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Westminster Community
Charter School |
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WCCS Literacy
Empowering Readers Through Talk
by Rob Ross
When you read a book, chances are that you want to talk about it with a friend or colleague. This practice gives us the chance to share our enthusiasm, discuss our questions, and increase our comprehension of the text. Some of the most stimulating conversations at home or at work involve people sharing their thoughts on their latest read. Rather than thinking of this practice as something reserved for adults reading Oprah’s latest recommendation, we must begin to view it as an essential habit for all good readers.
As Workshop teachers, we must focus on talk around books throughout the year in order to empower our students to both be thoughtful in their reading and to view reading as something to be shared with others. Book talk in a Workshop classroom evolves from a teacher modeling during interactive Read Aloud, to partnership conversations, and finally to independent book clubs and reading centers. In order to promote productive talk, we must understand this evolution and our role in each stage of it.
Read Aloud
The work of Read Aloud comes from clear and thoughtful planning. In order to be targeted with our Read Aloud instruction, we must choose a text by asking ourselves three questions:
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What skills can I imagine teaching with this text?
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Will my students connect with this text?
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Do I see the potential to use this text throughout the year?
While I am planning a Read Aloud, I need to focus on the skills that I want to teach by strategically planning a series of Think Aloud, Turn & Talk, and Turn & Jot moments. All of these strategies will help you to both model good book talk and coach the students as they practice it. This will help the students begin to feel comfortable and become more independent as the move into partnerships.
Partnerships
No structure in a Workshop classroom is as important as partner talk. In the K – 8 classroom, partner talk helps to teach students responsibility to their fellow readers and accountability to the text, both of which help to develop strong book conversations.
In the beginning, partner time can be short, 5 – 10 minutes, as we teach and model talk strategies and management. The goal is that, eventually, students will plan for their talk and move into self-guided conversations about their books.
Book Clubs
Book clubs, in a 3 – 8 classroom, are defined as 3 or 4 students around the same level reading books to deepen comprehension. In book clubs we model talk using Read Aloud and teach mini-lessons on how to prompt strong talk and comprehension.
Here are a few prompts to teach students to use:
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“Let’s look at page ___. This made me think…”
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“This character makes me feel…”
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“I’m wondering…”
Tip of the Month
Accurate, Up-to-Date Assessments
As the New Year begins, we must remember the importance of timely and accurate Reading assessments.
In order to effectively move students forward, we must always know precisely where they are. Knowing as student’s proper level and monitoring them to ensure that they are in a Just Right Book will help us to develop goals and plan our conferences and small group work.
Though the Running Records are our formal reading assessment, informal assessments out of a student’s Just Right Book can give a teacher a lot of information.
Assessment should be ongoing in order to have the most accurate picture of your Readers. This will help to be certain that you are providing targeted and appropriate instruction for the class and differentiating instruction for the needs of each individual.
Archives
Check out previous literacy articles, tips, and Read Alouds!
Read Aloud of the Month
Grades K - 2
Scaredy Squirrel
by Melanie Watt
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This exciting adventure tells the story of Scaredy Squirrel. Though hyper-fearful with contingency plans for every scenario, Squirrel learns the fun to be had by forgetting your fears and jumping into the unknown. An excellent book for character work!
Grades 3 - 5
Crow Call
by Lois Lowry
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This powerful and well-crafted story tells of the relationship of a daughter and her father as he returns from World War II. Perfect for Read Aloud!
Grades 6 - 8
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 1
by Heather Brewer
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This book introduces us to Vlad, a middle school half-vampire that does not always fit in and works to unfold the secrets that surround his life and his past.
Westminster Community Charter School is supported, since 1993, by its partnership with M&T Bank.
This website is sponsored by the Dissemination Grant from the New York State Department of Education.