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A New Resource To Help Students Read Old Classics

Posted on 04/24/201904/25/2019 by admin

Classic literature is tough for today’s students. The formality, complicated sentence structures and use of archaic words is intimidating. It’s a pretty safe bet, though, it will be part of your state or district’s end-of-year testing. When reviewing my state’s released tests, I found that every one of them—from grades 5 through 10—included text written over a hundred years ago. So, how can we help students prepare, not just for the reading skills they’ll need to master, but for the stamina and confidence required to tackle these uniquely complex texts?

First, it’s important to understand just what makes classic literature so daunting. Take this excerpt from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol:

Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

ARCHAIC USE OF WORDS
Seventh graders at our school must tackle this text, and even though it doesn’t contain the even more forbidding thee, thou, and thine (a triple-threat which actually has to be translated into present-day English pronouns), it brings my struggling readers up short every time. Does “Mind!” mean the author is being introspective, addressing himself (as he certainly appears to be later in the paragraph)? Is “Mind!” a command to behave? (My students are apparently familiar with this usage.) In fact, here it means neither and “Mind!” is instead a lost meaning of the word asking the reader to “pay attention.” Forging ahead, students are then derailed by “ironmongery” and the less familiar use of “trade” to mean business (not a swap).

COMPLICATED STRUCTURE
Old English is quite verbose. Whereas today’s communicator often wants to “get right to the point,” many classic texts feature a great deal of introspection and complex sentence structures that often interrupt one idea with another, parenthetical thought. At times it can be redundant, “…I know, of my own knowledge…” or “I might have been inclined, myself…” It is also painfully formal “You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically…” Obviously, Dickens was never influenced by the Nike motto: Just do it!

All of this is to say, Old English is troublesome because it is not something students encounter every day. Which got me to thinking… what if they did? What if I could indoctrinate my students in the ways of Ye Olde Tyme texts with brief, but repeated exposure to same? For just a few minutes each day, we’d apply a reading skill they’d already learned to a couple of paragraphs of more challenging classic literature. It was also important to me that they get vocabulary support, where needed, and immediate feedback on their efforts. I combined this idea with my desire to review the important reading skills we’d been working on all year and started creating daily warm-ups that feature challenging texts.

This is how I’m prepping my kids for the state test. Every day, they complete one half-page activity during the first four or five minutes of class. I leave a stack of them at the front of the room, and—with minimal direction—students quickly learned to pick one as they entered and immediately work on it. After I’ve taken attendance and handled whatever pressing business presented itself (inevitably), we review the answers together. I call on student volunteers (or volun-tolds) to share their answers along with their thinking. This creates an opportunity to model valuable test-taking strategies. “What is the question asking for?” “Why isn’t ____ the right answer?” “Why is the answer you chose correct?” The review can be as brief or as extensive as your time or situation requires. If I have time while students are working, I circulate—making a point to consult with any student who seems to be struggling.

I mix it up a little. Some days they get a literary text, other days it’s informational. Even many of the nonfiction pieces are more challenging classics: a speech by Amelia Earhart, a political cartoon from the 1920s, the classic “Yes, Virginia…” New York Sun editorial. That variety, too, is good preparation for year-end assessments.

Using these warm-ups, my students grew more confident and more proficient reading complex texts. A colleague who spotted them at the copier one day asked to use them, too. Our classes couldn’t be more different. She teaches gifted and advanced sixth graders, while I was teaching 7th and 8th grade struggling readers. When we compared notes later, both groups benefitted (and we enjoyed how engaging the task was… truly bell to bell learning).

Even better… this activity takes very little time—about five minutes a day. With so many standards to cover and review before test day, this was a no brainer. We covered dozens of different skills, built vocabulary, and increased student confidence and stamina with complex texts.

If you want to try it in your classroom, I’m including a link to a free one-week supply—five unique warm-ups to give your students practice with classic and complex texts. Since they’re basically targeted mini-assessments, you could also use them as exit slips or quizzes, too. I’d love to know what you think!

