Using Trifolds in Guided Reading

Does anyone else struggle with holding your kids accountable for reading their guided reading chapter books? Or what about keeping them focused on a strategy while reading their assigned chapters on their own? These are two of the biggest issues that I face with my guided reading groups. To help with this problem, I started using trifolds to help keep my kids on track while they went back to their seat to read on their own. These have proven to be really helpful for my kids in so many ways. They now know exactly what to focus on when they are reading, they have opportunities to record their thinking, and we are able to have meaningful discussions about our reading when we meet as a guided reading group again.

Here are some tips for using guided reading trifolds in your classroom: (I'm not an expert, these are just things that work for me!)

1. Focus on a specific reading strategy for the majority of the book

This is something that I've learned over the years while teaching guided reading. Instead of changing the focus every chapter of the book, decide on a specific strategy to use for the majority of the book. This is less confusing for the kids and helps them focus on using the strategy over an extended period of time. Find a book that really lends itself to the strategy/skill that you are teaching. For example, in one of my groups we are focusing on inferring character traits. I thought about which book would really lend itself to teaching character traits and decided on Because of Winn Dixie. In this book, you really get to know the characters and there are lots of different traits that can be used to describe each one.

2. Explicitly teach each reading strategy/skill before using the trifold

A great way to do this is to use think-alouds. I love to read books aloud to my kiddos (during our reading workshop minilessons) and think-aloud for my students. It really models the thinking that goes on while reading. Before having the kids practice the skill independently on their own using the trifolds, allow them many opportunities to hear you think-aloud and to discuss their own thinking as a whole group. Once students understand the skill/strategy that you are teaching, you can have them try it independently using the trifolds in guided reading.

 

3. Plan for time in your guided reading groups to discuss each student's writing in their trifolds

 

Do you have times in guided reading when you ask the group a question (What is a summary of this chapter? How would you describe Winn Dixie?) and all you get is blank stares? Ahhh!! It drives me crazy! These trifolds allow you to have meaningful conversations with your students using the writing that they recorded while reading independently. Instead of the blank stares, students are looking at their writing and sharing their thinking with others in the group. This is so powerful! I always encourage each student to use evidence from the book to support their thinking (see the example below where a student referred to a part in the book and wrote down the page number). This makes discussing each chapter so much easier!

 



 

If you are interested in learning more about using guided reading trifolds, you can check out the product below that includes trifolds for 11 different strategies (character traits, character feelings, inferring, questioning, summarizing, making connections, making predictions, setting, unknown words, visualizing and sequencing). The download also includes posters to use while teaching each strategy. Just click on the picture below to see more views of everything that is included!

 

 

November Currently!

I absolutely can't believe that it's November already! I love this time of year and everything that comes with it (well except grade cards). I've linked up with the wonderful Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for her November Currently. Here's what I am currently up to...

 



Listening- As soon as it hits November, I give myself permission to start listening to Christmas music. Anyone else???? I know it sounds crazy but it just makes me so happy =)

Loving- I NEVER get to sleep in. It seems as though my son wakes up earlier the later he goes to bed the night before. Today, however, was an exception. I couldn't believe it when I looked at my phone and realized it was 9:30. Pure bliss!

Thinking- I only have two more months to prepare for this little girl! We are so absolutely excited to welcome our little Makenna Grace into this world!

Wanting- Have you had a three day weekend yet? We haven't and I am DYING for one. I always feel like I just need one more day each weekend.

Needing- I DESPISE grading papers. I wish I would be better about grading them periodically but I always end up procrastinating right up until grade cards. Oh well!

A Yummy Pin- Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Bars. These are absolutely delicious! I've made them several times and they really only take a couple of minutes and a couple of ingredients.

 

Here is the pin from Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/97320041919569838/

 

And the website where the recipe came from:

 



You will be thanking me for these- they are amazing! Alright, that's it folks! Be sure to check out Farley's linky and see what everyone else is currently up to =)

5 Kinds of Number Stories Posters FREEBIE!

Do your students struggle with tackling number stories? This is an area of math that my students always have difficulty with. In the new Common Core standards, it says that students need to be able to solve one and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing.

To help my students with these problems, I decided to explicitly teach the five types of number stories. I created a poster for each kind and we did a lot of practice identifying the 5 types in various word problems and discussing which operation to use to find the answer. This has made such a difference for my students! Number stories are no longer a mystery for them and they are able to tackle them much more easily.

If you'd like to grab a copy of the posters that I created, just click on the picture below. They are FREE! I hope the posters help your students as much as they helped mine. Enjoy! =)

Helping Kids Understand the Three Properties of Addition

 

Since this is my first year teaching third grade, this was my first time teaching the three properties of addition- commutative, associative, and identity. I knew I was going to bore my kids (and myself!) if I just stated the properties and expected them to remember the meaning of each one. To make it a little more engaging, I used a pan balance, unifix cubes, and hand motions to explain each of the three properties.

 

First up was the Commutative Property of Addition. We discussed the base word in commutative- commute. I explained that my commute to work is the drive back and forth. To help remember that commute meant back and forth, we used the hand motion below:

 

 

After we practiced the hand motion a few times, I used unifix cubes to model how the Commutative Property works. On one side of the pan balance, I placed 3 purple cubes added to 5 black cubes (to represent 3 + 5). On the right side of the pan balance, I placed 5 black cubes added to 3 purple cubes (to represent 5 + 3).

3 + 5 = 5 + 3

I then asked the students if the left side or the right side had more. Everyone agreed that there was the same amount. The kids drew the conclusion that it doesn't matter the order in which you add numbers, you will still get the same amount.

For the Associative Property of Addition, we also discussed the base word in associative- associate. I explained that associate means to put things together or to group them. I showed them an equation with parentheses and we talked about how the parentheses group numbers together and tell you to add them first. To remember the meaning of associate, we used the hand motion below:

Next, I used the pan balance and unifix cubes to model how the Associate Property works. On the left side of the balance, I placed 3 purple cubes on top of 2 green cubes next to 5 black cubes. On the right side, I placed 3 purple cubes next to 2 green cubes on top of 5 black cubes. This represented the equation ( 3 + 2 ) + 5 = 3 + (2 + 5).



( 3 + 2 ) + 5 = 3 + ( 2 + 5 )

I again asked the kids which side had more. They agreed that both sides were the same and drew their own conclusion that it doesn't matter how you group numbers together in an addition equation, the answer will still be the same.

 

Last up was the Identify Property of Addition. This is by far the easiest to understand and model! The hand motion that we used for the identify property is below:

 



This helped the kids remember that the Identify Property of Addition means "zero change" to the number. To model this property, I placed 6 purple cubes on the left side of the pan balance. I then demonstrated adding zero more (I used my hands to show that I wasn't adding any more!) I asked them which number should go on the right side of the pan balance to make both sides of the equation the same. They told me that I needed to add 6 purple cubes since the number didn't change. They drew the conclusion that any time you add 0 to a number, the number stays the same.

 

 

I taught this lesson yesterday in math and I was totally shocked to see that they remembered the meaning of each Property of Addition today! They were so excited to show me the hand motions and explain the rule for each one. I really think that using hand motions helps the kids to remember the meaning of each property, which in turn helps them apply it to a math equation.

 

On a side note- I really like using the pan balance to demonstrate addition and subtraction problems. All too often, kids assume that one side of the equal sign is the "answer". The pan balance, with a notecard taped to the middle, helps them understand that the equal sign really means "the same as." The first time that they see an equation such as 4 + 5 = 12 - 3, they are totally thrown off! The balance is a great visual to help them understand!