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questioning and connecting during read-alouds

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super-important inferring during read-alouds

 

 

I’m not going to lie–some summer days, I really think that if it weren’t for the 15 minutes of Adult Swim, my kids wouldn’t stop moving all day long.

Even the rest times that I once relied on as a definite break to our day, Maddy has renamed as ‘play time’.ย  (It’s still in their rooms, but she thought ‘rest time’ sounded too babyish.)

So I have to try very hard to make reading–especially summer reading–engaging, relaxing, and inviting.ย  I’ve mixed it up so far: some days I do the reading (modeling fluency is muy importante), some days we take turns, some days Maddy or Owen reads, and some days we all read silently.

It doesn’t matter what we do as long as we’re reading. Period.

For this Smart Summer Challenge day, I’m sharing one easy, sneaky way we threw in some reading comprehension strategy learning–some questioning and connecting–this week before we headed over to swim team.

We used two books that focused on the idea of ‘home’, since the theme this past week was ‘Me on the Map’–and everyone needs a starting point, a place to call home, right?

  • Questioning and Connecting During Read-Alouds: I’ve waxed on about the importance of sneaking in reading comprehension strategies during read-alouds, especially with our little guys–the ones who aren’t decoding the text themselves–because with our modeling of these strategies, kiddos will see what strong readers do as they read and will make these behaviors habitual as they do start reading on their own.

Questioning, simply asking questions about a text as its read, is an incredibly powerful strategy. According to Harvey and Goudvis โ€œquestions propel us forward and take us deeper into readingโ€ (2000, Strategies That Work), and it’s totally true. When kids ask questions, they want to read on to find answers, and ultimately, they can make better connections with the text.

 

Fly Away Home is a perfect text for questioning and connecting.

When we sat down to read, I grabbed Eve Bunting’s Fly Away Home, a really thought-provoking and moving book about a homeless boy and his father who live in an airport. Ronald Himler’s illustrations are fantastic, and I love this book, the story and the message so much, I used it to teach theme when I taught high school English.ย ย  I thought it would be worthwhile for Maddy, Owen, and Cora to read because it’s really grounding.

Questioning started from the minute we sat down.ย  I held the book, and as I looked at the cover, I said, The title of this book by Eve Bunting is ‘Fly Away Home’.ย  I notice an airplane in the background, and it looks like these people are going on a trip.ย  I wonder where ‘home’ is for them. I also wonder why they have such sad faces. What questions do you wonder about this book before I read?

Simple–and I did this kind of thinking out loud every few pages–enough to ask some questions, have the kids ask questions, but not totally interrupt the flow of the story.

We asked things like:

  • I wonder how they feel about living in an airport?
  • Do they feel scared every day?
  • Where are his toys?
  • Where is the boy’s mom and grandma?
  • How does he feel when he sees other kids leaving the airport?
  • Will they ever leave?
  • I wonder if they ever watch tv or go to a movie?

And as we found answers to our questions, I’d make mention of it.ย  And by the end, they were doing the same.

It was inevitable that we’d make connections as we read, because connecting is so natural for kids (who often love, love, love any chance to talk about themselves).ย  Connections were along the lines of:

  • If I lived there, I’d feel. . .
  • Remember that homeless person we saw. . .
  • I’d feel sad if I wore only blue like they do. . .
  • It would scare me if I slept there. . .

 

As our next book, Owen vehemently requested we read Corduroy, by Don Freeman, and it turned out it was a great pairing for Fly Away Home–perfect for making text-to-text connections.

Because this was a familiar book to the kids, I didn’t do the pre-reading questioning like before. They know the gist of the story, so there was no need for it. Instead, as I read the first page, “Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy department. .ย  . Day after day he waited with all the other animals and dolls for somebody to come along and take him home,” I saw a light go on in the kids’ heads.

Hey–this is similar to what we just read in ‘Fly Away Home’, I said.ย  Corduroy is looking for a home, and Andrew and his dad are hoping to find a new home.ย  Let’s read on to find other ways the books are alike and different. . .

And that’s it–connections are easy, really, and can be done on a number of levels:

  • text to self: How does the text relate to you?
  • text to text: How does the text relate to other books, plays, poems, etc. you’ve read?
  • text to world: How does the text relate to events or ideas or situations in the world around you?

