What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class? - Schoolwide Poetry

Lesson 1: What Do We Notice About Poetry?

3/28/2016

Whole Class Discussion:

Let's look at some of the books we'll be using during the Poetry unit.

For each poem that we read, let's answer these questions together:

What is the poem about?
How does the poem look on the page?

Create a T-Chart like the one below to record your answers.

BIG IDEA:
Readers pay attention to the look of poetry. Notice the variety of ways to structure poems and how these choices affect the meaning of a poem.

What is the poem about?
What is its subject?

How does the poem look on the page?

Poem 1

Poem 2

Poem 3

Poem 4

Poem 1

Poem 2

Poem 3

Poem 4

The Sidewalk Racer:

Turn and talk about what you think this poem might be about.
Share ideas with the class.
Let's consider how the poem looks on the page. What do you notice?
Let's read it.
What is it about?
Record information on blog entry.

Enchantment:

Based on the title, what do you think this poem will be about?
Let's read the poem.
Turn and talk about what you think the poem was about.
Share with the class.
Record information on blog entry.

Here is what other kids have thought about "Enchantment":

Continue this process with other poems.

Schoolwide Nonfiction Reading - Lesson 6

11/13/2015

Readers of nonfiction determine the writer's purpose for writing a text. We will consider how identifying an author's purpose helps them learn about a topic.

Topic:

Type of nonfiction:

Point of view:

Information the author really wants us to know

.
.
.
.

So what's the point?

Summarize - What message does the author really want us to take away from the text, or what was the author's purpose in writing this text?

Schoolwide Nonfiction Reading - Lesson 5

11/11/2015

Using Context Clues and Background Knowledge to figure out unfamiliar words

Good readers combine information from the book and what they already know to figure out new words that they read. Do your best during today's reading to figure out what new words mean to you using these two sources of knowledge.

Schoolwide Nonfiction Reading - Lesson 4

11/11/2015

Asking Questions While Reading Nonfiction

Readers of nonfiction ask themselves questions before, during, and after reading. We do this to activate prior knowledge, build understanding, and monitor comprehension.

Before Reading

How does the title help me know what this text is going to be about?

What do I know about this topic or subject?

What questions do I have?

What type of nonfiction is this? How does that help me prepare for this read?

Is there a particular way that the text is structured?

During Reading

What do I understand?

What is unclear?

What new questions do I have?

After Reading

What have I learned?

What are the important ideas that stuck with me?

What new or lingering questions do I have?

Schoolwide Nonfiction - Lesson 3

10/15/2015

Readers of nonfiction read with an awareness of TEXT STRUCTURES that assist them in deepening their understanding. We will identify and understand different text structures to comprehend nonfiction texts.

Directions: There are two main text structures in "Lizards" that we can identify. Type them below...

"Description" (pages 18 & 20)

Example from the text (bold the signal words/phrases).

"Compare and Contrast" (page 26)

Example from the text (bold the signal words/phrases).

Reflection:

What is the purpose of the DESCRIPTION text structure? Why do authors choose to use it in their writing?
What is the purpose of the COMPARE & CONTRAST text structure? Why do authors choose to use it in their writing?

Schoolwide Nonfiction - Lesson 2

10/14/2015

Readers of REFERENCE NONFICTION identify text features and use them to locate and sort information. Students will pay attention to common features to help them navigate and make meaning of texts.

Schoolwide Non-Fiction - Lesson 1

10/13/2015

We need to understand the significance of nonfiction and how the genre is different from fiction. We will learn about the different types of nonfiction and the unique elements within various texts.

Which Type of Nonfiction is this an example of?

Reference Nonfiction
Literary Nonfiction
Biography

Which Type of Nonfiction is this an example of?

Reference Nonfiction
Literary Nonfiction
Biography

Which Type of Nonfiction is this an example of?