Reading

Simplify Text for Struggling Readers #2

Posted on 02/19/201902/18/2020 by admin

In last week’s post, I showcased three resources I use that offer the same text at multiple reading levels to help you scaffold reading tasks for less proficient readers. Sometimes, though, you don’t have the luxury of choosing your own texts for use in the classroom. Or, you may have a specific text you want to use written at a level not yet accessible to some students. In that scenario, these resources can be helpful. While you may have to register for access, all of these tools are online (no downloading or installation of apps) and they’re FREE.

REWORDIFY (rewordify.com)

This website lets you copy and paste existing text (or key it in if there’s no copy option), highlighting difficult words and substituting simpler alternatives. For example, if a text reads “A brutal cold descended on Chicago…” Rewordify translates this to, “ A violent/difficult cold move downward/originated upon Chicago…” As you can see, it’s helpful for identifying words struggling readers are likely to stumble over, and for suggesting a simpler way to say each one. Unfortunately, the resulting text still needs to be reviewed by human eyes and a brain and tweaked to produce the more readable “A terrible cold moved down into Chicago.” Frankly, I use this more to identify vocabulary words I want to teach explicitly than as a translation tool. Some teachers like to teach students to use it themselves as a vocabulary-building/support tool. Rewordify also has a library of 300 simplified classic texts.

PROS: Ease of use; identifies challenging vocabulary and suggests simpler word/phrase substitutions; automatically generates word lists and vocabulary-building activities.

CONS: Translations are often cumbersome and make it difficult to follow the passage’s train of thought.

SIMPLISH (simplish.org)

Like Rewordify, this site allows users to input text by typing, copying and pasting, or by providing a URL. With a click of the button of your choice, the text is then simplified or summarized. I know teachers who love this tool, but my tests yielded less than stellar results. (It kept “sensing” that my English-language sample text was Italian and therefore required a premium account.)

PROS: Quickly translates a given text into simple English.

CONS: Inconsistent results; unable to “read” and translate some texts correctly.

TEXT COMPACTOR

Using a simple formula that measures how many times a key word is used in each sentence, this website condenses text into a tight summary. It doesn’t actually substitute words, but it does analyze the passage, eliminating what it perceives as unimportant details to focus readers on the main messages. It’s a time-saver for summarizing news articles (where writing tends to be more formulaic), but don’t even bother using it with narrative texts.

PROS: Helpful for summarizing, especially when teaching students to determine central idea in nonfiction.

CONS: Doesn’t work with literature. Does not reword text, just eliminates elaboration and detail.

D-I-Y TEXT MODIFICATION

If you teach Language Arts, chances are you already have strong writing skills. Plus, who knows your students–and which words they’re likely to stumble over–better than you do? If you want to modify a given text yourself, you’ll find the following tool helpful for measuring the text’s original level and checking the readability of your redrafts.

Lexile Analyzer

Input the text you want to analyze, click a button, and this tool tells you the Lexile range, mean sentence length, mean log word frequency, mean log word frequency, and word count.

To simplify the text use the following techniques:

Substitute complex words for simple words (ex. “brutal cold” becomes “very cold”).
Shorten complex sentences into two or more simple sentences.
Delete unnecessary details (ex. “an entomologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey” becomes “a scientist”)
Use simple Subject-Verb-Object sentence structures.

PROS: Quickly analyzes texts and reports Lexile range.

CONS: Results are reported in a 100L range rather than a specific Lexile level.

Making complicated texts accessible to those students who struggle to read on grade-level text is critical to their long-term success. Hopefully these suggestions will help reduce the burden of delivering such scaffolding, leaving you more time to focus on building relationships and creating lessons that inspire!

Reading

Simplify Text for Struggling Readers #1

Posted on 02/15/201902/18/2020 by admin

The trend in recent years has been toward mixed-ability classrooms, meaning it’s up to teachers to adapt material to meet the needs of students at many different reading levels. Nowhere has this been more apparent to me than in my Intensive Reading classes, where a single class may include 8^th graders whose reading level ranges from roughly grade 2 to grade 8. If you’re reading this post, no doubt you know how challenging it is to differentiate for such a range of ability-levels, and you’re looking for a viable solution (translation: a method that does not consume all your personal time and mental energy).

