September 16, 2014

A great workout!

Part of our discussion of "What do good readers do?" has focused on asking questions. Good readers ask questions. They can articulate specific things they want to know about a text while they are reading.

Reading is active. It's a workout for the mind. As we move through the school year and read for a variety of purposes, the students will learn that reading is a very rewarding workout that produces super-fast results; much faster than hours and hours on the treadmill. Provided we're willing to put in the work, readers grow stronger every day! 

As part of our Evening Meeting (3:00 -3:15 daily), we've been reading a wonderful novel called There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar. 
I've used this very rich and relatable text to support my instruction on questions.  I'll stop reading a key points and ask the boys and girls, "What do you want to know? What questions do you have?" Sometimes, the questions are very "right there", meaning a reader wants to know what will happen next. Other times, the questions are a bit thicker or big picture.  I love this because it means the kids are thinking while I'm reading. It means they are paying attention, making a movie in their mind and genuinely curious about the text.  

They are active listeners while being read to, which means hopefully means their minds are working hard when they are reading independently.  

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