Ginger and I have been using the book Micro Fiction by Jerome Stern in our
MOT class. It is a collection of short stories, 250 words or less. The
stories were written for a contest in Florida. This is a collection of the
winning stories from 10 years. The stories are great to use with adults.

Ginger and I felt very strongly that we, as adult readers, had to practice
the comprehension strategies in own own reading before we could understand
how to teach them to children. These stories are challenging enough that
adults need to utilize the comprehension strategies in order to understand
the stories. Great discussion followed each story-reminding us that reading
is a social activity.

Even with adults we worked on "I wonder" questions. Starting with "I wonder"
seemed to take the pressure off. I find this so true with primary and
intermediate students too. Just as Ginger stated, once the students are
successfully asking "I wonders", I show them that when they take the "I
wonder" off, there is usually a question left.

Also, I feel that children need to categorize their questions in order to
understand that some questions will be answered in the text, some questions
must be inferred, and some questions won't be answered in the text. I have
done categorizing many different ways depending on the grade level that I am
working with. We have done thick and thin. I have used QAR. In
intermediate classrooms I have worked out the categorizes with the students
after spending many lessons on just asking questions.

When teaching the questioning strategy I feel that it is important to spend
many days, weeks, however long you need on just asking the questions and not
answering them. The questions they ask seem to be so much deeper, and I
think it teaches children that not all questions can be answered as quickly
as they would like to answer them. They need to be mulled over and discussed
before an answer can be given.

Good luck. I know that it has been very rewarding for me to work with adults
on the comprehension strategies.

Jan Geier
Reading Support
===========================================================

From: "DEBORAH HAYS" <DEBORAH.HAYS@bps101.net>
Subject: [mosaic] Staff development video by Stephanie Harvey
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org
Stephanie Harvey presented here in the Chicago area earlier this year. In =
her presentations she referred to her work on a video. Stenhouse will be =
releasing this video in December. Here's the information:

*Video* STRATEGY INSTRUCTION IN ACTION
Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
4 30-minute 1/2" vhs videotapes * $395.00 * Produced by Photopia
http://www.stenhouse.com/0335.htm

The authors of the best-selling book STRATEGIES THAT WORK join three =
teachers who demonstrate their comprehension teaching strategies, and=20
how to create a classroom culture that encourages engagement and response.

=====================================================================

Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 16:30:21 -0500
From: Donna Schmidt <dschmidt1@starpower.net>
Subject: Re: [mosaic] Staff development video by Stephanie Harvey
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

I just heard Stephanie Harvey on Friday and she is fabulous. If you
ever get the chance to hear her, GO! I feel very fortunate to have
heard Stephanie and Ellen Keene in the past year. As a first grade
teacher, the most helpful thing Stephanie said to me was that if
children are word calling and not comprehending, they need to learn and
practice visualizing. This just clicked and I'm going to be sure my
students get a good basis in visualizing and see what happens. We did
see part of one of the new videos -- it was interesting. When I checked
the Stenhouse website, I found the videos are sold as a package and cost
$395.00.

--
Donna V. Schmidt 1st grade
Samuel Tucker School
Alexandria, VA

==============================================
FrontLine Teaching
Published By ReadingLady.com
www.readinglady.com
readinglady@readinglady.com

November 12, 2001

Contents:

1) Thank You
2) Funny Stuff
3) Feed Me a Story!
4) This & That
==============================================

Check-out these two urls for exciting saving and
new arrivals.

http://www.readinglady.com/Store/On_Sale/on_sale.html
http://readinglady.com/store/Newest_Arrivals/newest_arrivals.html

==============================================

Thank You

I would to thank one and all for visiting our
website. Your participation in our message
board and chat room is much appreciated.

I would like to thank everyone for all the feedback
we have been receiving. Your feedback is helpful
and welcome, keep it coming!

==============================================

BackPacks By Jenny
http://www.backpacksbyjenny.com/

==============================================

Funny Stuff - courtesy of Michelle Stoops, NBCT

I teach first grade and have often chuckled at the
endearing misconceptions these young children have.
Their fresh and fertile minds so unfettered by
conventions are one of the major reasons I chose to
teach primary.

