you, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far!

The great thing about it is that even though we are targeting young children, older children, who may be reluctant or struggling writers, can also benefit greatly from these lessons! You may also want to check out our writing series for Primary Grade students to get even more ideas for teaching writing.

With very young writers, using dictation is such a great tool to help them see how writing works! As our young writers progress in their understanding of how our language works, we still want to model writing for them in meaningful ways, but instead of doing all the work, we ask them to come alongside us and "share the pen". Today, I'd like to focus on helping children write by writing WITH our kids (also known as interactive writing or shared writing)... this has got to be my absolute favorite topic when writing with young children.

What Does it Mean to "Share the Pen"?

Simply put, shared writing (or interactive writing) is the process in which you AND the child sit and write something together. You write some of the message and the child writes other parts. In the classroom, it works BEST as a small group activity, where students take turns sharing the pen to help you write a message, sentence, or even story.

How Do I Know What the Child Should Write and What I Should Write?

Before beginning the shared writing time, it is helpful to think through:

1) What does the child know about writing?
2) What does the child confuse when writing?
3) What does my child not yet understand about writing?

With NJoy (age 5), I made a list. I looks something like this (some of the items on the list overlap a bit, and that's ok):

What do you do with this information? So glad you asked!

The things he knows about writing, I am going to ask him to do during our writing time together. (It's called holding your child accountable.)

The things he confuses when writing, I'm going to model for him and ask him to try with support if it occurs later in the writing session.

The things he does not understand yet, I am going to model while I write it.

Before You Share the Pen

Before the actual writing time, I like to not only think through what the child knows, but then gather materials we may need to use for that writing session. For this writing time, I gathered his " word wall folder" (a folder with studied sight words in it) and two phonics charts: beginning letter sounds and consonant blends and digraphs- both of these can be found in the appendix of my ebook, Teaching Kids to Spell.

Helping Children Write by Sharing the Pen: The Process

These are the steps we take when sharing the pen. Please note that this is only ONE writing time together. Shared writing can take many forms, including writing a grocery list together, writing a thank you note, and MANY other reasons! No matter the reason, I want the writing to be meaningful to the child.

1. He drew a picture (of his favorite thing in the world- Angry Birds)

2. I asked him about his picture. "Tell me about your picture."

3. He came up with one sentence about his picture. ( The black bird is exploding beside the TNT.)

4. We shared the writing. I started with the capital T saying, "When we start a sentence, we begin with a capital T." I made sure I modeled this because as you can see from that list I jotted down {earlier in this post}, he is not sure when to use capital letters and lower case letters. He finished the rest of The (because he knows that word).

When we came to sight words he has already learned (through Reading the Alphabet or this school year), I let him spell them himself. For example, the and is. He couldn't remember how to spell is, so he looked it up in his "word wall" folder, a place that I keep all the sight words we've studied together.

I also help him accountable for phonics patterns. For example, when writing the word black, we looked at the blends chart, then he listened for and wrote the short a, and then he realized we have color words on our wall, so he used that to finish the word black.

Even though he has is on his sight word folder, he still wrote the s backward. Because shared writing is about modeling and teaching children about correct conventions, spellings, and about writing in general, I did ask him to erase it and try again. I showed him the s on the phonics chart and then drew a little dot so he'd remember where to start the s, and he corrected it.

5. We finished writing, sharing the writing as we went (for example, I spelled exploding, since I wouldn't expect my 5 year old to understand those spelling patterns yet; although he did help me listen for the sounds in the words), and we re-read the text. After reading, he decided he wanted to add, "Boom! Boom!" to his text. We talked once again about capital letters and HE wanted to write the words himself with no help from me, so I let him. 🙂

We hung his work up on our wall and he has been proud to read it to anyone who will listen!

I know this is just a glimpse into one lesson, but I hope you can see that helping children to write by sharing the pen is such a RICH dialogue between the child(ren) and the adult about the purpose of writing, the conventions of writing, handwriting, and spelling . And if you can take the time beforehand to gather your thoughts about what the child knows, confuses and lacks understanding in in regards to writing, the activity is PERFECTLY fit for the child, developmentally appropriate.

To see all of the posts in this writing series, click HERE or the image above.

Follow This Reading Mama's board Writing Ideas for Kids on Pinterest.

