Creating a Community of Readers

Molly Timmers

Overview

• Standards
• Close Reading and annotating
• Using Tech for Close Reading and annotating
• Collaborative Responses to Text
• Building community online
• English Language Learners
• Differentiation
• Debrief/Planning time

Standards

College and Career Anchor Standards for Reading

1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inference from it . . .

2: Determine Central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development

4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings.

​

Standards

College and Career Anchor Standards for Writing

8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources. . ..

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis or research.

Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners
2. Integrate information in diverse media

​

ELL Standards

Interacting in Meaningful Ways

I.A.2. Interacting via Written English

I.B.Reading closely and explaining interpretations from reading

​

CA ELL Standards

Think/Pair Share

What close reading methods do you use . ..

​

What texts do you use it with . ..

​

Why do we do close reading . . .

Close Reading

There are many different systems for teaching close reading, and they vary by content and grade level.

In general it means paying close attention to the text, analyzing how an author uses language, and interacting with the text in a meaningful way.

Here is a resource list.

Close Reading Overview

For today’s practice, I’ve used the following sequence to close read a text:

1. Read once all the way through
2. Chunk the paragraphs
3. Circle unfamiliar Words
4. Highlight with a purpose
5. Summarize each chunk
6. Questions and comments

Close Reading vs. Tech

The common core standards for English Language Arts require a close reading of the text -this involves marking up and annotating a text

However: There is also a push toward paperlessness - learning and reading done online with Ipad or with laptops - emphasis on the “flipped classroom”

How can technology help with close reading?

Annotating Using Kami

-- I shared a PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5jw0ap8kaR1dmhhVjFsYjhjUVE/view?usp=sharing

--Click the little arrow by “open with”

​

Annotaing Using Kami

Click ‘Connect More Apps. Search for Kami.

I number the paragraphs with the drawing tool

I used the drawing tool to chunk the text

Highlight the Figurative Language with the highlighter tool

I used the underline tool to underline words to look up and the text tool to summarize chunks.

​

Finally, I use comment mode to add comments

Don’t forget to save!

Your turn

Now you try it.

Play around with “The First Snowfall” or Upload a PDF of your choice to mark up.

TIP: Make a copy of your PDF to play with - don’t mark up your one and only version of something.

Annotating a Web Page

A significant amount of reading is completed on-line using a web browser.

Check this out:

http://scrible.com/s/kdMCA

​

Here is a page I’m reading for my Online Learning class.

Making a Scrible Acount

Go to www.scrible.com

Click on “Sign up”

It’s free and it will put an extension on your chrome browser.

You can highlight and comment on the page. Be sure to click save.

YOu can access your saved pages at www.scrible.com, click on “my library” in the upper right hand corner.

How would students turn in their annotated work?

-- send you the link to their annotated document

-- take a screenshot and submit it to an assignment on Google Classroom, Schoology, Blackboard, etc.

Sharing a Document

Sometimes you may want pairs or groups to edit the same document or share comments.

You might even want students in other classes to comment or to give them time

​

​

Sharing Button

My two identities are talking to each other through different google accounts.

Sharing practice

Here is a link to a different article.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5jw0ap8kaR1S2tyZ1huLTF3UGM/view?usp=sharing

Or you can use the document of your choice.

One person at your table open it into Kami. Click on the Share icon and get a link to give to everyone at your table. Everyone get on the same document and practice commenting.

Sharing Annotations on a Web Page

You can use the share feature on on the scrible page to create a permalink to share the page with others. You can also share via e-mail.

​

Talking to myself on Scrible

Practice

1. Go to the website of your choice.
2. Click on the Scrible Extension
3. Make a couple of annotations. Click Save.
4. Click the share link.
5. Let your partner know what the link is.
6. Both of you comment on a page simultaneously.

Why do this?

1. Collaboration and Communication -- learn about the texts from other readers, exchange ideas
2. Affective Filter - some students will feel more comfortable responding in print than out loud.
3. Create Community
4. Students can save their annotated text to refer to for help writing an essay
5. It will save you thousands of pages of photocopies.

Online Class Discussions

Class discussions through Google Classroom, Blackboard, or Schoology are very useful:

• Quiet students can join in.
• Allows for a more thoughtful response
• Students with slow processing time have time to think of a response
• Easier to “jump into” the discussion
• Used IN ADDITION to not INSTEAD OF class discussion methods such as Socratic Seminar

Creating a Community

Shared documents and discussions online are a valuable tool in getting student interact with a text and each other, but some students need extra support

​

-- non responders

-- social loafers

-- tangents and disrespect

Have Presence Online

• Respond to every student in a discussion to show you are there
• Monitor the monitors
• Give clear, specific instructions
• Timely feedback

MAKE IT CLEAR THAT YOU ARE READING THEIR WORK

​

The non-responder

• Talk to him/her privately - why aren’t you posting? Shyness? Technical difficulties?
• Partner with a student who will help them but won’t do it for them.
• One thing at a time (First chunk the text - I’ll come back and check on you for part 2)
• ​

The Social Loafer

Some like to let others in a group do all the work.

-- on a shared document, require comments from all group members

-- require each student to read it individually before commenting

​

Inappropriate comments

In responses or discussions, some students will go off task - post irrelevant things or rude things, or just “hi”.

Don’t respond on-line. Delete the comments and talk to the student PRIVATELY about their behavior.

CYBERBULLYING: Teach students how to take a screenshot. Tell them if anyone writes inappropriate comments to/about them to screenshot it and send it to you.

Questions/Comments -

What other types of problems might you encounter in an online community?

ELL Strategies

From the ELD Standards Publication

ELL Scaffolding

• Sentence stems to help with summaries
• Modeling good questions
• Carefully selected collaborative groups (who in your class can help the struggling ELL student but not do her work for her).
• Prompting student to elaborate (why do you think so?) -
• Make sure ELLs share the document with you so you can respond in real time to their comments and prompt them to elaborate.

Differentiation

For struggling students:

• Allow additional reading and processing time
• Carefully chosen collaborative groups
• Select readings that are ability appropriate
• Share a partially completed close reading

For advanced students:

• High expectations - expect meaningful comments on every chunk
• More challenging text sets
• Have them model their reading for the class