Moving J-K-L Readers

  My own dear daughter is now in second grade and is a reader! Yippie! But like most kids her age, as she moves from level to level, the books get longer and there is more of a story to hang on to over many pages. So now I want to help her as much as I can and I know just the way to do it. But how you ask???? Well,  that is the same question that I hear over and over again, year after year.  Well my friends, this is when I begin to introduce the tried-and true-method of summary post-its to kids with my cute little chart!

First I model for the kids this nifty little strategy that I use in my own chapter book for them. I tell them that I STOP! and THINK to myself and say " What is this chapter MOSTLY about?' I make a really dramatic to do and show them how I would write the post-it using a few phrases.  The I have my kids reread their last chapter in front of me and try it out.  

This is an actual chart that I have used many times over the years with kids moving to J-K-L level readers.

Recently, I used this technique with a 2nd grade reader who is new to Level K. She is reading the Iris & Walter series, one that I highly recommend. First she read this one...

Since this was her first attempt at using this strategy, I wanted her to just get the gist of what was going on in each chapter. She got to choose the post-it ( a fancy one, of course) and then write in her pen.  Here are her notes from the book.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

She did get the overall gist of the story and was able to tell me all about Iris and Baby Rose in her retell when done reading.  She did want to know if she could write more, however, I wanted to her spend her time reading, not rewriting the whole book.

As we tried this strategy again, on another day, her post-it responses were better. Take a look for yourself.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

 So here you have it! My little reader grew in her post-it work over a few days! Yeah, keep at it kiddo! She got better at putting down what happened in the story in simple phrases. She even made the connection about Iris being homesick, just like Benny. Clearly this reader is ready to keep trying this on her own. Soon we can move on to more challenging tasks that will help her get ready for Level J books.  She can now talk about her book with her partner using her post-its and even pick one and writing long about it.

Puting the Social back into Social Studies

Interactive Writing in Social Studies

Among the many roles that I have at my school, I am also a mentor to a new Kindergarten teacher. YEAH! So this means I get to spend some time with Ms. V's class and teach!! It is amazing because she is willing let me experiment my theories with her class and hopefully learn something too! 

Recently, I  attempted  to bring excitement to  a drab social studies text to her rocking Kindergarten class.  I worked with Ms. V's and her class to learn about Who's Who in Our School Community through a walking field trip in the school, followed by an interactive writing session.

The Set Up

On Monday we did a Social Studies lesson on Who's Who in Our School Community.  First we talked about the people in our school community that are important to running the school: the principal, the assistant principal, the custodian, the food service workers, the nurse and the school safety officer. Each time we talked about a new person, I pointed to an index card with that person's name on it.  (HINT: By the end of the lesson, we could transfer those name cards to our social studies word wall too!) In our class conversation, we were wondering , what do each of these people do in our school community? Since we wanted to know, we decided to go on a trip and interview each of these special people in our community. Before we left the room, I had written our question out on a card and when we got to each person, one brave student got to ask the question.

The Trip

Our first stop was the cafeteria, and we met Mr. Noble, one of the food service workers at our school. He told the students what his job was, "to serve students food." We then took a picture with Mr. Noble and went on to the next person.

Each person that we talked to was thrilled that the children were interested in what they did at our school. Our principal even invited all 28 children into her office and had then sit around her table! With each person we visited, we asked the question, took a picture, and then said thanks. It took about 20 minutes to complete the whole trip!

The Interactive Writing Follow Up

When we got back to the room, the children were bursting  with energy and could not wait to share their new information.  So, as a class we wrote about what we learned in our trip. Earlier in the day,  I had made a writing booklet on chart paper with a large picture box and two lines on it  for the class to use.

In the meeting area, the class proceeded to write about each of the people we met on the trip. Ms. V and I called on students to help us 'write' the story with us. We used two different colored markers so that the children's writing was in one color and the adults color was in another. This way, while the kids were stretching out a word, or reading the room to find the correct word, I could fill in some other words that we did not want to focus on for the day.  Most balanced literacy gurus state that you should share the pen....well we wanted to speed up the writing and not have it last 2 periods.  Since these students are in Kindergarten, I would not want them to struggle with the word 'protect', so I would ask one child for the initial and ending sound, let him/her write the P, and then fill in the rest myself.

By the end of the period, we wrote about 2 people we met that day.  

We finished the rest of the book over the next few days in social studies class.

Once the pictures were all printed out, we added them to the book and the word wall as well. Finally, we shared our book with each of the people in our school community! 

YOU want my kids to TAKE NOTES? But they are 6 yrs old...

With all the talk of new standards and performance tasks around here, I felt that it was time to share some ideas on ways to teach kids how to use a sticky note to take notes. I have been hearing from some teachers that this is just too hard for kids to do. Well.... of course it will be hard, just like learning to read and learning how to write cursive, but with practice it will get easier.  

First, we must understand that kids will not write super small, so give them a BIG sticky note or a clip board with half a sheet of paper & a pen so they HAVE ROOM to write and  do write instead of wasting time erasing.

Second, you will introduce to your class 2 different ways to take notes: one is by sketching & two is by writing key words.  That is it. Nothing crazy, just keep it simple!

