WONDERFUL Websites for Informational Text and Videos

If you've been looking for informational text WEBSITES to put on your SMARTboard for mini-lessons and guided practice, you'll want to check these out soon.  We appreciate teachers sharing these informational websites with us.  Guess where they learned about them...The STAR Summit!

www.newsela.com

This website will ask you to register and pay.  Do NOT pay for a subscription. Scroll down and click No Thanks.

Newsela provides high interest articles for students in a variety of Lexile levels. Articles are organized by headings: Kids, Science, Health, Arts and more.  Below are two examples of the types of texts they create for students:

Kids

"On line" entertainment aims to make wait times less boring at theme parks

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff

http://newsela.com/articles/parks-lines/id/840/

Health

Study shows why cookies are like cocaine for rats, maybe humans too

By The Hartford Courant, adapted by Newsela staff

http://newsela.com/articles/oreo-cocaine/id/1505/

timeforkids.com

Time for Kids is a website that also includes articles on current events. Click on the News tab and a menu for the latest news stories will appear.  The menu includes articles on the: World, Nation, Science, Entertainment, Health, Sports, Kid Reporter Scoops, and Specials.  Below is an example of a Time for Kids article:

Back in Business

The government reopens after a 16-day shutdown

OCTOBER 17, 2013

By Cameron Keady with AP reporting

http://timeforkids.com/news/back-business/115551

http://www.dogonews.com

Dogonews is another great website for news articles and videos.  You can view them by grade levels: K-3, 3-5, 5-8, K-5, and 3-8. There is a wide variety of headings for teachers and students to pick from.  You will find an article from dogonews below:

Japanese Scientists Uncover Cool Optical Illusion

By Meera Dolasia on November 18, 2013

Focusing on the red cross, look carefully at this picture. What do you see? White dots wriggling around in different directions and colliding? What if we tell you that the dots are not wriggling around, but are actually moving in a straight trajectory and even worse, they never meet each other at all!

Read news article

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Information on Scoring Spelling and Reversals

This information is from An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (2005) by Marie Clay, pg 108.

How should we grade spelling in first grade?  

• Correct Spelling: Each completed word scores one point if it is correctly spelled.
• Incorrect Spelling: If the child accidentally writes a word that is correct but spontaneously tells you that it is another word.  Then, it is incorrect.  For example, student writes ‘am’ and says without prompting that it is ‘me.’

What should we do about reversed letters?  

The formation of individual letters (including the reversal of letters) does not influence the scoring except when the letter form represents a different letter.  

• Correct Spelling: Words with one or more reversed letters are correct when the intended letters are clear (for example ‘bus’….with a reversed ‘s’). ALSO, capital letters are acceptable substitutions for lower case letters and vice versa.  We are grading spelling not penmanship.
• Incorrect Spelling: Words are not correct if the reversed letter could be a different letter (for example ‘qop’ for ‘pop’) and they are not correct if the intended letters are not clear (e.g. reversed ‘e’ looks like ‘g’, or ‘run’ looks like ‘nun’).

