- Writing in response to a text:
When they read a text, students pay attention to their thoughts and keep track of those thoughts with brief notes. After reading the whole text, they look back over their notes, noticing any common, larger ideas or themes. They choose one of these ideas to explore further in writing. The purpose of this writing is to follow a thought from a text to the world beyond the text.
- IR+ Reflecting Reading Log:
There are times when students will read their IR books in class. We call this IR+ reading, and we expect it to be a bit more reflective than normal leisure reading. Students are expected to pay attention to their reading, to notice and reflect on what they do as readers. They record their observations on a recording sheet.
- CAFE and Conferences:
Students learned the acronym CAFE, which stands for the 4 main components of reading - comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expanding vocabulary. These are terms I will use when talking with students about their reading. There is a Quizlet available for students to use for reinforcement of these ideas. One way I get to know students as readers is by doing conferences with them. Conferences can be with a student's IR book or with a magazine, or with a teacher-selected text. I've been doing this last kind of conference with all students over the last few weeks, gathering information what will help me plan for the future work of each class.