Reference Nonfiction
Literary Nonfiction
Biography

What we noticed about this type of Nonfiction

______________
______________
______________
______________

What we noticed about this type of Nonfiction

______________
______________
______________
______________

What we noticed about this type of Nonfiction

______________
______________
______________
______________

No Reflection Questions today.

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 7

10/8/2015

Pages 118-127.

Whenever you know you will be discussing a text (like in Literature Circles), prepare for your conversation by collecting your thoughts before you interrupt the reading. Then, use one of the following strategies to begin the conversation (or one of your own):

Reflection Questions:

Which Conversation Starter above is Mr. Solarz' favorite? Why?
Which Conversation Starter above is your favorite? Why?
Describe one conversation you have already started in your Literature Circle. What was the question and how did the discussion go?

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 6

10/7/2015

Let's discuss the ways that we can make sure that our conversations while reading are successful! Here are some Guidelines for Conversations that Schoolwide came up with:

What are some more guidelines we could follow? Put them onto our Padlet below...

Reflection Questions:

What guideline above was new to you? Why do you suppose we should follow that guideline. If nothing was new to you, create one new guideline that we should all follow while discussing our reading. Explain why you think we should follow that guideline.
Name a guideline that you might have neglected to follow in the past. Did anything bad happen? What could have happened?

Created with Padlet

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 5

10/6/2015

One of the ways we can prepare ourselves to read complicated information is to build our background knowledge of the subject before-hand. This is called "Activating our Schema." We understand new information best when we can combine it with other information to create a new idea (synthesize) and when we make connections to old information.

Activate Your Schema!

What do I already know about Basketball that might help me better understand this story?

Lots of stuff!
...
...
...
...

What do I already know about Michael Jordan that might help me better understand this story?

Lots of stuff!
...
...
...
...

Reflection Questions:

If you were about to read a book about about an astronaut who went to Venus, what are three or more things you might think about before reading that would activate your schema?
If the book said, "The astronaut's helmet began to melt..." what would you imagine the cause was? Why would his or her helmet be melting? Use your schema to answer this question.

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 4

10/1/2015

Readers pay attention to their thinking to know that they understand what they read and to clear up confusion. When things stop making sense, you need to figure things out by either:

asking your peers questions,
re-reading,
slowing down, or
looking things up!

Talk about the poster below. Do you do all of these things during Literature Circles? If not, why not? What can we do to ensure that these things happen every time we read?

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 3

9/30/2015

Readers are individuals with different strengths, challenges, and interests. In our class, you get to choose which books you read in Literature Circles, so pick ones that you're interested in reading! I'll try not to get in the way!

Continue to do Stop & Jots as you read.
Answer some reflection questions.

Questions:

What did you think of this book? What did you like and what did you dislike?
This was historical fiction. What do you like about historical fiction and what don't you like?
When the book ended, what were you thinking about? What are you still wondering or wish you'd know more about? Why do you want to know?

Remember to tag all Reading Lessons with the "Reading" tag!

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 2

9/29/2015

Stop & Jot: Stop reading along with me and quickly type your thought from the book. These can be anything reading-related (a discussion you would have had if it were Lit Circles, something you were wondering, a prediction you have, an inference, etc.).
Turn & Talk: When Mr. Solarz says, "Turn and Talk" you should share your thoughts with the people around you and hear what they have to say.
Reading Notebook: These blog posts are your Reading Notebook entries. We just have to remember to "tag" them "Reading" each time!

What kind of reader are you? Reflect on your interests and history as a reader.

Questions:

Where and when do you usually read?
What kinds of books do you like to read? Why?
Do you have a favorite author, series, or genre? What is it?
How do you decide what to read once you are ready to select a new text?
Select a question from the class Padlet, and write some notes to record the answer.

Answers:

_____... Tell me more...
_____... Tell me more...
_____... Tell me more...
_____... Tell me more...
_____... Tell me more...

Here are the additional questions generated by the class:

Created with Padlet

Schoolwide Reading - Lesson 1

9/28/2015

Skip.