Notes from 2/28/14 inservice

This web page: http://jrgreatbooks.blogspot.com

Main website: https://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/junior/

Presenter: Bill Siegel from Chicago (bill.siegel@greatbooks.org)

Program originally started for getting adults into reading

3rd grade scores: US is near the top; 5th-8th and on: near the bottom. Reading after 3rd starts to be about reading for learning a subject vs. reading for reading’s sake.

Questions should go deeper than “What color was Little Red Riding Hood’s dress?” like “Where are LRRH’s parents?” “What will she do tomorrow?”

Students should go back to the text to support the answers to their questions; JGB questions can be answered more than one way.

WAIT: "Why am I talking?"

Putting it to practice: White Wave (PDF of another version of the story is here.)

• After the teacher reads the story aloud or has students listen to it on CD, ask students what questions they have. 
• • These questions will show how well they tracked what was happening in the story. 
  • After questions are written up, try to answer them in the order in which they show up in the story, not in the order they were asked. 
  • Have students who asked them to refer to the page in the story where the question showed up. 
  • When students come up with conflicting answers to the same question, ask them to think some more… it usually spurs deeper thought and causes students to focus more with tomorrow’s reread. 
• Consider asking vocabulary questions either ahead of time or after the story. Vocab is only a "role player:” may not be important to the understanding of the story. 
• Other follow-up activities: write questions, complete an art project.
• Unit overview (p. 8): 5 sessions
• • Day 1: first reading and questions
  • Day 2: 2nd reading (read aloud, small group or listen on CD) with directed notes: read again, and write an F for any time Kuo Ming is doing something foolish, or a W when he’s doing something wise. Discuss what was wise, what was foolish, page by page. Expect depth in answers; ask for more info, as well as conflicting answers, looking for justifications for them from the text. 2nd reading takes up most of this session.
  • Day 3: Vocabulary: go over suggested vocab words, and any others which may have come up earlier. All this may have been covered on Day1 or 2.
  • Day 3 or 4: Shared inquiry discussion (refer to binder, Course 101 handout, “What is Shared Inquiry?”): 
  • • Read selection carefully before participating in discussion.
    • Discuss only the part others have read. Don’t refer to personal experiences (“My uncle’s just like Kuo Ming”); other students don’t know that uncle; stick with the story.
    • Support your idea with selection from the text. Open book activity: students should be referring back to the text in front of them. 
    • Listen to other participants and respond to them directly. 3 things needed to do well in this discussion: your brains, your books, and each other. Other people’s ideas will add to your own. 
    • Expect the leader to only ask questions. Can’t make any statements or answer any questions. No cheering on; hard for teachers to do. Otherwise, it turns into who to please the teacher, or there’s only one correct, “good” answer or idea. 
    • • P. 17 seating chart: check off students who are participating, and calling on students who aren’t. For large groups: split class in half, assign each member of outer group an inner circle member to listen to; they check of ideas they agree or don’t agree with. Then switch groups. Big talkers: 4 talking chips: 3 for talking, 1 for asking “I wonder what so-and-so thinks about…” 
      • P. 18 WISI: Building your answer worksheets. Students take time to fill out answers and read aloud, teacher reads aloud for them, or teacher collects and reads some aloud. Focus on reading as a text discussion (the story is the story as the author wrote it), not what the character should have done, or what you would have done. 
      • “Building your Answer" (p. 41): Teacher chooses one question to focus on; students write their responses before the discussion, then after; the hope is it changes based on more insight gained from the discussion today or days before. 
  • Day 5: Expository writing: summarizing the plot 

Going online: http://online.greatbooks.org. Your user name is your email; preset PW is just the beginning of your email. 

“Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes: teacher notes in stories: 

• 1st read: Question mark beside sections that need a question; exclamation mark beside sections that need extra resources; underline specific sections that stand out. 
• 2nd read: turn notes into questions. Brainstorm interpretive questions:
• • questions that are real for you. Questions that have a predetermined “teacher answer” aren’t real questions (“fishing trips”). Let those go.
  • questions the text can address: don’t bring in your own info that’s not in the text.
  • questions with multiple answers using text support. Don’t judge the story (Was it right to give the $10?). Better: What was her motivation to give the $10?
  • Make sure your questions are framed in a challenging way, not a confusing way. Answers should be found in the text, or inferred from the text. Even with 2 characters, make sure you use their names instead of pronouns. 
  • Come to class with 2 paragraphs chosen. When you ask a question and everyone jumps on one paragraph with “me, too,” go to the other paragraph and ask for more info. 
  • Yellow course book 102: 
  • • P. 39: effective follow-up questions. 
    • P. 40: Develop ideas: follow up the answers with deeper questions. 
    • P. 41: ask for evidence: readers should refer to text frequently. You won’t have to ask “Where’s your evidence?” when they start doing it on their own. 
    • P. 42: test ideas. 
    • P. 43: ask for agreement or disagreement: shyer students get a chance to answer.

Another source for web-based reading: https://www.newsela.com. News articles with adjustable reading levels and quizzes. Teachers sign up for free account and assign quizzes to students; keeps track of scores.