Good news: There are several ways you can modify texts, or find modified texts, to make them accessible to all students. In the next two posts, I’ll describe the ones I use often and with success.

(By the way, these are FREE RESOURCES because…well, I’m a teacher, too.)

NEWSELA (newsela.com)

This resource contains thousands of informational articles, each written at 5 different reading levels. Along with each article are vocabulary exercises (Power Words), writing prompts, and standards-based questions to measure reading comprehension. The program automatically assigns the reading level that most closely matches their grade, but students can adjust it up or down to suit them. That said, teachers can assign an article at a specific reading level. Students must complete the article and activities at that level before they can access it at a different level. If you have students who get text-to-speech as an accommodation, you’ll need to use the Newsela app or a browser plug-in to deliver it.

PROS: Easy to set up accounts and classes using Google, Microsoft, or Clever. Articles are available and assignable on multiple reading levels. There are even Spanish language versions of articles.

CONS: Nonfiction articles only. Assignment level customizable only by class, not by student.

READWORKS (readworks.org)

Both literature (fiction and poetry) and nonfiction are available on this free site for teachers. There are hundreds of articles available for grades K-12, searchable by topic, genre, and Lexile level. Though most articles are only available at one Lexile level, Readworks is developing “Step Reads” which offer an additional level of readability. Articles include a text-to-speech function; however most use a computer-generated voice. Check out the eBooks, though, for engaging graphics and human-voice reading. Each article includes vocabulary and text-based questions.

PROS: Includes fiction and poetry as well as nonfiction, text-to-speech for articles and activities. Easy to create classes, assign and track student progress on assignments.

CONS: Limited supply of differentiated texts.

TWEEN TRIBUNE (tweentribune.com)

Offers many high-interest and topical news articles, each on four different reading levels. It’s free to teachers and students with simple account/class setup. New articles are added every day, and many include simple multiple-choice questions. It includes an optional “student comments” feature you could use to encourage text-based writing.

PROS: Engaging articles and graphics, all with a range of reading levels. Includes lesson plans that can be adapted for different grade levels.

CONS: Nonfiction news articles only; quizzes test simple recall rather than deeper comprehension; broken links made navigation frustrating at times.

In my next post, I’ll share tools you can use to simplify any text with a quick cut and paste!

Vocabulary

Fab Five for Vocabulary Instruction

Posted on 08/27/201811/16/2019 by admin

One of the cornerstones of reading comprehension is knowledge of vocabulary. In fact, experts believe that comprehension is possible only when students already know 90- to 95-percent of the words in a given text.¹ That’s why effective vocabulary instruction is vitally important for every level and subject.

On average students need to learn between 2-thousand and 3-thousand new words each year, just to keep up with their peers.² Those who read outside of school will easily manage this, since just 20-minutes of independent reading a day puts children in contact with over 2-million words.³ But, what about students who don’t read outside of school? What about those who come from homes where English isn’t even spoken? These students, along with those whose vocabulary acquisition has already been hampered by a learning disability or deficit socio-cultural environment, will fall further and further behind without focused vocabulary instruction.

If you’re looking for the ONE silver bullet strategy to teach vocabulary, you’re not going to find it here–or anywhere. That’s because studies have shown students need both direct and indirect instruction. They also need multiple exposures to a word in different contexts to truly learn a new word.⁴ This need for repetition makes sense given the four levels of word knowledge that exist:

I never saw it before.
I’ve seen it before, but I’m not sure what it means.
I recognize it in context; it has something to do with…
I know it.

Even though students need variety in vocabulary instruction, there are some practices proven to be highly effective. I call these the “Fab Five” Vocabulary Strategies, and they include both direct and indirect instruction.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION

Teachers should strive to teach about 400 words each year through direct instruction.² (I know that would make for some intimidating weekly word lists, but you can leverage knowledge of word roots and affixes here.) Even though direct instruction implies a teacher-led activity, actively involving students in the learning process, by using discussion, graphic organizers or self-evaluation tools, increases understanding. Of course, it is also important that the words be relevant. The best way to ensure this is to link vocabulary instruction to texts the students are currently reading. Peruse class texts in advance to identify potential vocabulary words you can use during explicit instruction.