~Becky

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Helping Children Write by Sharing the Pen

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Welcome back to Preschool & Kindergarten Writing Lessons, a 10-week series from The Measured Mom and This Reading Mama {that's me}. I don't know about you, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far! The great thing about it is that even though we are targeting young children, older children, who may be reluctant ...

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Here's a veteran Kindergarten teacher's experiences with the power of 'sharing the pen' with children.

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Here's a veteran Kindergarten teacher's experiences with the power of 'sharing the pen' with children.

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These examples of students' journal writing show that they are willing to take risks and to try and spell on their own.

Many of my kindergarten students come to school able to recognize their own names as well as being able to write them. Some can even write a few other words. These children acquire knowledge about print through experimentation with written language - drawing, scribbling, writing with invented spellings or copying conventional spelling.

Hesitant writers.
However, when it came to journal writing, my students either wanted to draw or wanted me to tell them how to spell words. Many were unwilling to make an attempt at spelling on their own. I became frustrated trying to encourage them to become risk takers on their journey to becoming "writers." After six years of kindergarten teaching, I needed to try something different. I needed a way to make the learning personal and social.

An engaging solution.
I knew that research shows children learn best in a whole, meaningful, interesting and functional atmosphere. And I knew that concepts about written language are best acquired in the context of meaningful activities - activities that engage children. So when I attended a workshop on Interactive Writing in the spring, I thought that I might have found a solution.

Interactive Writing was developed by Ohio State University educators as part of an early literacy program that would provide rich experiences for young children, particularly those who are at risk. Ihoped that the use of Interactive Writing in my classroom would encourage my students to try to write on their own.

From transcribing to writing.
Interactive Writing is like a group Language Experience Approach (LEA), in which children's oral language and thinking are used as a foundation for reading instruction. Children's language and personal experiences are used to create reading materials that help show the relationship between written language and already-familiar oral language.

In LEA, the teacher writes the children's words and, in doing so, provides instruction in reading, writing and letter formation. Like LEA, the Interactive Writing Process uses an experience that the children have shared - a field trip, a book that has been read often or any other class activity.

However, unlike LEA, in which the teacher does the writing, in Interactive Writing the teacher and children "share the pen" in recording the text. The teacher focuses students' attention on the conventions of print: capital letters, spacing between words, left to right and top to bottom directionality as well as punctuation. While giving the pen to specific children at points in the transcribing process, the teacher involves the children not only in composing the text but also in producing the written artifact. As the teacher guides the class, the piece of writing is read and reread as each new word is added.

Sending messages.
When I tried the Interactive Writing Process with my kindergarten students this past year, my goal was to see if it helped to improve and increase journal writing. By June, many of my students wrote words and sentences that conveyed a message. Many students used invented spellings when they were unable to write conventionally. They were not afraid to take a risk; they were willing to "try and spell the word."

My students were also paying attention to the conventions of print. They were starting sentences with a capital letter, left to right and top to bottom, leaving a space between words and using a period. Some children even titled and dated their writing pieces. Of course, not all children made this much progress. I had a few students who moved from picture writing to writing random letters to convey a message. But they had the confidence to write it on their own!

Something came up.
I was pleased to find that Interactive Writing provided many opportunities for "teachable moments." These included some things that are not necessarily taught in kindergarten, but which came up during our Interactive Writing sessions. I was able to explain things such as capitalization (days, months), punctuation, silent letters, digraphs, 'y' making the 'e' sound, bossy 'r,' 'er' sound, endings (-ed, -ing), 'z' sound for 's', plurals (-s, -es, change the 'y' to 'i' and add -es), possessives, compound words and letters having the same sound (g/j and c/k).

One activity, individual learning.
The use of Interactive Writing in my classroom also gave me the opportunity to individualize instruction. The students achieved at their own rate, while engaging in one activity. While some children needed me to model how to write a particular letter, some independently wrote letters whose sounds they wanted to represent, and yet others wrote complete words. Individual children were successful in what they were ready to do.

Another bonus of using Interactive Writing, I believe, was an increase in students who became "readers." I usually end the school year with four or five children classified as readers; last year I had 14!

The power of the pen.
I believe that the use of Interactive Writing - "sharing the pen" - made a big impact on my students this past year. It gave them the opportunity to associate letters with sounds. They were "doing" more of the writing; they were engaged in the activity which helped them to become better at segmenting sounds in words. It also gave them ownership and encouraged the possibility of re-creating "writing" independently on their own. As they wrote in their journals, they were constantly experimenting with written language. They were motivated, they wanted to write. It was "sharing the pen," I believe, that made the difference.

