Why I Have My Students Justify

I've always been a firm believer that there is a difference between reading and comprehension. So often I see students that have great fluency and read well, however they have a difficult time understanding what they read. This is why I believe it is so important to teach different comprehension skills directly along with higher order thinking skills. I came across this excerpt on higher order thinking skills and feel that this list does a great job at giving ideas while answering  the question: How do you know your students are engaged in higher order thinking? Here are some great strategies.

 Visualize a problem by diagramming it
 Separate relevant from irrelevant information in a word problem
 Seek reasons and causes
 Justify solutions
 See more than one side of a problem
 Weigh sources of information based on their credibility
 Reveal assumptions in reasoning
 Identify bias or logical inconsistencies 

Justifying solutions and explaining with evidence was a strategy I really tried to integrate into my teaching this past year. I started by integrating this strategy into reading and then found myself using it in all subjects. What can I say, it gave me a great idea what each individual student was understanding and still needing help with. As with anything I try, I tend to start small then build up. That's the cautious person in me, I like to get my feet wet before I jump in.  I began with my guided reading groups and I must say, we had so many amazing in depth conversations. They were truly fabulous. Meeting with a group of 5-6 already allows a teacher to grasp each students understanding super well, however this strategy really gave me even more of an idea.  This strategy was so great that by the end of the year I noticed it was carrying over to other classes (like spanish). All on their own, the kiddos were explaining their thinking. All because it became a habit. 

Anchor chart and example words I got over at Life In Fifth Grade by Ms. Leslie Ann.

After the justifying concept was introduced in the beginning of the year- I wanted to test the waters with a getting to know you activity (after all we do so many of these in the beginning of the year-why not step it up a bit). Each student took a look at themselves and brainstormed a list of character traits. They typed them out and then cut out a profile silhouette I took of them.  Eventually they glued their character traits onto  their silhouette.

Now came the justification! They were to take a selfie (what kid doesn't like that) on their iPad and then using ChatterKid app to explain their reasoning for each trait (great way to integrate writing and  fluency as well). At the very end, we connected the silhouette and ChatterKid justification through Aurasma. Here is an example of how they turned out.

Granted, I may be a bit biased, but I think they turned out awesome! It was such a fun, engaging activity to get to know your students. Plus it got them to work on justifying, writing, fluency and technology integration. I must say, that this will be an activity that occurs every year in my room. 

Food For Thought

It's safe to say that teaching is something I love. Even amidst pages and pages of standards, high stakes tests and jumbling up a schedule in attempt to fit everything in. Granted, all of these examples are causes for crazy gymnastics moves (somedays) and reconfiguring daily schedules at the drop of a hat. However, teachers are known for needing to be flexible. Whether this flexibility arises from a daily event, a state test, a student issue, technology not cooperating like it did five minutes before, or a lesson not quite turning out as planned. Those 26+ sets of confused eyes can definitely haunt a teacher at night and require him/her to have ample amounts of coffee the next day.

 I am currently working on my next blog post- The Importance of Justifying and upon doing some research I came across this quote from Karen Tankersley's book, Literacy Strategies for Grades 4–12:

"Content instruction should strive for depth rather than breadth. To process what they read with insight and a critical eye, students must be able to consider the text as a whole and understand what the author is trying to communicate."

This quote got my wheels spinning, sidetracked my "in the works post" and is actually making me practice my own flexibility.  Why are teachers feeling the pressure of teaching content an inch thick and a mile wide, when the majority of students  don't understand the said material on a deeper level. Why are we okay with allowing surface level understanding to occur for students? Why are we willing to be flexible with everything else around us, but yet struggle with being flexible with the stack of content we get through each day or our methods of teaching it?

Time. Time is the big culprit. We want to use the time that we have as wisely as possible.  So what do we do? How can we make the most of it, teach everything we need to and do so in way that children gain a deep understanding? Through brainstorming, the one idea I keep coming back to is content area integration. Granted this is a whole different topic and requires a separate post. However, it could be a possible solution. 

"With an increase in content standards that teachers are required to cover and an increase in expectations of student performance, teachers need to teach more material in the same amount of time. Integrating curriculum allows for this. When teachers integrate literature in science or other content areas, students can focus not only content but also reading comprehension strategies in meaningful and memorable ways. Students will not only achieve gains across content areas but also improve their attitudes in content areas." ( Ansberry & Morgan, 2010)

To me, it sounds like Ansberry and Morgan are on to something. At least providing a little food for thought and material for a future post. 