#1 – Analyzing Word Structure

Morphology involves segmenting words into their component parts: base words, roots, prefixes and suffixes. Students who learn the meaning of common roots and affixes (prefixes and suffixes) can apply that knowledge whenever they encounter a new word that contains a known component. For example, a student who knows that –port- means “to carry” and -able means “able to” can assume that portable means “able to be carried” even if they are encountering the word portable for the first time. They can then apply that knowledge to new words containing these word parts: transport, portal, or transit. There are a number of great resources for employing word structure analysis in your classroom, such as this one from Read.Write.Think. or this one from the Florida Center for Reading Research. In another post I describe the Greek and Latin word study routine I built into independent reading.

My post on tinycards also included a link to existing root word flash cards I’ve used with great success.

#2 – Read Alouds

Yes, you should be reading aloud to your students, even in middle grades and beyond. Defining unfamiliar words encountered while reading improves student understanding of word meanings (by 10%) and re-reading the text aids retention of words by 12%⁵. I actively involve my students his this process (another retention-booster) by having them record any unknown words on a sticky note as I read the selection (or use one of the much more dramatic readings provided by our textbook). We spend a few minutes after reading to list all their words on the board. (I also “play a game” where I try to spell it correctly without looking in the book, to model phonetic spelling and focus their attention on this aspect of the new words as well. They love to “catch” me making a mistake and correct me. Sneaky, sneaky teacher.)

Want to know more about reading aloud to older students? Check out this article by Valentina Gonzalez: https://www.middleweb.com/36437/read-alouds-are-great-for-the-middle-grades/ or this book:

#3 – Semantic Word Maps (aka “Graphic Organizers”)

Use graphic organizers to encourage students to interact with new vocabulary. The Frayer model is an effective one, where students list examples and non-examples of the word, as well as key features and characteristics. I also use a chart like the one modeled here to guide students through Marzano’s 6-Step Vocabulary Acquisition process. You can even modify and display student-created word maps using a Graffiti Wall like the one pictured to the right. Here, the Frayer model was adapted to include artistic elements, then displayed so students (and the teacher) could easily review new words (which reinforces retention).

#4 – Context Clues

Nothing new here. You are probably already teaching your students to use context clues (words surrounding an unfamiliar term that hint at its meaning) to determine the meaning of unknown or multiple meaning words. Modeling use of all the different types of context clues and pointing out the signal words associated with each type will help them maximize word acquisition during independent reading. Here are the types of clues I teach and the order I use: definition, restatement, synonym, comparison, antonym, contrast, example, cause and effect, and inference. When I first started teaching, I tried to teach all nine types at once. I quickly learned it is more effective to introduce them one at a time, allowing students to spend more time practicing them and keeping the strategy at the forefront.

INDIRECT VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

#5 – Independent Reading

As noted before, students need repeated exposure to a new word, anywhere from four to eight unique encounters⁶, to assimilate it into their vocabulary. And, there’s no better way to ensure students are exposed to new words than by encouraging them to read self-selected titles at a level that is simultaneously accessible and a bit challenging. (Remember, they must already know 90% to 95% of the surrounding words to make sense of new ones.)

Early in the school year, I teach students the five-finger method for determining if a book is at the “right” level. Essentially, they read the first page, holding up one finger every time they come across a word they aren’t sure about. At the end of the first page, if they’re holding up five fingers, the book is too hard. (“Wrap those five fingers around the book and put it back on the shelf,” I tell them.) If they’re holding up four fingers, the book will be tough, and may require them to read with a dictionary nearby, but they’ll learn a lot. Three fingers is ideal, engaging and informative. Two fingers means the book will be a fairly easy read. Finally, if they’re holding up just one finger (or worse, none) the book is too easy. In our class these books are called “brain candy.” Like candy, you can eat a little bit just for fun, but it’s not a healthy diet. I allow students to read one brain candy book a year for class credit. (“One for fun, then read to feed.”)

It’s important to track this independent learning, so you and students can review what they’re learning. In a future post, I’ll share my method for tracking reading and teaching writing at the same time. But, you could also use one of the graphic organizers mentioned above to have students document new vocabulary words. Some teachers also like to use a reading journal, reserving space in the back for a student-created glossary.

