-alternatives to popcorn reading to engage readers:

popcorn reading is negative so it's good to know the alternatives. I want my students to be more engaged though. When they are partner reading they just goof off, so I need something different. I like the echo reading, but that's not always possible. I'm intrigued with the crazy professor reading game and would like to try it. It can be done in small group or whole group.

Primary Autism K-2nd

I read through the reading and metacognition and through the think big-think aloud articles.

I do all the prereading stuff with my students on a daily basis when reading our story of the day. Explaining the front cover, title, author, illustrator, and modeling how we read words from left to right and then turn the page.

Throughout reading the story to my students, I always stop and "think aloud" asking about characters, settings, what we see happening in the pictures.

It is pretty cool to see when my students have that ah-ha moment and can answer one of my think aloud questions independently. :)

I would add the prereading questions from Reading and Metacognition, asking students more about what they think. I focus their attention on examining things like title, headlines, photos, and captions. But for secondary, I appreciate giving students a voice about what they already know, are curious about, and what they might want to learn more about. I feel it would create more connection to what we're reading.

I teach all grades science so for this can be for any grades 3-5.

Building Background Knowledge - Setting the Stage

This activity will help the students that do not have the background knowledge for many of the science investigations/activities.

I chose 2 activities.

INTERVIEWS - students will have a set of questions about the upcoming unit or topic and interview other students and record their answers to the questions. This could give the students without the background knowledge some ideas that they might not have had before. I like that it doesn't put that students on the spot.

MURALS/COLLAGES - students can draw or collect pictures of what they think the topic will be about. This gives ELL students an opportunity to share knowledge without having to discuss.

Both of these activities would help my students gain background knowledge in a fun new way.

Processing

I would follow the three steps from "Thinking Big with Think Alouds" in order to plan what I am going to say in my Think Alouds as I model to students. Our science text usually has a really specific purpose within the chapter and by planning the Think Alouds ahead of time I can make sure what I say aligns with the success criterion and foreshadows future learning progression. Additionally, I liked the Timed Repeat Reading idea from the "11 Alternatives to "Round Robin" (and "Popcorn") Reading". I don't popcorn read and use several of the other activities listed, but the rereading idea was novel to me. I may not focus on time and errors in all my classes, but I love the idea of reading a paragraph to model fluency and then have students reread the same paragraph to themselves or in a structured partner read.

Students will write an information piece on bees.

Questions:  Have students generate questions before you introduce a topic.  Post them around the room, publish and distribute them or record them for review at the conclusion of the unit.  KWL charts (what the learner already knows, what the learner wants to know and later, what the learner has learned) are particularly suited to this purpose.

Students will post questions about bees around the room. When students are personally invested in the questions, they're more motivated to find the answers. The questions they generate act as a road map for the unit. The learning isn't just a list of facts provided by the teacher; it becomes a quest to answer their own questions. This purpose-driven approach makes the information more relevant and memorable. For example, a student who is afraid of bees might ask, "Do all bees sting?" and finding the answer provides practical, relevant knowledge that they care about.

We've just begun our personal narrative writing unit. When I saw this resource, Sentence Combining To Teach Specific Sentence Structures, it drew me in. I appreciate how this resource breaks down an activity for each type of sentence. Many of my students struggle with creating sentences longer than 3 to 4 words OR they just use "and" instead of using punctuation. I am definitely going to use the sentence combining activity within the next week or so and I can reinforce it during writing conferences. My goal would be to get most of my students to write compound complex sentences by the end of the year, however, I will be happy with independent consistency with writing compound sentences well.

Grade 5

The purpose of the activity is to get students engaged in any text, which can be difficult with some informational text in science and social studies. The technique creates a mystery for the students and then they want to find out how much of it they got right. I would use it specifically with informational text as it appears that is what most of the students have difficulty with. There are specifically texts in Amplify Science and Core 95 phonics that it would be helpful to use. Some of these texts are seen as secondary to what else is going on, but hold so much of the background knowledge that is needed in the lesson.

First grade

I read the article "Set the Stage and Learning Will Happen" regarding building background knowledge.

Partner Teaching: For each new story we read in HMH, we have a list of vocabulary words that are embedded and highlighted in the text. Pre-reading, we go over each vocabulary word to build background knowledge. Today, however, one of my kiddos didn't know what a pebble was. It wasn't a vocabulary word, just a word that came up later in the story. I explained that it was a small rock but I realized pebble may not be a word that some kids are familiar with. One of my students spoke up and said he knew what pebbles were because he had a fish tank and in the bottom of the fish tank he had pebbles. We did a google search image of fish tanks with pebbles and our little friend was satisfied.