We were preparing to do a short writing assignment
for our writers workshop when a little author asked me
to help her spell "unsapona." Not clear on her request
I asked her to repeat. "Unsapona" was the clear reply.
Nonplused I asked her to use the word in a sentence.
"Unsapona time there was a ....," came her patient reply.

A little detective work resulted in the realization that
most of my writers were firm believers in "unsapona." Our
lesson changed from the topic I had prepared to the
literary dissection of the misconception "unsapona" into
the more familiar (at least to me) "Once upon a time."

The class was delighted as we revealed together the hidden
meaning of the mysterious "unsapona."

================================================

Check out our 4 blocks
http://readinglady.com/store/4blocks/4B_New_Arrivals/4b_new_arrivals.html

================================================

With Parent/Teacher conferences right around the corner I
thought you might enjoy these blurbs. Perhaps you'd like
to compile and create a parent handout.

Feed Me a Story!

What difference can reading aloud to a child for 30 minutes
per day make? If daily reading begins in infancy, by the
time the child is 5 years old, he or she has been fed
roughly 900 hours of brain food! Reduce that experience
to just 30 minutes a week and the child's hungry mind
loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and stories.
A kindergarten student who has not been read to could enter
school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition.
No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those
lost hours of mental nourishment.

Hours of reading books by age 5
30 minutes daily - 900 Hours
30 minutes weekly - 130 Hours
Less than 30 minutes weekly - 60 Hours

Source: U.S. Department of Education, America Reads Challenge

*******

The Value of Words

Research demonstrates that the size of a young child's
vocabulary is a strong predictor of reading-preschoolers
with large vocabularies tend to become proficient readers
(National Research Council, 1998). Children's vocabulary
can be greatly enhanced by talking and reading with parents.
In fact, the vocabulary of the average children's book is
greater than that found on prime-time television
(Hayes & Ahrens, 1988). Children from lower-income families
are at greater risk of having smaller vocabularies than other
children. One study of the actual vocabulary of first-graders
found that those from high-income families had double the
vocabulary of those from lower-income families
(Graves & Slater, 1987). None of these statistics should be
used to blame parents. Rather, we should use evidence of
what works to rally and support all families to take full
advantage of their tremendous opportunity to prepare their
children for reading success. Given what we know about brain
development, it is clear that parents should not leave to
schools alone the important tasks of language and literacy
development. We must do more to enable and encourage parents
to talk with their children and invest 30 minutes daily for
reading. When parents are unable, grandparents, neighbors,
babysitters, siblings, and other adults should step in to serve
as the child's designated reader for the day. It is an experience
that children will remember for a lifetime, and one that will
form the foundation for all later learning.

******

The Reading Mother

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scored the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every child has a right to know.

I had a mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings--
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be--
I had a mother who read to me.

Author: Strickland Gillilan

*****
The Consequences of Conversation with Children

More than 40 families were observed over several years to study how,
and how often, parents talk with children. Researchers found a
tremendous variety in the amount of words spoken to children in the
first three years of life and in the quality of feedback they received.
These verbal interactions with adults are major predictors of how
prepared children will be to succeed in school.

While family income was highly related to levels of children's
language exposure, the relationship was not absolute. Some
middle-income families behaved more like high-income families,
preparing their children for higher achievement through vocabulary
development and other language skills. Other middle-income
families behaved more like low-income families, with a paucity
of language exposure for children.

An average child growing up in a low-income family receiving
welfare hears one-half to one-third as many spoken words as
children in more affluent households. At these rates the
low-income child would know about 3,000 words by age 6, while
the child of the high-income family would have a vocabulary of
20,000 words.

To provide the low-income child with weekly language experience
equal to that of a child from a middle-income family, it would
require 41 hours per week of out-of-home word exposure as rich
as those heard by the most affluent children.