If it seems like the line between direct and indirect vocabulary instruction just got a bit blurry, that’s because it is. We need to explicitly teach students vocabulary strategies they can continue to use outside of the classroom. Throughout their lifetime, they will encounter new words, conversing with friends, reading texts in other content areas, as they learn a new profession someday. Teaching vocabulary means equipping them with word knowledge they need to immediately make sense of a specific passage, but it also means training them to utilize skills for understanding the tens of thousands of new words—some of which haven’t even been coined yet—the future holds for them.

_______________________________

¹Hirsch, 2003

² Beck, McKeown, and Kuncan, 2002

³ Texas Reading Initiative, 2002

⁴ Stahl, 2004

⁵ Biemiller and Boote, 2006

⁶ Apthorp et al., 2011

Other

Inspiring Back-to-School Lesson Idea

Posted on 08/11/201808/11/2018 by admin

Yesterday was the first day of school in our district, and I wanted to share a lesson I debuted that exceeded all expectations! In fact, I’ve never been so excited or felt so connected to students AFTER JUST ONE DAY as I do right now. That’s why I dropped everything to share it with you.

Our middle school asks teachers to develop social contracts with students. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it’s basically a signed document listing the expectations that students and their teacher agree to have for one another. The idea is that everyone takes time to consider the classroom environment they’d like to have and acknowledge their role in creating it. There’s a standard list of questions (What would you like our class to look like? What do you expect from the teacher?). Generally, a student records responses for the class to discuss and eventually agree to endorse.

It’s a solid concept that does start the year off on the right path. However, in a middle-school setting where students and teachers have 7 to 8 different classes, you can imagine how repetitive the process gets to be. So, this year, we were given license to adapt the process to suit our individual classroom content and style. And that’s what led me to try something new. Here’s what we did.

Before students arrived, I arranged the desks into groups of four. I greeted them at the door as they came in, introduced myself and invited them to sit in the group of their choice. (If you have a student survey, collect student data on index cards—or any simple task that requires no more than a few lines of directions written on the board—this is an excellent way to keep everyone engaged while you greet those still arriving.) Once the bell rang, I took care of the usual housekeeping items: personal introduction, attendance, name pronunciation, and need-to-know basics for entering or leaving the room… you know, the standard stuff.

Next, I introduced the day’s activity with this presentation. (Just in case your perfectionism is as bad as mine, here’s a copy of the speaker’s notes I mapped out. I updated them to reflect improvements made after delivering the lesson five times.) After identifying the standard and Marzano-scale associated with it (yes, we do these for EVERY lesson, even on Day 1), I asked if anyone was familiar with TED Talks. In most cases, I had to explain that TED Talks were speeches given by someone who was an expert on the topic, a speech that was filmed and loaded to the Internet so anyone could share the expert’s information. I noted that we were going to watch a TED Talk called Everyday Leadership. Next, I show the video (just 6-minutes) without interruption.

In the video Drew Dudley tells the story of a girl he met during her first day of college. Unbeknownst to him, she was so full of fear and self-doubt that she’d made the decision to quit school, but through one humorous interaction between strangers, he put her at ease and in the process changed her life. She didn’t tell him until four years later, and in revealing how his small act of kindness made him an important person in her life, she in turn helped him realize his own value in the world.

After we watched the video, I presented students with questions to discuss with their group and briefly reminded them of the collaborative discussion traits outlined in the lesson scale we went over (listening while others talk, adding comments and asking on-topic questions). Then, I circulated as groups talked, prompting as needed. I expected to do more redirection of off-topic conversations, but the subject and story-telling in this video was so engaging students stayed focused almost without exception. After a few minutes of discussion, I asked each group to choose a spokesperson to share their answer with the class. I let them know the role of spokesperson would be shared, so a different person would be speaking for the group on each question. Incidentally, watching how each group selected their speaker–not to mention circulating during the discussion–helped me spot the natural leaders, the quiet-but-thoughtful ones, and those who struggle with comprehension or focus.

If your schools allows treats, while students discuss the second question you can pass out lollipops to everyone. It breaks the ice, puts everyone in a positive frame of mind, and it’s a rare opportunity where enjoying sweets IS reinforcing the point of the lesson.

