Reading and Interactive Notebooks

I have been thinking a lot about how structure my literacy block, particularly Readers' Workshop. I wanted to share the Reading Rotation and interactive notebooks that we use to keep track of our skills and strategies.

Minds-On

We start together with a Minds-On block. This block is a time for students to notice the author’s craft and to engender comprehension strategies.  . This can be an explicit modelling of the skill, modelled reading, shared reading, or an interactive reading of a mentor text. This block readies our minds to learn or develop a literacy skill.

Reading 

Next, we read! In the Reading block, each student or pair of students have an individual novel with aligns to the mode of reading we are currently studying, such as biographies or persuasive texts. It is time for students to note their reading progress and to read for a sustained period of time. As they read, students are encouraged to take notice of the literacy skills we studied in the Minds-On session.

Independent Task

Now we move into Independent Task block, students practice the skill by completing a task in the Reading Rotation. This block is a time for students to share and coalesce their thinking with a partner or small group. Students engage in reflective dialogue regarding their reading and comprehension of read texts.

Interactive Notebooks

I have created many interactive notebook resources to help students Examine the text. Please visit my store to see my Theme and Author's Purpose 

 

Reflect

The Reflect block of the reading block is a time for students to voice their new learnings and to revisit the teaching point. Students voice the “Noticings” and “Wonderings” shared with their partner to the larger group. Students name the reading skill or strategy they noticed, and perhaps used, in their independent reading. Teachers take note of the sharing on a class chart. The anecdotal records serve as an assessment tool, as well as means for determining A revisitation of the teaching point brings closure to the session