Journaling: Also today I had students draw a picture of the vocabulary words for our story. For instance, the words today were trip (they drew a picture of a place they wanted to go), partner (they drew a picture of what they would like to do with a partner), wished (something they wished for--unicorns were popular), and last (as in, something happened at last -- Christmas and lunch was popular here). This helped solidify not only the vocabulary word, but the context of how the word was used in the story. The quote from the article "Meaning is more critical to the brain than information" really was put into practice. I can give them a definition but providing them with a picture or, better yet, having them draw their own, was a much better way to give meaning to the words.

The reading activity I chose for my class, College Prep Math, is "Partner Reading" which entails partners (2 person team) reading aloud and switching each time there is a new paragraph or section.

I assign reading as part of every lesson. I like the partner reading as we do partner work regularly in this class. I think the students would be more likely to do the reading assignment with a partner and would be more focused on the material as well.

In this article the aurthor discusses the importance of using a pre-reading or pre-learning strategy where students respond to a short set of statements about an upcoming topic. They answer based on what they already know or believe (agree/disagree, true/false, yes/no). This sparks curiosity, taps into prior knowledge, and identifies misconceptions. After reading or learning, students revisit their answers and compare them to what they’ve learned. I use this strategy during our science lessons. Students will agree or disagree with statements and then revise or confirm their thinking after the lesson or unit.

Kindergarten

Metacognition can look like this when reading aloud the story Chrysanthemum.

1. Model "Think-Alouds"

“Hmm… I notice Chrysanthemum was so happy about her name at the beginning. I’m wondering if that will change later in the story.”

“I’m picturing how Chrysanthemum must feel when the other kids tease her. That makes me feel a little sad too.”

2. Ask Reflection Questions

“What were you picturing in your mind when she skipped home from school?”

“How did you know Chrysanthemum was embarrassed—what clues did you notice?”

“What would you be thinking if this happened to you?”

3. Connect to Emotions

“I’m noticing my heart feels tight when the kids laugh at her name. That tells me this part is important.”

“I had to stop and think: Why did her feelings change from happy to sad?”

4. Revisit Predictions & Adjust Thinking

At different points in the story, pause and ask:

“What did you think would happen? Were you right? What made you change your mind?”

“What clues helped you figure that out?”

5. Wrap-Up Reflection

At the end, ask children to “think about their thinking”:

“What was one smart thought you had while we read?”

“How did stopping to think help you understand the story better?”

Grade Level: 3rd-5 Physical Education

Purpose of the Activity:
The activity builds observation and critical thinking skills. It grabs attention with a visual, helps students focus, and encourages reflection.

How I Would Use It in My Classroom:
I would use sports photos or short clips instead of Times images. Students would answer:

1. What’s going on?

2. What do you see that makes you say that?

3. What more can you find?

This helps them notice body movement, strategy, and effort. Then they can connect what they see to their own performance in games and activities.

Grades 3-5

Jot Thoughts

This activity is great for brainstorming in writing or reviewing material. The students have a post-it note pad or small slips of paper and in a given amount of time, the students would rotate the post-it notes around the circle, jotting down as many ideas as possible about a topic. They would try to cover the desks with ideas! Students can use this with writing a story or coming up with new ideas.

One activity that I do with students is to read the book If I Built a School. I can have the students jot down ideas about what would be in their dream school. After brainstorming the students can categorize and write about the ideas they had.

K-5 PE

I read the "Set the Stage and Learning Will Happen" paper. It is about building background to help students learn new concepts and make learning more meaningful.

One of the strategies was "People Search." For our class, students could be given a paper and walk around search for peers with prior experience on a given sport or exercise.

Another activity is "Content Bingo." Bingo boards can be made with vocabulary skills or concepts, such as agility, endurance, strength, etc. Students can check them off as they see or practice them in class.

Fourth Grade

Purpose --> Set the Stage for Learning

After last week's class, I picked up using a modified version of the RAN strategy with my fourth-grade math classes. We are struggling with rounding. I've used a KWL in previous years, but I liked this version because it addresses misconceptions as well. This week, I read the piece on Building Background Knowledge. I liked the suggestions it provided, such as People Search, which is similar to Kagan's Find Someone feature. In this case, students are asked to "find someone who can..." With my math students, they can find someone who can round to the various place values for this particular topic we are working on. Or students can interview one another, asking for specific steps to rounding given numbers.