Mary Rubadue has been teaching kindergarten for 11 years. She is currently the kindergarten teacher at Hanby Elementary in Westerville, Ohio.

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These examples of students' journal writing show that they are willing to take risks and to try and spell on their own. Many of my kindergarten students come to school able to recognize their own names as well as being able to write them. Some can even write a few other words.

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Whole class writing activities that make the writing process a "We do it all together" activity

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Rationale

The kindergarten teacher begins interactive writing in her class by writing "Today is ..." on a piece of chart paper. She asks for a volunteer to take the pen and write the day, which she has written on a sentence strip and clipped to the top of the chart. Michael raises his hand and the teacher offers him the pen. He comes forward proudly to take it and carefully starts to write "M" for Monday.

The teacher shares the writing experience with young students on chart paper or a whiteboard that is large enough for the whole class to see. Students participate by giving the teacher ideas and also by "taking the pen" and writing words, phrases, or sentences with the teacher's guidance. Older students can participate in shared and collaborative writing as well (Button, Johnson, & Fergerson, 1996; McCarrier, Pinnell, & Fountas, 2000).

Reading literature is an excellent way to initiate interactive writing in the class, and the teacher can continue using literature as the class does interactive writing with any new book that is read throughout the year. The teacher can begin with what is happening that day in class, or a holiday, or a special event in the school. Topics could also be any idea of interest to the students or any interesting event that has occurred: a new class pet, a special activity, a guest speaker that visited the class, a field trip the class went on, a change in the weather (e.g., it rained, snowed, or it was sunny for a change), or something special happened to a child (e.g., they took a trip, have a family visitor, or participated in an after school activity).

This strategy could be modeled on the first day of school, and it could continue to be used throughout the school year daily or several times a day, with other books read aloud during the week or other topics of interest to the students. Mini-lessons can be used to teach writing conventions in the authentic writing context of interactive writing.

Strategy

Read literature that introduces a topic for discussion and interactive writing and do mini-lessons on the conventions of writing as the need for them occurs during interactive writing. For example, for kindergarten, model how to (1) capitalize the first letter or the first word in a sentence and (2) indent the first sentence of a paragraph using the title as the first sentence.
The first day of school is ...
Ask students for ideas to complete the sentence. Remind them of the ideas they shared in response to the reader response questions and prompts. When the class agrees on how to complete the sentence, ask for a volunteer to come to the chart and take the pen to complete the sentence. If a child volunteers and is not yet writing, take dictation for them and write the words as they speak them. If a child is not yet writing but knows the alphabet, spell the words letter-by-letter as they write or write the words in pencil and have the child trace over them with a marking pen. Continue writing the story this way. Ask the students for ideas and for volunteers to take the pen.

Other mini-lessons on the conventions of writing can be modeled during interactive writing as they occur in context.

Older students can practice interactive writing by sharing the pen and collaborating with each other on letters, memos, invitations, or any kind of narrative story, as well as on reports in the content areas.

Grade-level modifications

K-2nd Grade

Read aloud a book about school. Off to Kindergarten by Tony Johnson can be used for a kindergarten class. In this rhyming text, a little boy names all of the things he wants to bring to school on the first day of kindergarten, from a sandbox to a chair for his stuffed bear, until his mother assures him that his teacher will have everything he needs. For first or second grade students, use Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems in a collection edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins (2008) in his I Can Read poetry anthology series. Lead a discussion using aesthetic reader response questions and prompts: How do you feel about the first day of school? How do you feel about school? What do you wish will happen in school this year?

Tell students they will all share their ideas about school through interactive writing. Students can sit on the rug and form a semicircle facing an easel with a piece of paper on it. Ask students for title suggestions for the piece of interactive writing (e.g., "Today at School," "School," "The First Day of School," or another title that emerges from the discussion of the book). Discuss the title choice with the students and either write the title at the top of the chart paper or whitcboard or ask for a child to volunteer to take the pen (marking pen) and write the title. Provide scaffolding to support the student writer with spelling, capitalization, punctuation, or other writing conventions.

