Five For Friday! Summer School Edition

From Doodle Bugs Teaching!

My Goal

I'm about to start my next grad. class! I am studying literacy. It's a super-fast online program where each class is five weeks, one after the other, nonstop for eighteen months.  There is someone in my cohort from Japan!  It's been very challenging working full-time (teaching summer school), teaching my regular classes during the year, finding out I'm teaching fifth grade next year, getting ready for new curriculum, trying to have a life with my husband and two teens at home, AND doing grad school.  All of that to say... if you're thinking about going back to school and you like a challenge, do it!  I had to wait a lot longer to begin this than I wanted to, but I'm so glad I'm doing it, and I know there will be some good reason when I finish!  It's been a goal for many years.  

A Closer Read

Reading more closely is what we've been working on in summer school in my fourth grade class.  I am working hard to teach these kids to not just skip and skim through their reading. Sometimes I think if  they just slowed down, they would improve 100% in their reading.  I like all of the "close reading" approaches I've read about. One that I use with non-fiction is an "offshoot strategy" I came up with from Project Read - a program our school has used for years.  First, the students determine that their passage is non fiction.  It then involves some previewing by underlining words that are repeated within a paragraph (ONE paragraph at a time!) There are hand motions to reinforce this skill; we roll our hands to say "repeated."  They are also instructed to look for words that are connected in some way in meaning. We interlock our fingers to say "connected."  For example, ocean and water, or feet and legs are "connected" in some way even though they aren't repeated words.  They underline these words when they see them repeated or connected. (Just in one paragraph at a time)  This is all before they read!

 After they have found words that are repeated or connected (we never underline little words like the, if, is, a, etc...), we read carefully to try to see exactly what it says about their underlined words and how they are important to the paragraph.  It is kind of tedious for awhile, but I do a lot of it in small groups and it goes much better. They then write a short main idea called a "key fact" next to that paragraph and move on to the next. This helps them have a purpose for their reading, find meaning, and locate answers better. 

A student's underlining of repeated or "connected" words.

This student has connected "education" in the last paragraph with libraries, colleges, and universities. He then read to see what it was all about, then wrote his key fact for the paragraph out in the margin. He wrote, "Carnegie liked education and helped it grow." Great main idea or "key fact!" All of this takes lots of practice and reinforcement before they're independent, but it's a great strategy that works for me. 

An Incentive for Those Difficult Weeks...for $1:

Super simple- 

1. Buy a pack of 5 glow sticks (to last you 1 week) for $1 at Dollar Tree.

2. Tape one to the chalkboard and write "Who is shining brightly today?"

3. In the morning, pass out a ticket (a.k.a., a strip of paper) to each student for the drawing at the end of the day. 

4. They have to keep up with that ticket to be in the drawing, and you take the ticket away if they get in trouble in some way (for me, I take it if they go beyond a warning.) 

5. Kids who have had no problems during the day and still have their ticket get to be in the drawing for the glow stick at the end of the day.

I would definitely not do this all year, I'd get tired of it and so would they.  But you know how they "get" and how you need a few extra tricks in your bag sometimes!  My times would probably be right before Christmas (a week or so) and Spring Break, and maybe at the end of the year.  It could really be any prize, but glow sticks are still an incentive for my kids.

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you, they are having their Summer Clearance Sale!  66% off all fun, colorful summer stuff  I bought lots of storage stuff last year, so I don't need a bunch this summer, but I can't pass up a deal.  I can always use these bins for storing maps, big books, library books, folders, clipboards, etc…

These are way bigger than they look!

 I love these pretty vinyl letters and sayings.  I have some in my third grade classroom, but since I'm moving to fifth, I needed a new one.  

You can't remove and reinstall those very easily, they rip and don't re-stick.  I love this one: "Every Child is a Story Yet to Be Told."  It was was 50% off, so $10!  

I also bought this sweet little vase that has the holes for flowers in the top piece.  I am using it to keep pens and pencils handy.  They fit right in the holes.  It was marked down to $3 (reg. $15.99) because it was missing this little metal holder that I didn't need anyway.  

One of my students gave me a gift card that I hadn't used yet, so all of this was nearly nothing! (A phrase I use often when telling my husband what I bought…"it cost nearly nothing, honey!"  

A Focus on Fiction Summary Questions

It is one of the lowest tested areas in our state.  Kids have such a hard time putting a summary together and especially choosing a summary out of a list of four (long) choices on a test.  Our district instructional specialists have come up with a form that most of us use to help kids find a summary in fiction.   After reading, we use three symbols to help keep them focused on what the story is about: character, problem, and solution.  Definitely nothing new there, but the next couple of things might help if your kids struggle as well.  First, we teach them these symbols for the three areas.  

A character(s):  represented by a stick figure or simple outline of an animal if it's an animal character.

Hand signal: point to self, and say, "character."

They write the character names next to the symbol in the margin of their story.

Problem: represented by a lightning bolt. 

Hand signal: draw a lightning bolt in the air with your finger.

They write the main character's biggest problem next to the symbol. 

Solution: represented by a present "with a bow on top".

Hand signal: draw an imaginary bow in the air with your fingers.

The solution is the written next to the present. (Problem all "wrapped up.")

Character and problem are credited to Project Read symbols, and solution to from one of our LA specialists.  (There are several more story element symbols, but we use these for summary.) The idea is that the character (main) has a problem that is eventually solved, which is like a "gift" from the author.   The "bow on top" is the very end of the story when everything is wrapped up in a nice, neat package for the reader.   It helps kids dig out the most important problem and makes them take the summary all the way to the end.  

We then teach them to draw a "summary chart" to choose the best answer out of the four choices.  Here is a picture of that.  We have them practice drawing on their own over and over so that the chart just comes naturally for them when they have to actually use it. They then just check off the parts that are included in the answer choice and find the one that has all three parts (or as close as possible). 

Summary Chart for answering those LONG fiction summary questions.

It has worked WONDERS for our kids.  I've seen the chart used with "beginning, middle, and end," but character, problem, solution are so much more specific for the kids. Try it! The kids can also write a concise summary from the symbols and words they used in note taking while reading the story. 

If you need more elaboration, just send me a comment, and I'll be happy to explain better!