Playing with each type of connection helps deepen a reader’s understanding of a text, and seriously, kids. love. connecting. They’re learning and they don’t even realize it.ย  And they love talking about themselves, so connecting is usually easy for them.

And that’s it–two simple but totally important reading comprehension strategies as part of my Read-Aloud Learning series (that I sneaked into our Me on the Map week of the Smart Summer Challenge.)

 

Please join Candace of Naturally Educational, MaryLea of Pink and Green Mama, and me for the Smart Summer Challenge, a six-week campaign where we all pledging to sneak in some sort of fun learning into our childrenโ€™s summer days.

You can follow our calendar if youโ€™d like, but you donโ€™t have to.ย  You can get really crazy, but you donโ€™t have to do that either.

It can be simple learningโ€“even 5 or 10 minutes a day. Anything and everything counts, and all we ask is that you link up here on Fridays and share what youโ€™ve done (meaning: share one way you participated). Each Friday for the next six weeks, weโ€™ll choose one participant to receive an awesome (and I mean totally worth your time awesome) prize.

Our goal is to show all parents that if we can do it, anyone can do it. And if we want our kids meet with success in school and to enjoy learning about the world around them, itโ€™s our job to create a lifestyle of learning for our families.ย  Join us!

A few more literacy-related posts worth reading. . . (click on image to read!)
what to say when kids make reading mistakes  teachmama.com.png
literacy terms every parent must know
talk to kids about books
how to help kids choose just right books
Want a little more help with all things literacy? ย 
Follow amy mascott @teachmama’s board literacy on Pinterest.

 

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:smart summer challenge: link up and WIN!
Next Post:smart summer challenge fun learning ideas: week 2

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maria

    July 2, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    Amy, do not EVER stop blogging! I need you too much!

    Seriously, these read-aloud strategies have helped me so much! I often feel at a loss as to what to say/ask without sounding “teacher-y” and your posts have really made a difference in our read alouds.

    Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • amy

      July 2, 2011 at 10:20 pm

      Maria,
      I will never ever stop blogging, not even in a million years. I love it that much, and it’s notes like yours that keep me going, my friend–no joke. Glad these are helping–and honestly, if there’s ever something specific you need help with, let me know! Happy to write a post that will help, and chances are that if one person needs support, tons of others do, too! This is a tough gig! cheers–xo

      Reply
  2. Megan

    July 3, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    Hi Amy,
    I am so SO very thankful for your blog! We’ve been following along with your read-aloud series and just love all of your ideas and suggestions. We have 4 boys, one of whom was born severely hard of hearing, so reading, literacy, comprehension and communication in general is highly important and focused on in our home and homeschooling efforts. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I just blogged about and referenced your read-aloud series over on my blog at http://houseofthe4risingsons.blogspot.com/

    I’m a bit behind in my posts right now, but have quite a bit to write about as we are deep into our Summer Reading Challenge. Because we are a bilingual family, using American Sign Language (ASL) and English, most of our reading and literacy activities include ASL. I just love adding that element in to the mix as it cements comprehension because it’s such a highly visual language. I plan to blog much more about this soon.

    You’re a HUGE help to me in our reading adventures!
    Happy 4th!!
    Megan Spires

    Reply
    • amy

      July 4, 2011 at 10:49 pm

      Megan,
      Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! You are so kind, and honestly, it makes me feel like a million bucks to know that what we’re doing over here is helping other families. Woo-hoo!!
      I cannot wait to check out your ASL posts–my kids adore learning it, and I’m betting I’ll learn tons from you, my friend! So glad you wrote, and so very happy we’ve connected!
      ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

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What a weekend. So incredibly proud of all of these talented athletes!

๐Ÿ† 3rd in the state of Maryland for @sherwoodcheerleading ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿค

UMD Womenโ€™s Basketball won todayโ€” great job by @marylandcheer โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค

#lovethesegirls #cheerweekend #marylandlife #lifeinmaryland #moco
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This Sugarfina Advent Calendar is what your teens want. 

$33 shipped TO YOUR DOOR w my 10% off and FREE SHIPPING!

Normally itโ€™s $60! 

I have been sharing my fave, super-COOL, Advent Calendars for teens and adults in my stories today!

This one right here was ours from last year, and we โค๏ธ LOVED it!

It is made by @sugarfina and each day we were surprised with FABULOUS sweet treats! 

Good-bye to the ole, crappy, tinfoil chocolates. Weโ€™re taking fun, new, and different candies each day of the month!