For days other than the first day of school, here arc some topics and sentence starters:

"Today is Monday" (or any other day of the week)

"Today is President's Day" (or any other holiday)

"It's a Rainy Day" (or any other weather)

"We're Going to the Zoo" (or any other field trip)

Plus Technology

Through the use of a Smart Board, take dictation and project students' interactive writing on a screen. Revisions can be made to the writing as students watch the changes made on the screen, and mini-lessons may be modeled as well. The interactive writing can also be in the form of an e-mail message that can be sent anywhere-to another teacher's classroom, other school personnel (e.g., the principal or the librarian), or to family members with e-mail access.

Recommended children's books

3rd Grade-5th Grade

Students can write interactively in response to a read aloud book such as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Blume, 1972). Letters can be written interactively by the whole class to someone who visited the class as a guest speaker, to the author of a book they enjoyed, to another class to join them for an activity, to the principal or other school staff in appreciation for something, to a student who is at home for medical reasons, or to the editor of a newspaper on an issue of concern to students. Students can also form groups and write stories, narratives, or short reports in the content areas interactively.

Students can form more than one group but agree to write on the same topic. For example, in response to a chapter book like Ramona the Pest (Cleary, 1968), more advanced primary students could plan to write their own memoir of school patterned after the book. They could identify a main character together but write separate chapters on different topics such as friends, recess, favorite school subjects, least favorite school subjects, or most embarrassing moments. The groups could meet periodically as a whole and discuss the continuity among the chapters and revise accordingly.

Writing conventions appropriate for Grades 3 through 5, or as needed, can be taught in mini-lessons during interactive writing.

Indenting paragraphs

Punctuation: Hyphens, colons, parentheses, or commas in a series of adjectives

Strong verbs, specific nouns, and colorful adjectives and adverbs

Complete and incomplete sentences

Contractions

Pluralization rules

Plural possessives

Quotation marks and underlining in published titles

Homonyms

Onomatopoeia

Recommended children's books

Differentiated instruction

English language learners

Interactive writing makes the writing process visual to the whole class, and English learners who are not yet writing can contribute by illustrating the interactive writing. Interactive writing is context-embedded instruction that taps the prior knowledge of students. It also involves social interaction and cooperation among students. If an English learner is not yet writing, they could "hold the space" between words as another student or the teacher writes the words.

English learners see writing modeled and can copy sentences into their own writing in journals or stories. Use the interactive writing strategy with small groups of English learners, using primary language support as well.

Needs-based groups can be formed and can write interactively in a variety of ways (e.g., responding to a book read aloud or any previously read text, or writing conventions specifically needed by the group).

Struggling students

Students participate by verbally sharing ideas for interactive writing. Take dictation for students, either by writing their ideas for them or by writing them in pencil first and having the student write over them with a marking pen.

Do interactive writing in a small group of three to five struggling readers and writers while other students write in journals or write stories. The same procedure would be used, but each child would have more opportunity to participate and there would be more time to assess and differentiate instruction for each one.

Assessment

Initialing Interactive Writing: Show each child how to initial their writing on the chart. This provides a record of their progress in writing and a means to identify strengths and needs of each child over time. In small groups or writing conferences, provide mini-lessons for each child's assessed needs.

Interactive Writing Record: Use a loose-leaf notebook to keep a record of each child's writing during interactive writing. Word process and print out a facsimile of the form that follows, 3-hole punch it, and include it in the notebook. Use alphabet tabs for last names, and put each child's record under the letter of their last name. Periodically, go through the interactive writing pieces and note the following for each child on their sheet of paper:

Resources

McCarrier, A., Pinnell, G. S., and Fountas, I. C. (2000). Interactive writing: How language and literacy come together. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

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The kindergarten teacher begins interactive writing in her class by writing "Today is ..." on a piece of chart paper. She asks for a volunteer to take the pen and write the day, which she has written on a sentence strip and clipped to the top of the chart.

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
Over the next several weeks, I'll be modeling how to do a close reading at several different grade levels. First up: Close Reading in Kindergarten using the D level text Bedtime Fun by Barbara J. Newkirk and illustrated by Laura Freeman.

In terms of student questioning, start general and move up Bloom's Taxonomy by gradually increasing the rigor. For example, say you want to focus your close reading of Bedtime Fun on character development. Here are the questions I would ask:

Question 1 (Knowledge): Who is the main character in the story? Who is the story mostly about? Who are the other characters in the story? How do you know?

Question 2 (Comprehension): What was the big thing that the entire story was about? How do you know?

