10/31

Happy Halloween!  We wrote quick stories in our writer's notebook today.  Lots of great imagery.  Have fun tonight and don't forget to keep reading and logging.  Logs are due on Thursday.

11/28

Today we shared last night's longwrites and listened to critiques of them so everyone is clear on what is expected--jump into the idea and then think out loud about why you had the idea!  We then Discussed the idea that readers read differently.  Some read with a tendency to predict, others tend to think about why their characters are behaving the way they are, others predict how the story will unfold, others ask questions and still others focus on author's craft.  We then examined our own post-its and categorized them into 8 categories: wondering;questions;predicting;character behavior;connections;envisioning and other.  After looking at our own trends we reflected on our reading lives in "All about me as a reader".  We first wrote what we noticed about our post its, then indicated a goal we have set for November's reading and post its.  HW is to finish the RN entry in "all about me as a reader" if not completed in class and also to write ANOTHER LONGWRITE in reflections on reading while we are reading and logging.

10/27

Today we completed an overview of minutes read in the months of October and September.  We also reflected in our "all about me as a reader" sections about what we noticed about our reading habits over September and October.  Also we turned in Nightjohn books. And handed in the final draft of our Nightjohn papers and this week's reading logs.  HW for tonight is to log and write one more longwrite. The longwrite should be based on your IR book and any one of your reactions or post its you created as you read.

All about me as a reader should include:
date
Things I noticed--where read more, when read more etc..
Ideas about why
Goal for the month of November

10/25 and 10/26

10/25
Ugh my computer at school crashed and I totally forgot to update this last night!  Tuesday in class we looked over the entry in our reader's notebooks to remind ourselves of how we are changed a little from reading Nightjohn.  We then wrote a rough draft of  a paper wherein we try to articulate this shift and why we made it.  Please see the handout for further direction.  HW: finish Rd and continue logging time-150 min tomorrow.

10/26
Today we self edited and peer edited our Nightjohn papers to be sure we had all the elements necessary.  HW for tonight is to finish the final draft, and to be sure we have logged 150 minutes on this week's log.

10/24

Well school was let out early today so the writing piece we were going to work on in class is delayed.  In order to be sure you are ready for it, make sure you have completed Wednesday's homework assignment that asks you to reflect on the book.  Keep reading in those IR books.  150 minutes due on Thursday and don't forget I will be collecting Reader's notebooks this week!

10/19

Today we finished up Nightjohn as we read it aloud with a partner in class.  As a team we stopped at page 89 and answered the question, "How does this scene relate to Mammy's worries about Sarny learning ot read in chp 4?"

At the end of chapter 6 we paused to discuss the chapter and any images that are lasting and to predict.

After reading the last chapter we discussed why it was entitled "Words".  We discussed not only the meaning of the title but also why Paulsen chose to entitle this chapter and none of the others.

HW was to continue reading in IR books toward the goal of 150 minutes by next Thursday and also to write a long write in your writers notebooks ANSWERING THE QUESTION--HOW DID READING THE BOOK NIGHTJOHN AFFECT YOU?  HOW ARE YOU CHANGED AS A RESULT OF READING THIS BOOK?  

10/18

Today we read for 10 minutes in our IR books.  We then finished chapter 5 of Nightjohn and discussed it at length.  HW for tonight is to finish up any reading minutes you have left and to log your time and write post its.  Also I am asking for one longwrite based on your IR book.  This longwrite should focus on how your experiences let you "step into the shoes" of you character.  For  example, if I chose to write about the time Sarny learned the word bag I would write the following:
I was able to step into Sarny's shoes when she was so proud of herself for learning to read the word bag.  The reason I was able to understand a little bit of how she was feeling was that I could remember a time when I was as proud of myself.  When I first learned to ride my bike, that is all I wanted to do just like when Sarny wrote the word everywhere, I rode my bike everywhere.  When I first learned to ride my bike, I got so caught up in riding that I didn't even notice it was dinner time.  This sort of happened to Sarny because she got so caught up in writing her word, she did not notice Waller come up behind her.  Even though I do not know what it was like to be a slave, I can understand sometimes a little bit of how Sarny is feeling.