Grab it here: zulily.gfpv.net/MX9Ngn

#linkinbio @zulily #adventcalendars #adventforteens
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Do you need a ride to the polls? If you do, @VOTE411 and @lyft has got you covered! 

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Did you have a chance to join my IG live today?

It was a rainy, gross Sunday here in Maryland, and I shared one of my top picks for the holidaysโ€”> LEGO but for BIG KIDS. 

Or GRANDPARENTS. 

Or PARENTS. 

Actually ANY grown-up who likes to unplug once in a while and CREATE. 

I showed how I was doing with the LEGO Flower Bouquet (๐ŸŒท๐ŸŒบ๐Ÿ’๐ŸŒผ) and how many other awesome sets are 15% off and FREE SHIPPING (yayyyyy!!) over on @zulily ๐Ÿ’œ. 

Check it out. Theyโ€™ve got a ton of sets to choose from, like 
Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Friends, Disney, Mario Brosโ€”you name it. 

Find them here: https://zulily.gfpv.net/jWqkmn

Fab prices + free shipping = BIG WIN. 

#linkinbio #ad #LEGOforgrownups #everyonelovesLEGO #holidaypicks
View
Open
LEGO at 15% off and FREE SHIPPING! 

Check out the AWESOME set that is PERFECT for teens, grandparents, and ANY grownup who likes to create! 

This bouquet will last forever!

๐ŸŒผ๐ŸŒท๐ŸŒบ๐Ÿ’

Use this link โ€”> zulily.gfpv.net/jWqkmn

#bestgiftsforkids #grandparentgifts #ad #LEGOforgrownups @zulily
View
Open
WHAT HAS ARRIVED FROM @zulily !?

Since Zulily carries such a vast array of items, it could be ANYthing: 

๐Ÿ’œ boutique-style clothes or shoes

๐Ÿค brand-name clothing & shoes

๐Ÿ’œ toys

๐Ÿค books or magazines 

๐Ÿ’œ pantry items, snacks, & treats

๐Ÿค haircare or cosmetics 

๐Ÿ’œ pet toys, treats, or accessories 

๐Ÿค personalized gifts

๐Ÿ’œ houseplants, seeds, or bulbs

๐Ÿค basics for kids through adults

๐Ÿ’œ craft supplies and kits

๐Ÿค furniture or home goods

๐Ÿ’œ designer handbags, sunglasses, or belts

๐Ÿค luxury items and gifts

๐Ÿ’œ sports equipment 

๐Ÿค sports gear for ALL fansโ€”NFL, MLB, NCAA, you name it

๐Ÿ’œ small appliances & kitchen items

๐Ÿค towels, sheets, blankets, linens

๐Ÿ’œ home storage & organization items

๐Ÿค coats, hats, scarves 

๐Ÿ’œ just about anything you can imagine!

Follow my stories for the deals and steals for families and educators, or check the Zulily Highlight!

Especially nowโ€”as we move into the exciting holiday seasonโ€”I will more frequently share items, and they will MOVE QUICKLY! 

So make sure you are checking in regularly, and pleaseโ€”if you are looking for specific items and a specific price point, let me know! 

I am happy to do some research to help you out!

๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’œ

#zulilypartner #linkinbio #ad #holiday #giftgiving bestgifts

Want to check it out for yourself? zulily.gfpv.net/teachmama
View
Open
๐ŸŸฆ๐ŸŸฅ๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸจ

THE best toy for kidsโ€”and classrooms!โ€”is on sale right now. 

The 101-piece PicassoTile Building Set (WITH CARRYING CASE!)
is only $34.99 on Zulily WITH an extra 15% off!

Stock upโ€”think: teachers, daycare providers, classrooms!
AND birthdays, holidays or rainy days!

This is a toy that I cannot recommend highly enoughโ€”perfect for littles through elemor middle school. 

From a tween I know and love: The *click* of the magnetic blocks is so satisfying, and honestly, theyโ€™re just really fun and relaxing to use. 

๐ŸŸฆ๐ŸŸช๐ŸŸง๐ŸŸฉ

hereโ€™s the link that will get you AN ADDITIONAL 15% off โ€”> zulily.gfpv.net/JrDdbE

And remember: FREE SHIPPING ON orders of $89+

#ad #linkinbio #besttoysforkids #dealoftheday

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