Procedural Texts and Digital Tools

When young people are explicitly taught the skills and strategies of proficient reading and are invited to live as richly literate people do, carrying books everywhere, bringing reading into every nook and corner of their lives, the results are dramatic. - Lucy Calkins

Students love to make, build, and design things. The study of procedural texts allows student to explore different types of procedures: recipes, experiments, and rules, as well as heighten the desire to experiment and create! Digital tools can help readers' respond to read procedural texts, wonder and search, make meaning, create original responses, and amplify knowledge into deep understanding and growth as a learner. The following tools are invaluable when facilitating a unit of study on procedural texts. 

SnapGuide is a free iOS application and website that specializes in user generated step-by-step how-to guides. Users create guides on the site, where community members can comment on, rate, and share guides. It scaffolds the students through the process of using the text structure. Students can add the materials list as well as photos, video, and text from the app or site as they are creating their procedure.  The site encourages students to write a persuasive introduction and conclusion. Perfect for procedural text structure!

ThingLink allows students to create interactive images by adding video, music, text, to uploaded images. Have students take pictures and video as they are immersed in the procedure. Once media has been collected, students can create their ThingLink. 

Book Creator allows students to create their own procedural text ePub.  Students can take pictures, video, and record themselves as they are immersed in the procedure. A class or student set of procedural tests could be compiled into one book. A hyperlink to ThingLink or Snapguide could be added to the ePub to be a compilation of all of their work.

View a detailed unit of study on procedural texts by clicking on the image below. Students will examine the big ideas of procedural texts and develop skills and strategies to enhance reading and comprehension. Students will explore cause-and-effect, sequence, language cues and conventions, visualization, determining importance, and synthesis. 

Procedural Texts in Readers' Workshop

Students love to make, build, and design things. A study of procedural texts allows student to explore different types of procedural texts: recipes, experiments, and rules, and heighten their desire to experiment and create! 

Students examine the big ideas of procedural texts. Attend to the text elements common among procedural tasks:

• Gather details necessary to understand the task. 
• Analyze how the organization impacts the reader’s ability to understand and follow the text.  
• Recognize that word choice (adverbial phrases, adjectives, and action verbs) enhances comprehension.  
• Notice how the author conveys the common purpose among procedural texts. 

Most importantly, students will develop skills and strategies to enhance reading and comprehension. Students will explore cause-and-effect, sequence, language cues and conventions, visualization, determining importance, and synthesis. 

Word Work

Due to requests, I have posted my Word Work schedule and task cards on my TPT store.The Word Work Weekly Menu resource features a schedule of tasks which allow experimentation with spelling patterns. By playing with vowel patterns, word families, prefixes, suffixes, and so on, students hone their knowledge of words and increase their writing skills. 

The Word Work Menu outlines a variety of quick, fun tasks to be completed individually and cooperatively. The resource includes:

•  A daily schedule which outlines the tasks, The schedule outlines tasks which helps students actualize the spelling pattern in a variety of contexts: spelling,vocabulary, writing, and reading.
• Word Work Menu task cards which describe the activities. 
• Word Word Writing Tools task cards which suggest alternative tools, such as stamps, stencils, letter sponges, etc. to complete the task cards.

Historical Fiction

Finally! I have finished compiling my Historical Fiction unit of study. As part of Reader's Workshop, this resource is organized around twelve big ideas of historical fiction. Each big idea is developed in the resource to include the following:

• Session Synopsis - teachers guide learning through a mini-lesson based on Lucy Calkins' work
• Anchor Chart - students document their learning through construction of referent material
• Purposeful Task - students delve into their reading to deepen understanding of the story, the historical context, and their own lives
• Response Prompt - students complete a quick write to reflect on their noticings and wonderings.

Through mentor texts, the teacher models thinking deeply about the text. Students apply these skills when reading their self-selected historical fiction novel. This resources aims to foster the role that historical fiction plays in forming connections with the past. By relating historical events to people who were there, real or imaginary, readers are provided a deeper understanding of that period. 