10/17

In reader's notebooks today students wrote a new entry wherein they described Nightjohn's personality so far and told why or how they knew that to be true.  We then talked about strategies readers use to grow ideas about characters beyond making movies in our minds.  We also draw on our own experiences to help us "step in the shoes" of our characters to help us feel, think or experience what they are feeling.We then read to page 70 in Nightjohn and stopped periodically to step in the shoes of Mammy, Sarny and John.  HW is to read, post it and log.  Also Tomorrow is last day for permission slips

10/14

We worked on our What we have Read board today and read independently and everyone received feedback on his/her long writes so now everyone is well prepared to do this weekend's homework--One more long write and read and post it.  Logs are due on Wednesday and Permission slips are due on Monday!

10/13

Today we took about 30 minutes to read in independent reading books while I conferenced with students about their long writes. My goal is to provide feedback for long writes before I assign more and hold kids accountable for something they are quite clear on.  Also, research says large chunks of time reading books that are "just right" help improve student's reading levels!  HW tonight is to make sure you have completed 3 long writes to date (2 about IR books and 1 about Night john ch 4) and to rea dand log.  Also do not forget permission slips!

10/12/11

Today I passed out Scholastic flyers and we talked books for a few minutes.  I then handedout permission slips for our field trip to Middlebury College.  We will travel by bus on Thursday, 10/20 to see the campus and talk about academics with current students at the school.  We will also dine at the college.  Pleasesign the form by Monday 11/17.  We then talked about the art of visualizing a bit more and read the rest of ch 4 of Nightjohn.  We completed a long write in the Reflections on Reading section of the Readers notebook and the assignmnet for tonight is to read/log/postit and complete one more long write about your IR book. IF you were absent be sure to show me last night's HW as I graded it.  Reading logs are due tomorrow!

10/11

Welcome back from the long weekend!  Today we predicted and then talked briefly about visualizing as we read we then read form chapter 4 out loud.  Nice job with discussion today.  Keep it up. We also took 10 minutes to read in class as well.  HW is to read/log/post it and complete one long write about an image your author was able to create.

10/7

Today I checked your updated "To Read List" to be sure everyone is ready to read an historical fiction book next.  We then split into partnerships and finished reading chapter three and completed a worksheet based on the chapter. The worksheet asked students to recall four images from the book so far, ten find those images and tell how the author made them memorable and then to tell why the author may have included the image/part.  Period 9 has to finish the worksheet for homework and read for 20 minutes and log your time.

10/6

Lucy Mitchell came into class today to invite students to join her poetry club that will meet in the library on Tuesdays during period 10. It sounds like a great opportunity  for students to explore, share and write poetry.  Additionally, students turned in their weekly reading logs and got new ones, we set up an in class folder to house the completed reading logs and then partner read chapter 3 of Nightjohn.  HW for tonight is to read/log and create post its as you read.  Remember post its are a place to make your reading/thinking visible.  DO not use them to summarize, instead react, ask questions, predict, respond and write your thoughts about character, setting and theme on them.

10/5

First we did one more long write based on the last post it written in our IR books. IF you were absent, please make this up.  We looked at Story snoops today(see the link--love this link to the right) and also did a quick book trailer on Elijah of Buxton.  HW is to read, log and create post its as you read.  Also remember, I will collect reading logs tomorrow.

10/4

Today I reminded students who  have not yet turned in their final drafts of the Lewis and Clark paper to do so.  We then talked about the post it process and heard several very good post its.  We then took one post it from last night's reading and "wrote long" about that post it in the Reflections on reading section in the reader's notebook. To write long means simply to explain your reaction or your prediction or your interpretation.  I then modeled in a read aloud how to use post its to "research" our reading.  HW:  Read and log and create post-its also, find a new title to read and add that title to your "To Read" section in your Reader's notebook.  Your next book must be historical fiction and about slavery or the Civil War. Use the resources on this blog to help you.

10/3

Today we watched the Nightjohn booktrailer in order to begin the book we will mostly be reading in class today.  The mini lesson today was about how to track our theories about reading by using post it notes as we read.  HW for tonight is to read your twenty minutes and write post its as you read.

NY TImes

I've observed how powerful it can be when students choose their own books. Sunday's New York Times had an article on "reading workshop" which is an instructional model that I've been incorporating in ELA 8 classes over the last year.