Nursery Rhymes for Our Youngest Readers

Why Use Classic Nursery Rhymes? The first answer that always comes to my mind is simply rhymes are fun. Children for generations have enjoyed the silliness of characters' antics. Linda Dorn shared these nursery rhymes with us, so we could share them with teachers.  Nursery rhymes provide a great way to work on phonological awareness with the youngest readers. Nursery rhymes introduce young listeners to story structure in its most basic form. There's an orientation -- Peter Pumpkin eater has a wife. There's a problem -- He's having trouble keeping her. And, there's a resolution -- He puts her in a pumpkin shell and there he keeps her very well. Nursery rhymes also introduce children to a cast of characters who are likely to reappear throughout their school lives. You can't enjoy Ahlberg's delightful Each Peach Pear Plum if you don't get the allusions to the nursery rhymes. Nursery rhymes also greatly enrich young children's vocabularies and supply some early lessons in the way our language works. Jack Sprat is lean; when we read this rhyme to children, we have to explain that word. And children add another word to their developing vocabularies. When a child asks, "What does it mean -- Molly my sister and I fell out?", you explain that "fell out" is an expression we don't use much anymore. It used to mean "had an argument". And children get a glimpse of how words and expressions work in English. Finally, nursery rhymes encourage thinking skills with short, simple texts. While their uncontrolled vocabulary may occasionally make them tough to decode, their unrelenting rhythm makes them perfect for emerging readers.  A-Rhyme-A-Week Units and Downloadables Week 1: Downloadables  Jack and Jill Nursery Rhyme Card ILL Picture Card Set ILL Riddle Rhymes Jack and Jill Lesson Plans  Week 2: Downloadables  Rain, Rain, Go Away Rhyme Card AY Picture Card Set AY Riddle Rhymes Rain, Rain, Go Away Lesson Plans  Week 3: Downloadables Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater Rhyme Card ELL Picture Card Set ELL Riddle Rhymes Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater Lesson Plans Week 4: Downloadables  Jack Sprat Rhyme Card AT Picture Card Set AT Riddle Rhymes Jack Sprat Lesson Plans Week 5: Downloadables  I Saw A Ship A-Sailing Rhyme Card ACK Picture Card Set ACK Riddle Rhymes I Saw A Ship A-Sailing Lesson Plans Week 6: Downloadables Jack Be Nimble Rhyme Card ICK Picture Card Set ICK Riddle Rhymes Jack Be Nimble Lesson Plans Week 7: Downloadables  Baby and I Rhyme Card OT Picture Card Set OT Riddle Rhymes Baby and I Lesson Plans  Week 8: Downloadables  Sing, Sing Rhyme Card ING Picture Card Set ING Riddle Rhymes Sing, Sing Lesson Plans Week 9: Downloadables  Old Mother Twitchet Rhyme Card AP Picture Card Set AP Riddle Rhymes Old Mother Twitchett Lesson Plans Week 10: Downloadables  Simple Simon Went A-Fishing Rhyme Card AIL/ALE Picture Card Set AIL/ALE Riddle Rhymes Simple Simon Lesson Plans Week 11: Downloadables  Flour of England Rhyme Card AIN/ANE Picture Card Set AIN Riddle Rhymes Flour of England Lesson Plans  Week 12: Downloadables  Higglety Pigglety Pop Rhyme Card OP Picture Card Set OP Riddle Rhymes Higglety, Pigglety, Pop Lesson Plans Week 13: Downloadables  Cross Patch Rhyme Card IN Picture Card Set In Riddle Rhymes Cross Patch Lesson Plans Week 14: Downloadables  Ladybug, Ladybug Rhyme Card AN Picture Card Set AN Riddle Rhymes Ladybug, Ladybug Lesson Plans Week 15: Downloadables  Gregory Griggs Rhyme Card EST Picture Card Set EST Riddle Rhymes Gregory Griggs Lesson Plans  Week 16: Downloadables for February 5-9 If All the World Rhyme Card INK Picture Card Set INK Riddle Rhymes If All the World Lesson Plans Week 17: Downloadables  The Queen of Hearts Rhyme Card ORE Picture Card Set ORE Riddle Rhymes The Queen of Hearts Lesson Plans  Week 18: Downloadables  Hickory Dickory Dock Rhyme Card OCK Picture Card Set OCK Riddle Rhymes Hickory Dickory Dock Lesson Plans Week 19: Downloadables  Hiccup, Hiccup Rhyme Card AKE Picture Card Set AKE Riddle Rhymes Hiccup, Hiccup Lesson Plans Week 20: Downloadables  Elsie Marley Rhyme Card INE Picture Card Set INE Riddle Rhymes Elsie Marley Lesson Plans  Week 21: Downloadables  Star Light, Star Bright Rhyme Card IGHT Picture Card Set IGHT Riddle Rhymes Star Light, Star Bright Lesson Plans Week 22: Downloadables  They That Wash Rhyme Card AME Picture Card Set AME Riddle Rhymes They That Wash Lesson Plans  Week 23: Downloadables for March 26-30 One, Two, Three, Four Rhyme Card ATE Picture Card Set ATE Riddle Rhymes One, Two, Three, Four Lesson Plans Week 24: Downloadables Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son Rhyme Card EAT Picture Card Set EAT Riddle Rhymes Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son Lesson Plans  Week 25: Downloadables An Apple Pie Rhyme Card ICE Picture Card Set ICE Riddle Rhymes An Apple Pie Lesson Plans Week 26: Downloadables If Wishes ... Rhyme Card IDE Picture Card Set IDE Riddle Rhymes If Wishes Lesson Plans  Week 27: Downloadables  There Once Were 2 Cats Rhyme Card IT Picture Card Set IT Riddle Rhymes Two Cats Lesson Plans Week 28: Downloadables  There Was an Owl Rhyme Card OKE/OAK Picture Card Set OKE/OAK Riddle Rhymes There Was an Owl Lesson Plans How are teachers using these for instruction? On Mondays, revisit favorite rhymes, then introduce this week's new rhyme during shared reading. Whenever you are able to locate the tune, teach children the rhyme through song. Also chant the rhyme, and work on its rhythm. On Tuesdays, emphasize acting out the rhyme, using our various Monday chants to provide the accompaniment for our "actors". On Wednesdays, introduce the rhyming picture set, explaining the new vocabulary that comes with the picture set. On Thursdays, work with the picture sets and the Riddle Rhymes. On Fridays, review, using new Riddle Rhymes, acting out, singing, and chanting.

