Read With Me Cultivating a Literary Community 

Fourth grade reading comprehension tests carry new demands for our young readers, one of them being the Read Think Explain questions.  We’ve worked tirelessly over the past week (and some) to prepare reader/writers for this specific set of expectations. Below, you’ll find a bit of what we know.

When responding to a Read Think Explain question we should:

1. Read the question.  TWICE!
2. Think.  Go back to the text. Search for facts and details that answer the question or support our thinking. (Underline them!)
3. Think.  Get ready to write. Take notes, star “juiciest” details, or jot a list to plan for our written response.  DO NOT write as you search.
4. Explain.  Write your response.

In a very short time, our young readers and writers have become experts at what is expected of a Read Think Explain response.  In fact, they’ve been scoring responses all week – both their own work and the work of other [fictitious] students.  They are SUCH experts, you see, that they’ve constructed their own short response rubric to help them as they score.

In the coming week, these students will take their work to the next level, applying what they know about written responses to our reading to the deeper and greater expectations of an extended responses Read Think Explain.

Stay tuned for more soon………..

We’re all working to become better readers and writers.  But, what does that mean?

Last week, we clarified the meaning of that statement by constructing a class rubric.  Students brainstormed what it would look like to do the best you could do during Writers’ Workshop.  Then, they thought about the worst case scenario…an “Uh-Oh, Oh No!” writer.  The gray area, of course, was the most difficult.  What makes a “Good Job” or an “OK” writer?

Well, learn for yourself.  Here’s our finished product.