As students shared their thoughts, we learned a lot about one another’s values, experiences, and communication style and ability. The greatest insights were revealed when students shared their “lollipop moments.” Before asking them to discuss this, I acknowledged that this particular question required them to be brave. Sharing an important moment in your life, especially in a group of people you don’t know well, means risking vulnerability. At this point, we’d already seen the video and discussed how the girl felt scared and alone until Drew’s actions showed her the people around her were nervous too. I shared my own “lollipop moment” to spark the conversation, and then I circulated, listening thoughtfully as students candidly shared moments where they’d been either the recipient or giver of a small act of kindness that had a big impact.

While I can’t reveal specific confidences, I can tell you that the real-life stories my students shared of poverty, fear, generosity, and hope reminded me of my own potential to impact these children and make a difference in our world. Don’t you just love it when a lesson you design to inspire others, fuels your own passion in turn? I can say with some degree of certainty that my students felt the same. As they worked on the culminating activity – identifying one word that summed up the actions of either Drew or the girl (kindness, generosity, appreciation) and brainstorming other acts that demonstrate that trait—they were already modeling helpfulness and respect toward one another. I could see that those values, and the idea that our classroom was a safe place in which we could trust one another, were already taking root.

Over the next few days we’ll formalize our social contract, spelling out these values that we now embrace. More than ever before, though, this contract has spilled over the edges of the page and the ideals it represents are already embedded in our class culture. Thanks, Drew!

Other

Cap Off the Year with Common Craft Video Project

Posted on 05/19/201810/18/2018 by admin

No doubt you’ve seen a common craft style video—a one-take “How To” production that uses 2-D illustrations and hand gestures to explain a process. Here’s an example of a common craft video that explains how to create a common craft video. Incidentally, I use this very example to introduce the project to students. While Mr. Fogle states in the video that it takes about 15 minutes to complete the project, my classes work on it for two weeks. Equipment needs are minimal: a video camera (iPhone or iPad apps are ideal), a desktop or space on the floor as your “stage,” and a light source (I use a clip-on work light purchased for less than $10).

The project basically entails six steps: 1) Form groups, 2) Choose a topic, 3) Write the script, 4) Design the props, 5) Rehearse the video, and 6) Record the video. I perform a seventh step, editing, which takes me about an hour using a video editing app on the iPhone we use to record student videos. A fun “premiere day” serves as the culminating activity – usually the last day of school – where we all eat popcorn and watch everyone’s finished projects.

Step 1: Form Groups
Students work in groups of four, and again, I like to let students choose their own groups. Before they do, though, I tell them what skills need to be represented in each group. First, they need a writer to write or type out the script. Next, they need an artist to design the props. Third, they need a fluent reader to narrate the video. Finally, they need a camera operator who will also direct the video. You can combine the roles in a pinch, but you will need at least three students per group to manage moving the props on and off camera.

Step 2: Choose a Topic
I challenge students to think back on the things they found intimidating about starting middle school: opening a locker, changing classes, reading class schedules, rewards system, and so on. I let them pick their topic, so I get instant buy-in. At the same time, I caution them that only the best video for each topic will be shown at next year’s 6th grade camp (a two-day orientation for incoming students), so they have an incentive to branch out and be creative when choosing topics. This has resulted in some very creative ideas over the years, including “How to Make Friends” and “How to Get on Your Teacher’s Good Side.”

Step 3: Write the Script
The script includes BOTH the narrator’s lines and a description of the props and hand gestures that will be used to illustrate each scene of the video. Script-writing requires them to break down their topic into management steps or components, and to come up with a way to depict each one. I give students this script template to guide them through the creative process. Once the script is written, they also have to time each scene to be sure they have content to fill at least two, but no more than three minutes of video.

Step 4: Design the Props
In most cases, props consist of simple line drawings, though a smattering of small objects (pencil, combination lock, etc.) can be used to add visual interest. Caution students against using more than two actual objects as it creates visual clutter. Illustrations MUST be 5”-7” tall and should include bold outlines (refer to Mr. Fogle’s How-To video). Black and white drawings work just fine, but most of my groups like to spend time coloring their artist’s creations—and I usually let them linger over this relaxing activity since this time of year they are often testing in at least one or two classes every day. Remind students to make a “Good” and “Bad” card prop to hold up at the end of the video to mark whether or not it is their final take.

