Use the chart below to coach students into building a reading routine that supports growing their reading stamina.

One way this might go...

Readers get ready to read long and strong by setting up their reading space and setting a goal for how many minutes they want to read each day.

What do I need today to be successful in this work?

How many minutes do I want to set as a goal for my reading stamina today?

Then, help students to create a plan for when they are are running out of steam while reading. Ask the following questions and record their answers on a class chart:

What does it feel like to run out of steam while reading? (ex: I forget what I just read.)

What can I do to help me get back into my reading? (ex: I can stretch my arms or legs and count to ten.)

As students are reading during workshop pause and check in on their stamina.

Ask: "How is your reading stamina right now on a scale of 1-5?" (5- I'm feeling strong and focused., 1- I'm struggling and feeling unfocused.)

Coach students who rate themselves as a 1-2 on the scale to pick a refocusing strategy on the chart.

Readers and writers need practice in finding details or parts of a text quickly as they reread. Help students practice this important skill by leading students in quick skim & scan activities using a familiar text. 

One way this can go: 

• Round 1: Scan for a word. (Each Kindness example: Find the word "friend.") Repeat with 2-3 more words as a warm up.

• Round 2: Scan for a phrase. (Each Kindness example: Find the word "water rippled out and away.") Repeat as needed.

• Round 3: Scan to support an idea. (Each Kindness example: Find a part that could help you explain how Chloe was mean.) Repeat as needed.

Coach readers to use the gist to help them find the word, phrase, or part. 

• "Where in the text might this (word, phrase, part) be located? In the beginning, the middle, or the end?" 

• "What happened in the text that might be connected to this (word, phrase, part)?"

Readers need to quickly get themselves set up for reading a text closely by previewing the text. One way you could model or coach into this skill:

1. Start by reading the text introduction or blurb.

2. Look for  the Who & What and ask, "Why might that be important?" (Who= characters or subject, What= problem/events or what the text is teaching us about the subject.)

3. If there isn't a blurb included, readers can skim and scan the beginning of a text trying to get a sense of the Who & What.

Readers need to be able to read with internalized lenses for each genre. They need to stop and ask themselves, "What is the text asking us think about in this part?"

One way we can help our readers carry this repertoire of lenses with them as they read is by modeling this work inside of our read aloud. 

1. Review one of the charts below before your read aloud with your class. 

2. Pause after reading a part of the text and ask: "What is the text asking us think about in this part?" 

3. Have students share their thinking, while you highlight the skills on the chart that they are demonstrating.

4. Name any parts of the chart they aren't thinking about yet and read on trying to scoop up more lenses as you go. 

One way we can help our readers carry this repertoire of lenses with them as they read is by modeling this work inside of our read aloud.

Review one of the charts below before your read aloud with your class.

Pause after reading a part of the text and ask: "What is the text asking us think about in this part?"

Have students share their thinking, while you highlight the skills on the chart that they are demonstrating.

Name any parts of the chart they aren't thinking about yet and read on trying to scoop up more lenses as you go.

State assessments will reflect the new standards in your state. One new standard in writing is using video as a mentor text to help students identify author's craft.

One way this could go: 

1. Ask: What do we know to pay attention to across a text?  

2. Explain that in a narrative or nonfiction text author's have common craft techniques they use to make their readers think or feel a certain way about these elements. Display a list of the most common craft techniques.

3. Watch a video. What craft moves do you notice the author using in this video? Take notes as you watch.

4. Discuss what you noticed in the video. Flag any craft techniques you want to use as a lens for a rewatch.

5. Rewatch the video with your lens. 

6. Discuss why the author may have used those techniques. What did they want us to think or feel? How do they connect to the central message?

7. Display questions students could see on the test around craft.