Number of words heard at home per hour by 1- and 2-year-olds
learning to talk:

low-income child 620
middle-income child 1,250
high-income child2,150

Number of words heard by age 3:

low-income child 10 million
middle-income child 20 million
high-income child 30 million

Source: Hart & Risley, 1995. Meaningful Differences in the
Everyday Experiences of Young Children

****

Five for Families!

Researchers have identified five areas where the home and
family can influence reading development in children:

1. Value Placed on Literacy:
Parents show their own interest in reading by reading in
front of their children and encouraging them to read, too.

2. Press for Achievement:
Parents let children know that they are expected to
achieve and help them develop reading skills.

3. Availability and Use of Reading Material:
Homes with reading and writing materials for children-such
as books, newspapers, writing paper, pencils, and
crayons-create more opportunities to develop literacy.

4. Reading with Children:
Parents who read to preschoolers and listen as older
children read aloud help children become readers.

5. Opportunities for Verbal Interaction:
The quantity and content of conversation between parents
and children influence language and vocabulary development,
both building blocks for later reading success.

Source: Hess & Holloway, 1984. Family and School as
Educational Institutions

==================================================

This & That

We still need classroom and/or teacher humor to help
with our newsletter. email to"
webmaster@readinglady.com

The message board activity is building and soon will
be THE PLACE to visit for teacher interaction and
wonderful ideas.
http://www.readinglady.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Feedback!! Keep it coming!! Website related comments
should go to webmaster@readinglady.com and content
related comments should go to readinglady@readinglady.com
===================================================

Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 10:25:48 -0500
From: Andy and Shelly Kennedy <pristine@aclass.com>
Subject: Re: [mosaic] comprehension book for primary students
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

I have a great intermediate book by Fountas and Pinnell called Guiding
REaders and Writers Grades 3 -6 = Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and
content Literacy. The publisher is Heinemann. There is a primary one
similar to this one. If it is not by these authors, try Martha King.

=================================================================

Subject: RE: [mosaic] comprehension book for primary students
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 11:12:45 -0600
From: "Lowe, Marilyn" <malowe@jackson.k12.ms.us>
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

The primary one is entitled Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All
Children and it is by Fountas & Pinnell. Although it is not about
comprehension per se, it is an excellent resource book, especially for
beginning the change process. Several of us, who were Reading Recovery
teachers used it as the textbook in our district-sponsored training as
literacy specialists in what used to be called the Early Literacy
Learning Initiative through Ohio State. =20

There are several additional books by these authors (maybe 4-5
others???). Examples: Word Matters: Teaching Phonics & Spelling in the
Reading/Writing Classroom and Matching Books to Readings: Using Leveled
Books in Guided Reading, K-3. In conjunction with Andrea McCarrier,
these 2 have co-written Interactive Writing: How Language & Literacy
Come Together, K-2. These books are indeed published by Heinemann
Press, which offers professional development (both "real" & on-line)
based on some of these books. Information is usually available on the
Heinemann website.=20

If you work with adults doing professional development, I recommend
Systems for Change in Literacy Education by Carol Lyons & Gay Su
Pinnell. I am now reading this book, which gives very good ideas for
setting up a strategic (and non-threatening) plan for change in literacy
practice over time, suggestions for topics to be developed,
demonstrated, coached & supported with teachers. =20
Marilyn Lowe

=====================================================

From: Melanie Perkins <MPerkins@parkmead.wcsd.k12.ca.us>
Subject: RE: [mosaic] comprehension book for primary students
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 14:28:51 -0800
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

I would like to add On Solid Ground, by Sharon Taberski to the list. I am
reading it with two of my collaboration groups, kindergarten and first grade
teachers, and we all think it's wonderful..

Marilyn, I am reading Systems for Change in a study group with the five
other Literacy Leaders in my district, and I am having a very hard time with
it. I find myself being a reluctant reader, using all the avoidance
strategies I have seen other reluctant readers use. I will plod through,
but I am not enjoying it very much. The other Lit. Leaders, on the other
hand, think it's wonderful. I think it may be because I am reading it
through my classroom teacher lens, not a coaching lens, as that is where my
heart truly is.