Step 5: Rehearse the Video
Show students how to use a desktop as a “stage.” Alternatively, you can use a piece of poster board or a length of bulletin board paper on a desk or on the floor. Use painters tape or draw lines (I sometimes draw lines on the desktop with marker–it scrubs off with a magic eraser) marking which areas will appear onscreen and which will not be seen in the video. One student (on the left) will push props onscreen at the appointed time, while another student (on the right) will pull props offscreen at the end of the scene. Have them practice this process while the narrator reads the script aloud. The director should time them and provide feedback about the speed of the narration and movements. I tell students that when they are happy with their performance, and have done it at least twice without error, they are ready to record.

setup

Step 6: Record the Video
If you have a quiet place, like a small office or walk-in supply room, it’s best to use this as your “recording studio.” That way, other students can practice quietly in your classroom while each group is recording their video. I use an old iPhone as a camera (shown above), but any digital video recording device works. The camera should be positioned a few feet above the surface where the props will be displayed. If you have a tri-pod, that’s great. For years, though, I used a cardboard box with a small hole cut in the bottom for the camera lens to peek through. I positioned it above a sheet of black poster board lying on the floor. This year I upgraded my equipment, using a tripod with an iPhone mount that came with a handy remote “record” button.

Set up the camera first, then use painters tape (placed just offscreen) to mark the edges of the visible portion of the poster board. As each student group is ready to record, I show them how to operate the camera, turn on the shop light (bounce it off a wall or sheet of paper rather than aiming it directly at the props to avoid washout), and remind them to count silently to three at the end of their final take before displaying the “Good” card onscreen. Honestly, even though they’ve practiced, they usually get overly excited and flub their first or even second take… so plan on allowing about 6 or 7 minutes for each group to record their final video.

Step 7: Editing
If your students are tech savvy, you could have them complete this step. However, I generally handle editing myself simply for the sake of convenience. Since these are one-take videos, I edit them right on the iPhone using the iPhone app. (If you’re using a digital camera or laptop to record them, this software suite is a very user-friendly option, that lets you add titles, special effects, and more.) Editing is where the “GOOD” and “BAD” cards are so important. (Thank you again, Mr. Fogle, for this brilliant idea.) All told, I’ll have roughly 100 video clips to review (2-3 per group X 36 groups). Anything less than 45 seconds long can be deleted without viewing since it’s obviously an aborted attempt. You don’t have to watch each video, just skip to the end and look for the good or bad card, and delete those ending with the bad. Once you’ve culled out the bad videos, trim the end to eliminate the frames displaying the good card. If you’re a perfectionist (and let’s face it, it’s a cross many teachers must bear), you can use the cropping tool to make sure the props are centered, and no edges show onscreen.

popcorn1 As I mentioned early, I usually have a video premiere day the last day of school where students get to watch everyone’s videos. It’s a lot of fun, especially if your school will let you serve popcorn, and the kids enjoy their moment in the spotlight when they get to share their group’s creation with peers. I’m fortunate to work at a school that encourages the sharing of student-created resources as well. So, in addition to sharing their videos with my other classes, selected student-videos are also shown to next year’s incoming 6th graders during a summer camp orientation program, and teachers show them during the first weeks of school to introduce school procedures and culture. I’ve even been permitted to upload them onto a YouTube channel to facilitate distribution and sharing (which adds a whole new level of cachet and incentive to create the best of its kind each year).

This brings up an important point about privacy and security. One of the advantages to using a common craft style video is that it does not show any student’s face or features (a big no, no in our district). I also caution students NOT to include their names in either their video title or credits – for privacy reasons.

Games, Vocabulary

Step Up Your Game with Word Ladders

Posted on 05/06/201812/17/2019 by admin

Word games are a wonderful way to incorporate vocabulary activities into your classroom. Word searches and crossword puzzles reinforce spelling skills, and if you use word definitions as clues rather than giving students a word bank, it aids retention of new vocabulary and encourages critical thinking. The word ladder is another brain-building activity involving word play.

