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Reading

What A Pair! {Using Paired Texts to Compare and Contrast}

I have be crazy busy with my new job back in the classroom {more to come on that soon}, but I wanted to share this fun set with you today! Last week, our skill was to compare and contrast two texts. In third grade, students are asked to compare and contrast the major points in two texts about the same topic. My two coworkers and I were searching for products to use, but we weren’t finding anything that worked for us…

Fast forward to the weekend. I decided to create a passage to go along with the book Officer Buckle and Gloria. We wanted the students to be engaged in the topic {dogs}, so we used a fun fiction book that they would giggle at. 🙂 In the past, I have read Officer Buckle and Gloria to kindergarteners and first graders, so I was slightly worried. I didn’t know for sure if my third graders would think it was funny. OH was I wrong! They were laughing and asking to see the flipping dog picture again and again.

Reading two texts can be time consuming, but “Just Do It!”.
With my on level groups, I read Officer Buckle and Gloria aloud and then students read the paired passage silently. With my below level groups, I read the book aloud, but the students read some of the passage and I read some of the passage. With my lower below level groups (many are already in RtI or receiving services), I read both texts aloud. In one of my classes, I read the book aloud whole group which saved a bit of time. Yes, it takes a long time, but there’s no other way to expose them to two texts before discussing and responding.

Discussing the texts
After reading, we started discussing each text separately. I asked students to retell aloud using major details, and we talked a little bit about each character. I prepped students for the questions to come by showing them similarities and differences in the structure of the text: fiction/nonfiction, text features, real pictures/illustrations, paragraphs, etc. We also looked at similarities and differences between the characters/subject in both texts.

My school is big on accountable talk right now, so we made sure to answer questions in complete sentences with sentence starters. My friend Katie from Simply Creative in KY, has a great pack that helps remind us to use accountable talk. You can check it out here.

Responding to the Text
In order to hit two standards at once, I added response questions AND compare/contrast questions to the passage. My on level groups only did the compare and contrast questions with me, because they are able to answer text-dependent questions on their own. My below level groups were guided through everything. {A picture of both handouts is shown below.}

We compared and contrasted the text structure and the topic (dogs, worms, trees, apple pies, bumblebees) in each set of paired texts. Students then explained which book they enjoyed reading most and why.

It wasn’t the easiest skill for my struggling readers, however, it did make them think. And think HARD! They were prepared for their practice assessment on Friday, and did very well. {Celebrate Small Moments!!!} Pretty soon, the service dog passage was turned into a whole pack!

Click here to grab yours or see a larger preview!
Here are the five passages included. 

These are the five books that I used to pair with the nonfiction passages. But, any fiction book on the same topic as the passage will work just fine! 🙂 They are not included in this pack, so check out your local library or head over to Amazon. {Amazon Prime is my weakness!}

At the top of each passage in the pack, you will see a Paired Text Suggestion and a line for students to write the name of the paired book (see picture above). This helps students to see that they are focusing on TWO texts not just one.
There are also two response pages included with full answer keys. Some answers may be different if you choose a different children’s book than the suggested one. Any fiction book on the same topic will do!

I hope you enjoyed this mini preview! If you are like me and focused on standards, standards, standards, then I hope this little pack helps to narrow down your planning for LAFS.RI.3.9 or CCSS.RI.3.9! Click here to see a larger preview!

Have a great week!

Close Reading for the Holidays

Are you in need of some low-prep activities to get your students through the holiday season? Check out my newest close reading passages! They are perfect for small group, guided reading, weekly homework, and thematic units. All you have to do is simply download and print! If you are not familiar with close reading you can read more about it in my Close Reading Mini Series.

I’m excited to be a part of The Primary Gal‘s Unwrap a Gift Linky Party. There are so many engaging gifts for you from some of my favorite teachers. Keep reading for a closer look and be sure to unwrap your gift at the end of this post! 

I have two sets of holiday close reads: European traditions (7 passages) & Asian traditions (6 passages). Each passage is written at an appropriate text complexity level for 2-3rd grade according to the Common Core State Standards. However, it totally depends on your students. I often used similar close reads with my high first graders, and I have a friend who uses them with her struggling fourth graders. There are two different versions of most handouts within each set. Instant differentiation!

Close reading is all about developing a true understanding of the text. Therefore, I make sure that students are rereading many times. One passage will last us 3 days to a full week! Students reread the passages silently, aloud, and to partners. Then, they annotate by highlighting or circling unknown words, numbering paragraphs, and underlining answers in the text. You can have students use any annotation marks that you like (although I recommend no more than about 3 at a time – see the close reading blog series above for in depth information).