Question 3 (Comprehension): Can you explain what is happening on page 3? On page 4? On page 6? How does the little boy change over the course of the story? What clues does the illustrator give us that show that the little boy is changing? How do you know?

Question 4 (Application): What would have happened if the little boy had tried to lie down and go to sleep after page 4? What makes you think that?

Question 5 (Analysis): Why do you think the little boy chose to play with his bear, jump on his bed, stand on his head, etc? What makes you think that? Make a connection to your own life or to another book you've read to support your answer.

Question 6 (Analysis): How would you describe the little boy? What is he like? How does he behave? How do you know?
Additional questions to ask:
Question 7 (Synthesis): Can you think of another thing the little boy could have done so he could stay up later?

Question 8 (Evaluation): What did you think of the little boy? Did you agree with the choices he made? Think about the author. Did you like the choices she made for the main character? Did you like the way the author ended the story? Why or why not?
What are your favorite questions to ask when doing a close reading focused on character development?

How does the main character remind you of yourself or of a character in another book you've read?

Why do you think the author included Mama and Papa in the story?

How do you think the little boy probably behaves when it's time to get up and get ready for school? What makes you think that?

What is important to the little boy? How do you know?

What did the author do to make the little boy realistic?

Even an 8 page book can serve as the foundation for some rigorous student discussions when read closely!

Further reading on teaching literacy in Kindergarten:

Further reading on Close Reading series:

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What does close reading look like in Kindergarten?

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
Over the next several weeks, I'll be modeling how to do a close reading at several different grade levels. Last week, I wrote about close reading in Kindergarten. Next up: Close Reading in First Grade using the H level text Pop Pop and Grandpa by Mary Dixon Lake and illustrated by Christiane Kromer.

In terms of student questioning, start general and move up Bloom's Taxonomy by gradually increasing the rigor. For example, say you want to focus your close reading of Pop Pop and Grandpa on the setting and events of the story (1st grade Literature Standard, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, strand 7, from the Common Core Standards). Here are the questions I would ask:

Question 1 (Knowledge): Where does Pop Pop live? Where does Grandpa live? Why did the little boy have to take a plane to see Grandpa? How would you describe where Pop Pop lives? How would you describe where Grandpa lives? Use key details from the story to support your answer.

Question 2 (Comprehension): How are Pop Pop and Grandpa the same? How are they different? How do you know? Think about where they live, what they like to do and what happened in the story.

Question 3 (Comprehension): How would you summarize the story? What happened when the little boy visited Pop Pop? What happened when the boy visited Grandpa? Use key details from the story to support your answer.

Question 4 (Application): How could you organize what you learned about Pop Pop and Grandpa to show how they are alike and how they are different?

Question 5 (Analysis): How does Pop Pop feel about where he lives? How does Grandpa feel about where he lives? What makes you think that? Use key details from the story to support your answer.
Additional questions to ask:
Question 6 (Synthesis): Suppose you could write a story about what happens when the little boy visits two different relatives. Where would you choose for each to live? What would they do together during the visit?
What are your favorite questions to ask when doing a close reading focused on setting and events?
Question 7 (Synthesis): How would the story have been different if both Pop Pop and Grandpa lived on an island? How would it have been the same? Do you think the little boy and Pop Pop would have done the same things if Pop Pop lived in the same neighborhood as Grandpa? What makes you think that?

Question 8 (Evaluation): Why do you think the author chose for there not to be a problem or a solution in the story? What was the author's purpose in writing this story?

Does either setting remind you of somewhere you know? How is it similar or different to someplace you've been?

Think about what the little boy did with each grandfather. Was this similar or different to what you do with your grandparents? How so?

Would you like to visit either Grandpa or Pop Pop where they live? Why or why not?

Think about where Pop Pop lives and what the little boy did when he was there. What does it look like? Smell like? Feel like? Sound like? Taste like? Think about where Grandpa lives and what the little boy did when he was there. What does it look like? Smell like? Feel like? Sound like? Taste like? Does each setting always look/smell/feel/sound/taste the same, or does it change over the course of the story? Use key details from the story to support your answer.

How was the setting important to what happened in the story? How would the story have been different if Grandpa lived in a big city like New York City? If Pop Pop lived in the middle of the woods? How do you know?

How did the author and illustrator make the setting realistic? What key details did they include?

How did the author set up the events in the story? Why do you think she chose to set up the story that way?