Purpose--> Reading and Metacognition but for Math

I also read the "Reading and Metacognition" piece and decided I can apply this in math. Before solving a problem, such as the prereading stage, students can use CUBES to examine, predict, identify the operation, and connect it to a problem they may have solved in the past. While solving, students can self-check to ensure they are following the steps correctly, visualize and model their work, question their approach, and finally solve the problem. Once solved, students can check their answer for reasonableness, evaluate their process, and determine if another method could have been used. Lastly, they can reflect on their learning.

The article outlines six practical strategies that can be used across content areas to support reading development. During today’s reading lesson, I introduced a few of the techniques with my students. Specifically, we focused on close reading, highlighting key information, numbering paragraphs, making text-to-self and text-to-text connections, and asking meaningful questions while reading.

Although it’s still early and I didn’t observe immediate results, I believe these strategies will begin to make a positive impact as students become more familiar with them. I plan to continue introducing the remaining techniques gradually, with the goal of reinforcing these reading habits over time

The article mentions to have students select texts that they can read with 98% accuracy. When teaching beginning readers in first grade, this can be a challenge because of the limited, authentic texts that are decodable. If you had asked me before reading this article I would've imagined that number to be closer to 80% but it's good food for thought as I help my little friends select texts for independent reading.

Second Grade

The purpose of this activity is for students to identify patterns, such as when learning inflections, to determine whether a verb is in the past, present, or future tense. An example is the verb "play." Adding -ed to the verb will make it a past tense (played); adding -ing will make the verb in the present tense (playing); adding will be before the verb, and the -ing will make it a future tense verb (will be playing).

I would use this activity every time we do writing, or when the lesson focuses on the tenses of the verb.

10th Grade Geoscience

I was focused on the Metacognition article. The strategy helps students build metacognition—thinking about their own thinking while reading. It allows them to process heavy science information, make connections, and reflect on meaning rather than just skimming facts. The purpose is to support comprehension, attention, and deeper learning.

I will use “making brain movies” and self-questioning during reading in my science lessons. For example, when students read a complex text about Earth’s interior or greenhouse gases, I’ll pause and guide them to ask: “What is the main idea here? How can I picture this process happening inside the Earth?” or “What question would I ask the author about this?” After reading, students will create quick visual sketches or short summaries to show how they made sense of the text. This will help them retain difficult concepts and build confidence in science reading.

I read Set the Stage and Let Learning Happen. Within this reading there are two strategies that I really liked and one which I have actually used. The first one I have used and it’s called the ABC preview or review and each student or pair of students would have a chart in the form of an alphabet and there students write down terms or association related to the topic given or the article and it’s essentially a brain dump then you can revisit the chart in the unit and add to the chart as you go if you wish. I like to use it at the end of a unit when my AP kids are reviewing this is something that they actually really enjoy to do in pears or have competitions with other groups of students to see who can fill in the most letters and the most accurate ideas. The second strategy from here that I really liked was called Jot Thoughts where students would take Post-it notes and on the Post-it notes, they would generate as many ideas as possible on any given topics in small teams in a given time limit, and students are trying to cover the table with all the Post-it notes that they have. This clearly would give students an opportunity to activate what they remembered, and it could be competitive in nature. The second document that I read was called Improving Reading Skills through Talking. I have always thought that talking out loud through ideas is essentially writing and that is all thinking. in this document, it describes that students can essentially talk through what they’re reading through when some of the more traditional notetaking systems aren’t working for students like Cornell notes or SQ3R this will allow students to be able to build upon what they do know by previewing with set questions in place reading one paragraph at a time in responding to that paragraph by highlighting important information and then they have opportunity to collaborate and discuss what they just read with the shoulder partner or what not outlining very specific questions and that doesn’t put all the ownership on them but also kind of what did you and your partner discover. Students will then or could take time to record comments or summarize all their ideas into one or two cohesive sentences and then they automatically have a study guide if it is easily organized. I think this is a great way to take a larger chunk of information or longer reading and break it down into smaller steps for students who might have a hard time focusing on longer passages.

Three reads in math class.

Upon reading "Reading and Metacognition" resource, I can relate to what we're doing in a math class which is "Three Reads" especially in a long story problem. At first reading, I will be the one to do it without asking any question yet. Then, before the second reading, I will be posting few questions so students can focus on these while listening to their classmates. At third reading, leading questions will be posted to guide the students to answer the problem.