After reading, students will respond to text-dependent questions. I ask students to go back to the text and underline or highlight their answers. They are also required to write the number of the question beside the sentence in the text. This is a wonderful skill to start early on! It works wonders on standardized tests! Each passage in my close reading sets has two different sets of response questions which is great for differentiation in class.
I hope you enjoy your holiday season! Click the image below to UNWRAP YOUR GIFT!
Head over to The Primary Gal to unwrap more gifts!

 

Accountable Text Talk

My sweet friends Alisha from Missing Tooth Grins and Katie from Simply Creative in KY decided to get together for a mini product swap. We wanted to give ya’ll a closer look at some of our products!
I have the wonderful pleasure of looking through Katie’s Let’s Talk About It: Teaching Students How to Talk About Text. People, it’s amazing! This pack has so many different resources to help you help your students discuss their reading. True Common Core, my friends. Discuss, discuss, discuss.
First off, please just look at all that color! I mean, really! Who doesn’t love color?!?! This is just pure teacher happiness! This is the whole pack printed and ready to teach with!
Okay, now let’s take a look at the inside of this pack.
Katie includes:
1. Lesson Ideas about using sticky notes, summarizing, learning to take turns, and making conversations meaningful using various resources.
2. Stop & Jot and Text Talker anchor charts
3. Five Phrase Posters
4. Text Talk Bingo
5. Talking Sticks
6. Text Talker Bookmarks
7. Discussion Cards for chapter books, picture books, and nonfiction texts.
Katie includes so many different options in this resource. I used it in camp this summer and it was perfect for all grade levels! I loved using it and being able to really talk with the kids about what they were reading. It was quick and easy because I had questions at my fingertips and engaging ways for the kids to interact and question each other.
(Here’s a little behind the scenes action)
Those clothespins are the “Talking Sticks” that are included. Just print, laminate for durability, and attach to a popsicle stick with hot glue. BUT, I had to change it up a bit. I didn’t have popsicle sticks, so I decided to use some white plastic clothes pins (super cheap at Publix!). This turned out to be super useful…more about that to come!
 Katie includes all the posters full size like this one. However, to save paper and make it easy for Small Group storage, she also includes them 4-to-a-page, which I LOVE!
 It’s as simple as printing, laminating, whole punching, and adding a binder clip to the corner.
 Here are some different ways to use this engaging reading resource…
I laid out all the clothespins for the kids. If they wanted to ask a question about what they were reading or to talk about something, they would just grab a pin.
 I am oh so glad I used the clothespins. It worked like a charm when reading with my group of 4-5th graders. Have a question while reading? Just grab a clip and attach it to your question or evidence. This way, I knew that the kids wanted to talk without any talking! It also helped because I was able to notice when students were actively reading and when they weren’t. Without interrupting them, I was able to know what they were thinking about. (Katie, this is brilliant!)
I also used these clips with a struggling reader who is repeating first grade. She needed a lot of prompting and support, but the hands on process of clipping the actual question prompt to her evidence really helped.
(She goes, “That reminds me of when my mom says that to me when I’m annoying her!”)
HA! Kids tell all!
Here is the same student using the “Talking Sticks” and the bookmark. Get this bookmark as an exclusive freebie from Katie’s pack here. It is fabulous! It was a great reminder for this student when she would start to get distracted. We would read her bookmark together and review how to be a great “Text Talker”. This refocused her quickly and without any problems.
These colorful cards are the heart of the Text Talker product. Katie has included SO MANY questions for you to ask students. I laminated them and put them on binder clips so that they are easy to flip through and take off. I had students ask each other these questions in my 4-5th grade group. Here, the student was telling me that this picture was important because it shows the friendship between the man and his monkey after the man’s paralyzing car accident.
I also had students lead the discussion with the question cards. The older kids loved being a teacher. They were eager to add to each other’s conversation and were obsessed about clipping those pins to their papers! Katie includes 3 different card sets: Chapter Books, Picture Books, and Non-Fiction Texts. You are good to go!
I love that the cards are small enough to sit right next to the student. This entire resource is so student and teacher friendly! Whether you want to lead the conversation or you want the students to, these cards are a great addition to your classroom.
Oh and these cards that I mentioned before, these are my ultimate favorite! Look at that adorable Melonheadz clipart!! Perfect size for little kiddie hands!
Freebie anyone?!?!
So, after seeing all these pictures, you will definitely want to stop by to check out Katie’s adorable freebie. She has uploaded this as a sample of her Text Talker product. These bookmarks will be a perfect addition to your classroom! And if you like what you see (I mean, why wouldn’t you!?!) check out her entire Text Talker resource.
 Also, you can enter our giveaway below! The winner will get all three products for free! Just in time for Back to School!
We hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by! Check out two more of our new products by hopping over to my sweet friends’ blogs below.
Read about the adorable Back to School Snapshots with Katie!
Check out my newest close reading passages with Alisha!