Word ladders challenge players to identify a string of words all having the same number of letters. In fact, each word shares all but one letter with the word immediately above or below it. Using the given clue for each word, players must change just one letter to form a new word that satisfies the given definition or clue. The simplest puzzles, suitable for younger children or ELLs, involve just three- or four- letter words and have fewer rungs, or words, moving through words like walk… talk…tale… and tile. More advanced puzzles use longer words with more challenging vocabulary, like halved… halted… halter… falter… filter… and so on.

Here are some word ladders I created for my 6^th grade intensive reading classes (where every day either begins or ends with vocabulary practice). I start them out with four-word puzzles, until they get the hang of it. Then we progress to five- and six-word ladders. I let them work with a partner, so students engage one another in dialogue about the target words and definitions (a sneaky way to add an auditory learning component). The first time they work through a word ladder it might take them 7-10 minutes, but as they gain experience with this activity, they can easily complete one in under five minutes. For me, this makes word ladders the ideal bell ringer or enrichment activity for fast finishers. The activity is inherently fun, and students love to compare their finished puzzles with their peers’, so it’s a self-checked learning activity that requires no grading!

You can create your own word ladders with this free puzzle-maker by edu-games.org. If you want to build a puzzle using specific words (or create a themed puzzle) you can generate a word ladder list on this site created by Stanford professor Keith Schwartz.

Looking for something a little more turnkey? You’ll find read-to-play online word ladders at turlediary.com (for grades K through 3) or sporcle.com. There are word ladder apps for the iPad like this one by Ventura Educational Systems (costs less than $1).

Access print-ready word ladders at puzzlechoice.com. This scholastic resource for grades 4 through 6 is the book that first introduced me (and by extension my students) to word ladders. I still use it as a go-to for quick bell ringers or extension work.

If you’re looking for a low-prep, high-value vocabulary activity to add to your teaching toolbox, I heartily recommend Word Ladders.

Ladders Carroll

Reading

Teaching Inference

Posted on 04/15/201811/18/2019 by admin

One of the first reading skills I address each year is making inferences. It’s the cornerstone of using context clues, identifying character traits and motivation, analyzing plot, theme, and more. In addition to its obvious necessity for reading comprehension, students will make inferences for science, history, and other subjects.

Now, most students are already able to make inferences. They can read a friend’s body language, for example, and identify whether that friend is excited or distressed. What many need to be explicitly taught, though, is the components used to make inferences—background knowledge (or schema) and evidence—and how to search for that evidence.

A graphic organizer like this one, created for my standard sixth grade class, encourages metacognition and helps students know what to look for when an idea is merely implied, but not readily apparent to them. Believe it or not, the most difficult part of this assignment is usually teaching them to identify their own background knowledge. That skill must be modeled. It may also be necessary to prod their thinking with probing questions, like “How did you know? What background knowledge do you have on this topic that help you make an informed inference?”

It is often also necessary to stress that an inference reflects the “most likely” scenario, and not just something that is remotely possible. For instance, if I read a text in which a fully dressed character stands dripping in a doorway, looking at the rain outside, and ask students to infer why the character is wet, inevitably, someone wants to suggest that “they fell in a lake” or “they went swimming in their clothes.” (Sixth-graders are notorious for playing the “what if” game and love to let their imaginations run wild on this one.) While I praise their creativity, I point out that since the most likely reason is that the character just came in out of the rain, other responses—no matter how creative—are not accurate inferences. So, in addition to teaching them how to draw a conclusion using evidence and schema, I also stress the need to weigh all the possibilities, choosing the one that is most likely.

In a previous post, I wrote about how I use pictures to introduce inferences to my students. I also use several free online resources including this virtual pen pal activity. I can also recommend this YouTube video by MrSato411. Younger students might appreciate these interactives: Riddle Game or the PBS Detective Game. UPDATE: I created these multi-task cards for my literacy centers to give students a chance to practice inferences and context clues.

So, start the year strong with a review of this critical reading skill, or use these resources to review inferences with students who are struggling to “read between the lines.”