Strategy Sunday: Error Detection

I have been going through all of my grad school notes and finding a lot of reading strategies that I had forgotten about.  I thought I would share some of the strategies here in case any of you could use them.  

Today's strategy is called Error Detection.  

Purpose: To help students develop self-correction strategies - the words need to look right AND make sense. 

Materials: 

-Familiar Text

-Pocket Chart

-Sentence Strips

-Word Cards

How to do it: 

1. Rewrite the familiar text (or part of it) on sentence strips.

2. Cut each word apart and put them in order in the pocket chart.

3. Replace a few words from the familiar text with new words that wouldn't make sense in context.  For example, replace cat with chicken.  

4. Read it with the class and model how to read for understanding.  "Chicken doesn't make sense in this story! What should be there?"  As the students get used to this activity, they will find the errors on their own.  

I haven't used this strategy yet so no pictures.  I am going to introduce this strategy this week with a very simple snowman poem that I found on Deanna Jump's site.  I will add pictures after the lesson! 

Terrible Blogger

I feel like I've been a terrible blogger lately!  These have been the craziest few weeks ever.  In a span of about 2-3 weeks I've had to write 10 IEP's, go to 10 CSE meetings, set up and attend 3 parent meetings, write 40 progress notes, fill out forms for my midyear evaluation, and do a write up about how my yearly goal is progressing.  Throw 2 grad classes, an observation, and tenure paperwork (including compiling a 3 year portfolio) in there somewhere too!  Luckily, everything but the grad classes and tenure paperwork is done now!  

On a different note, my fifth graders REALLY do not get cause and effect relationships.  As I was thinking of some activities to help them with it, this came up on my Pinterest feed: 

I love pirate themed anything and it's FREE!  Go grab your copy at Pitner's Potpourri (click on the picture to be taken to the post).  

TGI(almost)F!

SQ3R

Have you used this strategy?  I use it with my 4th and 5th graders every year but 3rd graders could use it too.  For those of you who aren't familiar with SQ3R, it is a great strategy to use with non-fiction, especially textbooks.  It keeps students actively engaged while writing.

To use it, have each student fold a piece of paper in half hot dog style and give them a non-fiction text.

S - Survey - Students should survey the text.  Read headers, bold words, titles, captions etc...

Q - Question - Ask questions about the text.  I have students turn the headings and titles into questions.  These are written on the left side of the paper.  

R- Read - I have my students read one section at a time.

R - wRite - (I know, it doesn't really start with an R) Students write the answers to their questions on the right side of their paper.

R - Review - Students use their notes to review the information in the chapters.  

I made a quick template to use with your students - although you can just use lined paper too.  Click on the picture to grab your copy!  

Introducing New Reading Strategies

I was writing a post about how I am using my readers's notebooks and I started to explain how I introduce strategies but I think this deserves it's own post!

I stick to the Modeling, Guided practice, Independent practice layout.  First, I tell the students the name of the strategy and a 1 or 2 sentence definition of it.  Next, I model how to use the strategy with a picture book & a think-aloud.  I select places to stop & use the strategy in each book.  The first few stopping points I model how to use the strategy with them.  The next few, I let them try and I guide them.  The last 1 or 2 stopping points I have the students write down how they would use the strategy (Independent practice).  If we have time, I let them free read and practice the strategy more.

I realize that may have sounded confusing so here is my lesson for Checking for Understanding:

Intro: "Today, you are going to learn a new reading strategy called Check for Understanding.  When you check for understanding you simply make sure you understand what you are reading as you read.  After you read a few pages, stop and retell the story to yourself.  If you can do that, keep reading.  If you can't go back and reread.  I think this is one of the most important but simple strategies you will learn.  I'm going to read The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers and show you how I check for understanding while I read."

Modeling: I will read 2-3 pages and then stop and re-tell what I have just read.  If I can retell the important parts, I keep reading.  If I can't, I stop and re-read that section again.  

Guided Practice: I will continue reading and stopping but instead of retelling the section myself, a student will.  

Independent Practice: The last 2 stopping points, I have the students write down their simple retelling.  We go over the first one together and I assess the second one.  

Closure: I have the students share their final retelling and explain what checking for understanding is or how to do it.  

The next day, I introduce the strategy card and sentence frames for that strategy.  The students practice using the strategy independently & writing think-marks for that strategy.  I don't have them write think-marks for checking for understanding so they would read and I would stop everyone a few times and have them check for understanding by writing their retelling - just so I know they are using the strategy.  

This isn't the most creative way to introduce strategies but my students need structure and consistency so it works for me! 

Reader's Notebooks

A week or so ago, I posted about my new reader's notebooks.  I wanted to share with you how my students are using them.  

First, I am introducing the notebooks slowly.  The first day we created Do's and Don'ts, took a tour of the notebook, and decorated the covers.  The next day, we read the Cafe menu and created reading goals.  Since I only have 5 students at a time, one worked with me on choose a goal or two while the others filled in their reading interests.  

     

For the next few days, we practiced using think-marks.  The students reviewed a strategy a day (5 minutes) and I showed them the sentence frame(s) for that strategy.  They independently read and filled in a practice stop & jot page (not one in their notebook, I wanted to give them time to practice and make mistakes).  We went over their use of the strategy and their writing until I knew they understood the strategy and how to write about that strategy.  

Now that my students have a few different strategies to write about, they read a book and used their notebooks to document their thinking.    We will continue to do this until Christmas break.  In January, I plan on introducing the reading response journal section.  

I am using paperclips as bookmarks for the response section and the stop & jot section.  The paper clip goes on the page the students are working on so they can quickly find the correct page.  

I might add ribbons to the paperclips to make them a little more fun.  

You can purchase the Reader's Notebook at my Teachers Notebook store.

Summarizing & a Freebie

I have spent the last two weeks working on summarizing with my students.  Many of them struggle to write complete sentences so the thought of reading a book, understanding it, picking out the most important details, re-writing them in new words, and writing in complete sentences was more than a little overwhelming for them.  

I started by reading a book together and discussing what a summary is.  Then I asked them to verbally summarize the story for me.  As they spoke, I typed.  As expected, the first attempt lacked details.  That was labeled as a level 1 summary.  I questioned the group to add some more details.  With a little tweaking, the level 1 summary became a level 2 summary.  We continued this until we also had a level 3 and 4 example.  I printed out each summary with room for a picture above it.  We added pictures to match the level of the summary.  

After this activity, the students really had a clear idea of what a level 4 summary looks like, how to write it, and what to include in it.  To help them even further, I gave them a copy of my Somebody wanted...but...so...then organizer (which you can grab for free by clicking on the picture of the organizer below).  I gave the students another book in the same series (a Reading a to z book - The Hoppers) and had them try a summary on their own.  Kids referenced the example summaries while writing.  

Their summaries turned out great!  They were not missing any major details (thanks to the organizer) and they added a few extra details because they really wanted to have a 4 star summary.  

A students independent summary.

Our summary board with the 4 examples and some of the kids finished work.