What clues (either in the words or in the pictures) were the most useful in understanding the story?

If you could rename this story, what would you call it? Why? Why do you think the author chose to call the story "Pop Pop and Grandpa"?

What was the most important event in the story? What makes you think that?

Further reading on teaching literacy in First Grade:

Further reading on Close Reading series:

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What does close reading look like in First Grade?

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
Before I start discussing close reading in the second grade classroom, I want to take a minute to acknowledge educators and students across the Northeast, who over the past two weeks have dealt with not just superstorm Sandy, but a Nor'easter! Some schools sustained significant flooding and damage, or have classrooms without heat or power. And in some areas, even though the children are back in the classrooms, after a long day teachers and students head home to clean and repair damage sustained to their own homes and communities. And last week, they did that in the wind and snow. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is. My thoughts are with everyone who continues to be affected by this awful streak of weather.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Over the next several weeks, I'll be modeling how to do a close reading at several different grade levels. Last week, I wrote about close reading in first grade. Next up: Close Reading in Second Grade using the L level text Under the Lemon Moon by Edith Hope Fine and illustrated by Rene King Moreno.

In terms of student questioning, start general and move up Bloom's Taxonomy by gradually increasing the rigor. For example, say you want to focus your close reading of Under the Lemon Moon on author's craft, specifically focusing on language and word choice in just the first six pages of the story (2nd grade reading standard for literature, Craft and Structure, strand 4, AND 2nd grade language standards, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, strands 4-6 from the Common Core Standards). Here are the questions I would ask:

Question 1 (Knowledge): Can you list several examples of onomatopoeia in the story so far? Why do authors use onomatopoeia?

Question 2 (Comprehension & Analysis): How would you rephrase the meaning of "mi arbolito"? What clues does the author give you as to the meaning of that phrase? What language is that phrase? How do you know? What clues does the author give you? Why do you think the author chose to include Spanish words and phrases in this story?

Question 3 (Comprehension): What details does Edith Hope Fine include on the first page to set the scene for the story? Why does she choose to include these details?

Question 4 (Application): Edith Hope Fine has chosen strong, specific verbs so far. For example, on page 5, she uses the strong, specific verb "crooned" instead of the everyday verb "sang." What are some other examples of strong, specific verbs that Edith Hope Fine used to describe characters' actions?

Question 5 (Analysis): In the beginning of the story, instead of telling us Rosalinda scared the Night Man away, Edith Hope Fine described what Rosalinda and Blanca did that caused the Night Man to cry out and run away. Can you identify other parts in the story where the author used that same " show not tell" strategy?
Additional questions to ask:
Question 6 (Synthesis): What words or images did the author use to build suspense? What other words or details would you add to the story to further build suspense?
What are your favorite questions to ask when doing a close reading focused on author's craft, language and word choice?
Question 7 (Evaluation): Edith Hope Fine chooses to name the stranger in the garden "Night Man." Why do you think she made the choice to give him a name? Do you agree with her choice of name? What would you have called the stranger in the garden if you were writing the story?

Make a list of words that were unfamiliar to you before you read this story. How did you figure out what these words meant?

Choose the most important sentence from the story so far. Why did you choose this sentence? Why do you feel it is so important?

Choose a word that you learned or particularly liked from the beginning of the story. Write the meaning of the word in your own words, then draw a picture that shows what the word means.

Choose a word that best represents the story so far. Is there a time in your life when this word applied to or was important to you? Is there a time when this word was important in another text you read?

List some descriptive words Edith Hope Fine uses to set the scene or to show characters thoughts, actions and feelings.

What techniques did the author use to hook you into the story? To make the story suspenseful? To make the writing lively?

So far, what word best describes Rosalinda? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

What words or phrases from the story helped you visualize the story?

Further reading on teaching literacy in Second Grade:

Further reading on Close Reading series:

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What does close reading look like in Second Grade?

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Jaclyn DeForge, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching first and second grade in the South Bronx, and went on to become a literacy coach and earn her Masters of Science in Teaching. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.

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Decoding Strategies in the context of vocabulary development activities

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literacy reading writing comprehension program solution

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how to teach literature reading writing comprehension programs

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Words Their Way with English Learners ©2009: A Reading & Language Arts Curriculum by Pearson

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Engage your students with Words Their Way with English Learners ©2009, a Pearson Reading & Language Arts Curriculum. Pearson is your one-stop shop for classroom education solutions.