Visualization: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The setting for this book is The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I don't know about you, but it can be hard for me to visualize a books setting if I have not been there. Especially a setting as large as The Met. This is one reason why I really love authors who use ample description in their writing. E. L. Konigsburg does a good job at describing the scenes inside The Met: such as the large antique bed, the knights armor etc. The figurative language that is used as well to describe the character's experiences and feelings is fantastic. Check out these similes: The bus bounced along like  an empty cracker box on wheels. Claudia's heart sounded to her like their electric percolator brewing the morning's coffee. These are just two examples why I love reading figurative language, it gives the reader description in a creative way. If you forgot about similes and metaphors- check out this video as a refresher.

Since I have never been to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and thanks to our wonderful world of technology, I thought I'd research it a bit. First, I thought I'd search for some images on Google and create a Pic Collage. These images allowed me to visualize the setting much, much  better. Could you imagine being a kid and running away here? Think of all of the places you could hide and everything you could learn! I know our characters, Claudia and Jamie, are really going to be having an adventure and thanks to this amazing book, we get to go along for the ride.

The next step I took in my research was going onto The Met's webpage.  Amidst all of the exhibit information and digital features, I found out that their is a Van Gogh exhibit on his Irises and Roses paintings. As some of you know, I love art and integrating projects into my classroom.  I have  loved browsing Kathy Barbaro's, Art Projects for Kids site since I was a first year teacher.  She has so many amazing, colorful projects and she breaks the project steps down to make them oh so simple. Of course she didn't disappoint with my Van Gogh search! She has multiple Van Gogh art projects that could be integrated (in fact we made the Wheatfield pastel drawing this year)- she even has an iris mural that would be fun for a whole class to do. How awesome could that be?

Comprehension Strategies:

Research the setting: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Search for figurative language the author used.

Start a Vivid Visualization's Graphic Organizer- Use your 5 senses in your description. 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

For my next summer read, I decided to choose a book I have always been curious about. One of my students is reading this now and I thought why not join her. After all, what a fun way to continue sharing a passion for reading.

I was aware that this novel was in the mystery genre, but let me tell you- the first page got my mind activated with many questions. Mostly I was super curious about how this page connected with the rest of the book. Especially since the first chapter is told from the perspective of a sixth grade girl name Claude. I believe she will be our main character of the story, but that is just my prediction. Remember, readers adjust their predictions as they learn more information as they read.

In the first chapter the reader is also introduced to Claude's three brothers and the plot of the story.

The author, E. L. Konigsburg does a great job introducing some character traits for Claude and Jamie (one of her brothers- when you will read, you will find out why he is an important part to the story). Kiddo's, this is a great opportunity to keep a running Venn-Diagram that lists both of these character's traits. This will help you keep track of how these two characters are the same and different, while playing important roles  in the plot.

Comprehension Strategies:

Ask Questions: Make a list of all the different questions you are wondering about.

Compare and Contrast: How are Claude and Jamie the same and different?

Make Connections: Are there any text-to-self connections you can make?

My First Summer Read

I have to admit something happened this year that has never happened before and I am a bit ashamed of it. I started a read aloud book with my students and didn't finish it! The hectic end of the year schedule got the best of me. We started the book Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I chose to read aloud the young readers edition instead of the adult version. We got all the way to chapter 15- up to that point, the students enjoyed it. Especially the theme- I can't tell you how many wonderful discussions we had as a group!

Since I am challenging myself to read more this summer than I have in the past, I decided to start off my summer reading by finding out how this novel ends. I have a love/hate relationship with the cliffhangers that authors leave me with between chapters, so I thought I would finish my own cliff hanger that I created and find out what happens next. 

I promise you, the author did not disappoint! I sat and finished the last 130+ pages on a Saturday afternoon, in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I do think that having chapters come from different perspectives definitely helped keep my mind actively going. When reading the Letter From the Author, I discovered one difference between the adult and young readers version. I must say, I liked this creative change. If I would have finished this read aloud with my students, I can only imagine all of the different ideas they would have come up with for the ending. I am so bummed that this group discussion didn't occur.  So, if you are one of my awesome students and wanted to figure out how the rest of this book develops- email me and tell me your thoughts! Happy Reading.

Summer Reading Benefits

The last week of school, my students took some time to research/discover books that they would like to read over the summer. The students were given an opportunity to share book ideas, look at a list I compiled, and research on their own. By creating their own "Summer Reading List" I am hoping this gives them many book ideas and sparks their ambition for reading during such a fun time of the year.

Yes- I know that summer is time for fun!  A time for a break. Pools, lakes, cabins, camps, sports, vacation, play dates and many more. The three months seems to fly by in a blink of an eye. With all the busy schedules, I understand how reading can get set on the back burner. I am guilty of this myself. However, reading can be fun! It is a time that you can get lost in a book and take a trip to a whole new world. Besides having an escape in a book there are many other benefits of reading. Especially since it helps keeping the summer slide at bay. 

Here is a link to the article above. 

What can we do to help prevent summer reading loss in a world full of technology? Julie M. Wood Ed.D has some very helpful ideas and tips. Check out her article here.