The concept of SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) is not a new one, but I have introduced it to my English I, Part 1 and English II classes. Some students suspected a "catch", a required report or "something". I assured them that this was 10 minutes of classtime that they could read anything (school appropriate) they wanted. I read as well and try to share after the time has expired to encourage others to pass along their recommendations or warnings. Most students look forward to SSR and some even request for more. Gotta love that!
Oh!!! Many students are having to read books from my classroom library if they do not come prepared. In light of this they are deciding to check the books out to read during their own time or going back to the same book. Such practices have also spawned conversations about whether they must continue a book if they don't like it. My response...NOOOOOOO! Pleasure reading should be something you WANT to read. Is it any surprise that so many of our kids hate reading when they think it is only about reading material they DON'T like.
I have used vocabulary crosswords in my Economics classes the last few weeks and the students seem to enjoy this. This subject has a great many terms that they have not been exposed to and this seems to be one way to get them to do the reading necessary to learn these terms so that they can "win" the crossword puzzle competition. It seems to stimulate their interest and bring a little excitement to the mundane task of learning vocabulary.
Students always love games, and, of course, many of us use such games as Jeopardy from the popular television show. I have recently come upon a power point template for "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?". This is also a very popular tv program, and the power points can require fun reading. It is only limited by our own imaginations.
We just finished doing a projectin my Earth Science class on Geologic Time. The students had to go on line and research information on a particular period on geological time, i.e. Jurassic Period. They had to look for information on the environment, plants, animals and geology of that period. They also had to find images to use in illustrating their period. They printed this info, and attached their reseach to a long strip of craft paper. This was assembled and put on the wall outside of my classroom. They then did a paper walk and looke dat what each gruoup had prepared, took notes and commented on each section.
Before my students started their long term care clinical rotation I did a Read Aloud - Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. The students were then asked to write how this book related to them and their feelings and what encoursgement it had to offer them. I then led a class discussion.
Frustrated by their lack of interest in being in school and working for a good grade, I have been giving my students in my Algebra One Part One class articles about the different tactics being used by educators to create interest in learning. For instance, the last article we read and "debated" was regarding extra credit. The students got to read an article that was posted online as a debate for or against extra credit and how it should be used or not used to increase a student's grade. They were asked to take the side for or against extra credit. It was shocking to me the number of students that felt the way our overworked teachers do and said no to extra credit. They felt that if the students cannot do the work at the time given, then why be allowed to do it at all. I have also been reading children's books related to something we are studying. For instance, I read "I knew I could" before a lesson on parallel lines. The train tracks represent the parallel lines and the motivational part of the book did not hurt. I have noticed that a lot more students are reading in my class after their test or classwork.
My students were not enjoying copying my notes, so I let them make their own notes for one unit of study. The lower level students had trouble understanding what was important in text. But all of my students have now gained a greater appreciation of how hard it is to produce notes. They complain much less about taking the notes that I have prepared for them. They also commented that they liked how I had simplfied how the textbook had worded things.
I have been trying to incorporate more read alouds into my American Literature classes. The trouble I am running up against is that I am constantly searching for new and interesting children's books to introduce new movements in the chronology of America's Literature. What I would REALLY like to do is find one novel, or a couple of novelettes, to read periodically at the start of class. It would be one more facet of the class, prompt on going discussion, focus on foreshadowing and predicting, and could just be a break from the usual start of the day. I've been looking for novels by American authors that are not already part of our required reading, are age appropriate, and will interest my students. Any suggestions?
I like the fact that George used a "paper walk" and the students had to critique the work of some of their peers. Higher-ordered thinking skills are necessary to do this well. When students have the responsibility of looking over other students work they seem to take their work seriously.
I liked Mark's idea of using crossword puzzles to teach vocabulary. I especially like the idea of a competion. This always brings out the best in students and overwhelms student apathy.
I have also found that the use of games and puzzles is an excellent strategy for encouraging students to read for information and it encourages reading comprehension as well. One game in particular that works well for my Geometry students is "I have - Who has?" This game could be modified to fit any content area. I am including below an abbreviated version of how I have used it in the past. I wish I could attach the entire handout. If you have further questions,just let me know.