Enjoy!

Fostering Reading with Digital Tools

When young people are explicitly taught the skills and strategies of proficient reading and are invited to live as richly literate people do, carrying books everywhere, bringing reading into every nook and corner of their lives, the results are dramatic. - Lucy Calkins

Proficient reading involves performing with a high level of reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension with high-interest, accessible, self-selected books of appropriate complexity. Digital tools can help readers' attempts to decode a word, increase prosody, self-monitor for understanding, and respond to read texts. I have outlined five tools to foster reading development.

One Minute Reader is a free iPad app. Teachers set reading levels for their students based on how they perform on a quick placement test. Each student’s progress can be saved. Students work through different activities with each story, such as a cold read and read along. Each level has one free story, with additional stories available to purchase.

Record of Reading is a free app for assessing reading behaviours. The embedded formulas for accuracy and self corrections eliminates the need for a calculator. Teachers can type or write directly within the app. The app records students reading while the teacher simultaneously completes the running record. When replaying the record, the oral reading and the record are synced. The record can be saved or emailed. 

WordHippo and GoodWordGuide are word enrichment tools. GoodWordGuide is is a Chrome dictionary extension. Open a webpage, double clicking on a word, and a dictionary page pops up. which provides information about the word as well as pronounces the word when the speaker icon is clicked. WordHippo is a website which defines words and also finds synonyms, antonyms, rhyming words, its etymology, and much more,

Read Mode is a Chrome extension that changes a webpage into an easy-to-read black and white page. It elminates the clutter surrounding the text, such as ads.  Students can quickly toggle back and forth between the Read Mode view and the webpage view.

Page Marker is a Chrome Extension which allows students to write & draw on any webpage. Students can underline, circle and box key information as well as draw, Annotating and sketchnoting around text helps students comprehend read text. Once the webpage is exited, the writing and drawings are erased. Screenshots will need to be taken to preserve thinking. 

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Reading Rotation Board

Finally!
I have uploaded my Reading Rotation Board to my TPT store.

The reading rotation, which spells READ, engages students in reading, comprehending texts, talking with peers to increase understanding, responding to reading, and analyzing read material. Students attend to rotation during the independent work of the reading block. Bins with coordinating icons and letters are used to store rotation materials.

The rotation follows the word READ as an acronym. Students are divided into 4 groups as they rotate through the four rotations.

R: Read (Read just-right books in pairs or small groups to increase fluency)

E: Examine Text (Analyze text and apply comprehension strategies)
A: Attack Words (Examine unfamiliar words and enhance ability to decode and use new vocabulary)
D: Discuss The Text (Engage in purposeful dialogue with peers and/or teacher)

Writing Rotation Board

Great news!

I have uploaded my Writing Rotation to my TPT Store!

The writing rotation, which spells WRITE, engages students in writing, talking about writing, responding to writing ,and analyzing texts. 

The rotation uses the word WRITE as an acronym. Following a mini-lesson, all students begin with the W (Write) rotation in which they write for a sustained time with focus and stamina. Then I divide my class into 4 groups and they rotate throughout the workshop.

W: Write (with stamina and focus)

R: Read To Others

I: Interesting Words

T: Text Think

E: Examine Mentor Texts

This format allows alignment with the writing curricular outcomes, guided writing, strategy lessons, 1:1 conferences with goal development, small group discussions, and self-directed writing and activities. It facilitates differentiation based on ability and meets the individual needs and goals of my learners while providing purposeful rotational activities. Best of all, at the end of each week, I have sufficient evidence to help plan subsequent strategy lessons, help set individual goals with students, and to determine groupings for the following week.

The cards were designed to look great whether printed in colour or in grayscale.

This is a growing bundle. Additional rotation cards will be added and available to purchasers at no additional cost.