Reading Workshop Management

Reading Workshop looks a little different in every classroom.  One of the first things the classroom teacher must decide is how to manage the workshop.  It is important to keep data on what you observe and have discussed with individual students and small groups.  Managing that data can seem daunting!  Take a look at resources that other teachers have used and borrow ideas from them.  Find a system that works for you.  It may take a little trial and error! ;-)

Here is an example of a couple of Anecdotal Records forms you could use for students who need a running record taken.

Anecdotal Records for Reading Form Recreated 2013.docx

Anecdotal Reading Records Form.docx

Garrett Lowder, fourth grade teacher at John Thomas School of Discovery, shared the form he uses during Reading Workshop.

Individual Conference Log Lowder.docx

Lori Elliott, fifth grade teacher at JTSD, shared this reading form:

Small Group Conference Form - Elliott.docx

Summit teachers Meredith Carrisalez and Sonya Trent use the form below with their fifth grade students.

Fifth grade reading workshop form Carrisalez.docx

Here is an example of what fifth grade teacher Shelly Newton uses for assessing skills in reading.

Lit Circle Questions Week

 

Sixth grade Summit teacher, Amanda Ward, uses this form with her literature circle groups.

Literature Circle Records Ward.docx

The Curriculum Corner has a blog post about Reading Management Binders for grades 4-6.  It has lots of example forms--FREE!

The Real TeachR posted templates for Reader's Workhop, Guided Math, and Writer's Workshop.

Fiction vs. Informational Texts

Fiction vs. Informational Text
Which Will Kindergartners Choose?

Open the link below to find out:

http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201111/Correia_Fiction_vs_Informational_Texts_Online%201111.pdf

The Case for Informational Text

Open the link below to start the Prezi:

http://prezi.com/shrb50hyyglj/the-case-for-informational-text/

This Prezi gives four strategies to improve students' understanding and comprehension of informational text:

• Increase students' access to informational text.
• Increase the time students spend working with informational text in instructional activities.
• Explicitly teach comprehension strategies.
• Create opportunities for students to use informational text for authentic purposes.