Felipe is the fiesta (party) planner down on the east side of Geo town. He is especially great at playing juegos(games). His favorite game is "I have...who has?" See if you can assist Felipe and his friends in playing this game. Start with the numero uno (Felipe)and work the problem beside his name. Then go to whichever friend you are led. Write Felipe's friends in the order that you worked them in the boxes on the second page.
Felipe the fiesta planner wants to know.....who has the sum of the interior angles of a nonagon?
Pedro the pie maker has 1260 degrees.....who has each exterior angle of a regular pentagon?
If students finish assignments early, I have them to get a book from the book baskets in my room and read silently. I also have a class set of daily newspapers they can read. In teaching a unit on letter writing, I used the book, The Jolly Postman-really cute and has samples of everyday correspondence. For a unit on parts of speech, I used "A Mink, a Fink, a skating Rink, Hairy, Scarey, Ordinary, and To Root, To Toot, Parachute ( nouns, verbs, adjectives). The art in "Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!" draws students in (interjections and conjunctions). I also have students respond in journals to a thought of the day. I use jeopardy, millionaire, and other game templates to review for major tests.
Right now my students are working on learning how to work with graphics. Students are not allowed to ask a question until they have searched for an answer in the help menu. I feel that this is teaching the students to try to figure out how to do something without someone telling them constantly. Troubleshooting is hard for any student, but they need to have these skills in order to be successful in the workforce.
It's Vicky using Dee's blog... classroom libraries are a necessity. I have some young adult novels that could be good for long term read alouds like amber was talking about. Touching Spirit Bear is one that I have used before. Another that I am using right now is The Lightning Theif which incorporates mythology into a young adult novel with modern characters. I'm doing this along with our study of The Odyssey in ninth grade English. Vicky J
Once a week, I give the students a choice of several magazines to read from. They are required to read at least one article and summarize it in their journals. This way they have a choice of reading selections.
17 comments:
The concept of SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) is not a new one, but I have introduced it to my English I, Part 1 and English II classes. Some students suspected a "catch", a required report or "something". I assured them that this was 10 minutes of classtime that they could read anything (school appropriate) they wanted. I read as well and try to share after the time has expired to encourage others to pass along their recommendations or warnings. Most students look forward to SSR and some even request for more. Gotta love that!
Oh!!! Many students are having to read books from my classroom library if they do not come prepared. In light of this they are deciding to check the books out to read during their own time or going back to the same book. Such practices have also spawned conversations about whether they must continue a book if they don't like it. My response...NOOOOOOO! Pleasure reading should be something you WANT to read. Is it any surprise that so many of our kids hate reading when they think it is only about reading material they DON'T like.
I have used vocabulary crosswords in my Economics classes the last few weeks and the students seem to enjoy this. This subject has a great many terms that they have not been exposed to and this seems to be one way to get them to do the reading necessary to learn these terms so that they can "win" the crossword puzzle competition. It seems to stimulate their interest and bring a little excitement to the mundane task of learning vocabulary.
Students always love games, and, of course, many of us use such games as Jeopardy from the popular television show. I have recently come upon a power point template for "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?". This is also a very popular tv program, and the power points can require fun reading. It is only limited by our own imaginations.
We just finished doing a projectin my Earth Science class on Geologic Time. The students had to go on line and research information on a particular period on geological time, i.e. Jurassic Period. They had to look for information on the environment, plants, animals and geology of that period. They also had to find images to use in illustrating their period. They printed this info, and attached their reseach to a long strip of craft paper. This was assembled and put on the wall outside of my classroom. They then did a paper walk and looke dat what each gruoup had prepared, took notes and commented on each section.
Before my students started their long term care clinical rotation I did a Read Aloud - Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. The students were then asked to write how this book related to them and their feelings and what encoursgement it had to offer them. I then led a class discussion.