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I'll admit it: I was looking for a Native American book by a Native American author to write about in light of Thanksgiving and National American Indian Heritage Month as many teachers do this time of year.

This led me to reread and re-experience the Children's Book Press treasure, This Land is My Land, by artist George Littlechild. As winner of the 1994 Jane Addams Picture Book Award and 1993 National Parenting Publications Gold Medal, This Land is My Land is a notable treat for students and readers of all ages.

The book features 17 of the artist's mixed media paintings organized to portray Native American history in North America and Littlechild's own heritage and childhood. As I studied Littlechild's paintings and read his accompanying essays about each, I felt as if I were on a gallery walk with my own earbud connected to the artist.

Although this picture book would make a great counterpoint to many Thanksgiving books out there, This Land is My Land is valuable beyond the Thanksgiving-relevant content. It is a great example of how art is a powerful medium for critical thinking development and can be integrated into literacy instruction (not just the assigned art block a couple times a week).

So, what does close reading (or "looking?") look like with art?

Like a text, a piece of art is another place for students to engage with multiple times and each time diving into another level of meaning and interpretation. Using art in the classroom relates to the reading standard 7 of the Common Core, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas. Additionally, many of these questions are questions we would use with students in the close reading of a text.

Below is an example of how students can progress with their observations and thinking. I separated levels of questions into three viewings based on level of complexity, but of course one could (and should) return to a worthwhile painting many, many times.

First look (literal comprehension/understanding)

What is happening?

What patterns do you see? What images, colors, and symbols do you see repeated or used most often in this painting or across paintings?

What materials does Littlechild use?

How does Littlechild use positive or negative space?

How does Littlechild use the foreground and background?

Who is the narrator?

What are some common ideas or events portrayed in his artwork?

What is the central idea of the painting? What is the central idea of the paintings taken altogether? What makes you think so?

Second look (higher level thinking/interpretation of meaning)

What effect do repeated colors, images, patterns, or symbols have on his art and the central idea?

What effect does a specific material, such as shells or sequins, have on his art and the central idea?

What does "Indian" mean to Littlechild?

How does Littlechild's background (childhood, heritage, identity, family relationships) affect the subjects, themes, and materials of his paintings?

What has Littlechild learned from his elders? What does he want viewers to learn from or think about events in the past and our heritages?

What is the mood of one piece of the artwork or the collective body of artwork? What makes you think so? What colors, patterns, materials, or images does he use to convey mood?

What is the purpose of his art? Why would Littlechild create this painting or assemble these paintings into a collection? Why talk about these events and his heritage and childhood at all?

Who do you think is the intended audience of This Land is My Land? What might Littlechild want them to do with this narrative and perspective?

How does Littlechild demonstrate pride in and appreciation for his heritage? How does he convey pain in Native American history? How does he convey the closeness of his community?

Third look (higher level thinking/analysis of artist's craft/structure/methods)

Why does Littlechild choose to start the book with a dedication to his ancestors and include their photographs?

How is the collection of paintings organized? How does the chronological structure convey or confirm his central idea? How does this mixed media collection compare to a biography in book form?

Why does Littlechild choose the title and painting for the book cover: This Land is My Land? He doesn't like the song, "This land is your land, this land is my land," or its meaning; so, why does it fit as the title and cover painting for the book? What does this choice tell us about the central idea of the book? What message does he want to convey to viewers?

Why does Littlechild use photographs in the painting, instead of just drawing the figures? What effect do the photographs have on the story he is telling and on the painting itself? (Repeat this question for feathers, sequins, shells, and feathers)

Why do you think the artist chooses to use the motif of stars? What do a "star" mean in this context? the number four? horses?

Why does Littlechild choose art/mixed media collage to represent events in his own life and convey his the central idea?

For further reading on integrating the Arts with the Common Core, check out these fantastic resources:

How are you integrating art with the Common Core? What tips do you have for choosing high quality art to teach? What art are you using already? Let us know!
Jill Eisenberg, our Senior Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.

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First Look, Second Look, Third Look: Close "Reading" with Book Art

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I'll admit it: I was looking for a Native American book by a Native American author to write about in light of Thanksgiving and National American Indian Heritage Month as many teachers do this time of year. This led me to reread and re-experience the Children's Book Press treasure, This Land is My Land , by artist George Littlechild.