This is a chart that I would unveil to my class as I introduced each method to them. Since your kids will be anxious to write down or draw everything under the sun, you will want to have them practice lots and lots so they get the hang of it.  Once your kids have mastered one, you can show them another way to take notes or you can show just a small group.  It will really depend on your class and their reading & writing abilities. Either way you do it, try to give them a choice as to which one THEY want to use. ( even if it is the color of the sticky note!) If they are more confident it their drawing, then let them draw.

The current reading unit that I am supporting is a Fiction Unit on Self Monitoring. Since the students that I am working with are moving from Level G-H-I readers to J-K-L readers, they do tend to get stuck and sometimes not even know it.  YIKES!  Students just get so excited that they are reading chapters or they finished another LONG book, that they gloss over a few words here and then they have no clue what is going on! OH NO!

I am using a book like the Mercy Watson Series to model for the students my amazing READING SKILLS and how to use STICKY NOTES to help me get UNSTUCK while reading.

THE SKETCH METHOD

First, when I begin to read my new Mercy Watson book, I would have a nice  BIG FAT sticky note on my chart paper  ready to go. I would begin to read the book and as each character was introduced, I would think aloud about the many people we were meeting in the book.  Then I by the 2nd or 3rd page, I might then stop and say to the class,

        

  "Wow, there are many characters in this story and I don't want to get confused, so I am going to sketch some notes on the characters in this story so I remember who is who." 

Then I would sketch a pig for Mercy,  simple man for Mr. Watson and a woman for Mrs. Watson. I would then tell the class as more people are introduced, I would then add them to the first sticky note with the characters on it.

At the end of chapter one, I would pause and tell the class this:

  "WOW! I just read a whole chapter.  Before I read anymore, I must STOP! And think what was this chapter mostly about.  Ok let's see, ( counting on my fingers) I learned that Mr. & Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy. Mercy likes toast and Mercy likes to sleep in bed with Mr. & Mrs. Watson because she is warm and toasty. WOW,  that is a lot of information. So what is the chapter MOSTLY about....hmmm I think I will draw a picture with a bed and 3 heads in it smiling. This way I will remember....."

I would continue to do this for the second chapter as well. I would model and really think about what I was going to draw before I drew it. I would TELL the kids this as I am thinking it.
Then by chapter 3, I would have my class try it the same way I did. Talk about what the chapter was mostly about with a partner FIRST and then draw a simple picture to help them remember what the chapter was MOSTLY about.  HINT HINT....time it. Give kids 30 seconds to draw it or 1 min MAX! This way the kids can get the feel that during reading we spend time READING, not writing a notes.

For the first few times you try this with your class, you will want to have that TALK TIME before sketching , especially if this is the first time your class is take notes.  By the third read aloud, you can just pause at the end of a chapter or section and tell the kids, to stop & sketch.

At the end of each Read Aloud, would have children put their names on the sticky notes and collect them to see what my next steps are in my note taking lessons or what small group work will need to be done based on the notes. Move on to new genres and keep at it! They will succeed! Don't give up! You can do this! Keep trying and I promise your kids will get better at it! 

WRITE SOME WORDS METHOD

Again I would use another book that would support my current reading, social studies, or science unit to first model for my class how to take notes while reading.  Since I read Mercy Watson #1 for the sketch method, I might want to use Mercy Watson #2 for this time around since the class is familiar with the characters.

So again, I would begin my Read Aloud with a large sticky note ready to go on chart paper.

"Since I already read one Mercy Watson book, I know the crazy cast of characters in the book. So before I even begin I am going to get myself  ready to take FAST NOTES by writing M for Mercy, ( draw a M on the chart) Mrs. for Mrs. Watson & a Mr. for Mr. Watson. This way I will save time by not writing the whole name down when  I am taking notes.  Now I am going to start reading"

As I begin reading the text, I would again model for the kids that at the end of the chapter 1, I would say to the class,
"Ok now I must stop and think what is this chapter mostly about. Hmm well Mr. Watson like to take their pink convertible out for a ride each weekend and Mercy LOVES it. So let's think. How can I say this in a few words. Hmmm. Mercy & Mr. W ride in pink car or Mercy rides in car with Mr. W....What about Mercy & Mr. W love to ride in convertible.  Ok, that is a few words. So I will write on my post- it like this."

Again, I would model this for the kids once or twice like we did with the sketching. Again, the students would benefit from TALKING about what the chapter was MOSTLY about and then finding  SIMPLE words to  put on the sticky note. The hard part will be the words.  Don't give up! Tell them not worry about spelling. As long as the kids know what it means, then go with it! Remember, it is their notes and we want them to be comfortable with it.

Again, give them a time limit and stick to it. This will force them to get the work done and get back to reading. Make it like a contest and I am sure your 6 and 7 year old students will beat you to it!

Like I said before, the more you practice it, the better they will be at it. Just don't give up!
Your kids will get it and if you want to change it up and have them take notes on videos, informational texts, and the like, this is just a few ways to get them ready to make that leap.

Happy Note Taking and let me know how it's going! I want to help!