Frustrated by their lack of interest in being in school and working for a good grade, I have been giving my students in my Algebra One Part One class articles about the different tactics being used by educators to create interest in learning. For instance, the last article we read and "debated" was regarding extra credit. The students got to read an article that was posted online as a debate for or against extra credit and how it should be used or not used to increase a student's grade. They were asked to take the side for or against extra credit. It was shocking to me the number of students that felt the way our overworked teachers do and said no to extra credit. They felt that if the students cannot do the work at the time given, then why be allowed to do it at all.
I have also been reading children's books related to something we are studying. For instance, I read "I knew I could" before a lesson on parallel lines. The train tracks represent the parallel lines and the motivational part of the book did not hurt.
I have noticed that a lot more students are reading in my class after their test or classwork.
My students were not enjoying copying my notes, so I let them make their own notes for one unit of study. The lower level students had trouble understanding what was important in text. But all of my students have now gained a greater appreciation of how hard it is to produce notes. They complain much less about taking the notes that I have prepared for them. They also commented that they liked how I had simplfied how the textbook had worded things.
I have been trying to incorporate more read alouds into my American Literature classes. The trouble I am running up against is that I am constantly searching for new and interesting children's books to introduce new movements in the chronology of America's Literature. What I would REALLY like to do is find one novel, or a couple of novelettes, to read periodically at the start of class. It would be one more facet of the class, prompt on going discussion, focus on foreshadowing and predicting, and could just be a break from the usual start of the day. I've been looking for novels by American authors that are not already part of our required reading, are age appropriate, and will interest my students. Any suggestions?
I like the fact that George used a "paper walk" and the students had to critique the work of some of their peers. Higher-ordered thinking skills are necessary to do this well. When students have the responsibility of looking over other students work they seem to take their work seriously.
I liked Mark's idea of using crossword puzzles to teach vocabulary. I especially like the idea of a competion. This always brings out the best in students and overwhelms student apathy.
I have also found that the use of games and puzzles is an excellent strategy for encouraging students to read for information and it encourages reading comprehension as well. One game in particular that works well for my Geometry students is "I have - Who has?" This game could be modified to fit any content area. I am including below an abbreviated version of how I have used it in the past. I wish I could attach the entire handout. If you have further questions,just let me know.
Felipe is the fiesta (party) planner down on the east side of Geo town. He is especially great at playing juegos(games). His favorite game is "I have...who has?" See if you can assist Felipe and his friends in playing this game. Start with the numero uno (Felipe)and work the problem beside his name. Then go to whichever friend you are led. Write Felipe's friends in the order that you worked them in the boxes on the second page.
Felipe the fiesta planner wants to know.....who has the sum of the interior angles of a nonagon?
Pedro the pie maker has 1260 degrees.....who has each exterior angle of a regular pentagon?
If students finish assignments early, I have them to get a book from the book baskets in my room and read silently. I also have a class set of daily newspapers they can read.
In teaching a unit on letter writing, I used the book, The Jolly Postman-really cute and has samples of everyday correspondence.
For a unit on parts of speech, I used "A Mink, a Fink, a skating Rink, Hairy, Scarey, Ordinary, and To Root, To Toot, Parachute ( nouns, verbs, adjectives). The art in "Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!" draws students in (interjections and conjunctions). I also have students respond in journals to a thought of the day.
I use jeopardy, millionaire, and other game templates to review for major tests.
Right now my students are working on learning how to work with graphics. Students are not allowed to ask a question until they have searched for an answer in the help menu. I feel that this is teaching the students to try to figure out how to do something without someone telling them constantly. Troubleshooting is hard for any student, but they need to have these skills in order to be successful in the workforce.
Reading is knowledge. Knowledge is Power.
It's Vicky using Dee's blog... classroom libraries are a necessity. I have some young adult novels that could be good for long term read alouds like amber was talking about. Touching Spirit Bear is one that I have used before. Another that I am using right now is The Lightning Theif which incorporates mythology into a young adult novel with modern characters. I'm doing this along with our study of The Odyssey in ninth grade English.
Vicky J
Once a week, I give the students a choice of several magazines to read from. They are required to read at least one article and summarize it in their journals. This way they have a choice of reading selections.
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