As I was browsing the shelves at Barnes and Noble the other day, I came
across a brand new book by Mem Fox called Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud
to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. I purchased it for our
parent library, and have recommended it to every parent I have talked to
since. I think it should be required reading for all new parents, maybe a
gift along with the car safety seat when they leave the hospital.

Melanie Perkins

================================================

From: Readinglady1@aol.com
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 19:18:17 EST
Subject: Re: [mosaic] "I wonder" questions
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

> how you do questioning with your students using "I wonder" statements.

A nice option for primary teachers is Deb Smith's OWL lesson plans. They are
available at -

http://readinglady.com/Comprehension/Owl/owl.html

Also, the lessons on questioning at -

http://readinglady.com/Comprehension/Questioning/questioning.html

Laura
:O)

======================================================

From: "Ginger/Rob" <elephant@foxvalley.net>
Subject: [mosaic] questioning/books
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 20:05:33 -0600
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

Sorry it's taken me a while to respond to the post about the books I've
used.

You must know a secret about me---- I TOTALLY go to Strategies That Work for
my lessons and for the books I use. Especially when I first started
teaching this way. I did exactly what STW suggests and you know what? It
worked!!

Some of the books I use for questioning are: Charlie Anderson (great for
your first time- just follow the lesson in STW), Amelia's Road, Pink and
Say, The Potato Man, Storm Boy, Fly Away Home, The Wednesday Surprise, Lost
in the Storm (by Carrick- a great one!). Poetry also works well, especially
for shared reading because it tends to be shorter and question provoking.

I do also use non-fiction texts after we've done some work on questioning
with fiction. I have them choose a non-fiction book they are interested in,
usually about an animal, at their independent level. Then they write
"before- I wonders", read and stop along the way to write "during- I
wonders". Then after they are done with the book, they write "after- I
wonders". If their questions are not answered in the text and you have the
time, they could then do an inquiry based study to find the answers. You
could form learning teams to study like animal groups.

Let's all add the books we use for teaching questioning on the database:
www.u46teachers.org/mosaic/strategies/htm

Ginger
grade 3

=================================================================

From: "Ginger/Rob" <elephant@foxvalley.net>
Subject: [mosaic] schema/t-w connections
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 20:51:28 -0600
Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org

Last week I finished up with my study of connections by teaching
text-to-world connections using just a few books. My all time favorite is
For Every Child A Better World. It shows ALL the world issues (hunger,
homelessness, pollution, poor medical care, no schools, war, child labor,
freedom of speech, clean water, etc.) using Muppet characters and very few
words. They "get" the contrast of our lives versus the lives of others less
fortunate. Most have text-to-self connections to seeing homeless people or
to working at a food pantry/donating can goods, etc. But to teach third
graders about text-to-world I use this book to hit ALL the world issues that
they might have heard about on the news or heard about from their parents or
at school or in books. I tell them that text-to-world is simply when they
are reading a book and something in the story reminds them of something that
is happening in the world that they know about from TV. or from their
parents, or teachers, or from books. I do try and differentiate between a
text-to-self: actually having had first hand experience with the world issue
and text-to-world: knowing of the situation/issue but not having first hand
experience. For example, I did have a student who was homeless and so he
would be able to make a text-to-self connection to a story about being
homeless, whereas most of my students just "know" of homelessness through
seeing someone they believe is homeless or learning about it in school or on
TV. So for them it would be a text-to-world connection. A book about war
would illicit t-w connections as we are in a war right now and they are
hearing about it regularly.

I need to still remember to keep asking them the million dollar question:
"How does making that connection help you understand the story you are
reading?" I guess for me, this is a clear example of how prior knowledge
being activated would support the reader. So when there is NO background
knowledge (and I have to be on the look out for signs of that) I need to
provide the schema. Not an easy task, is it???

I think as kids get older the t-w connections become more clear to them.
I've found this does get blurry as some issues could be seen as both t-s and
t-w in the eyes of a third grader (me too sometimes :)! )

How do any of you teach the difference between t-s and t-w???

Ginger
grade 3

=============

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