Trade Book Tuesday: Just a Dream {Skill: Asking & Answering Questions}

I am so excited to to kick off my Trade Book Tuesday feature again! I started this years ago, but dropped the ball after school got crazy busy. 

However, my sweet friend Tess from The Krafty Teacher encouraged me to start this again, and then get ya'll involved too! So, we partnered to turn this into a monthly linky! (Stay tuned to the end of this post to see how this linky works!)

I am so excited to share with you one of my favorite books to teach Asking & Answering Questions with 3rd-5th graders. I love using all Chris Van Allsburg books in my classroom. They spark interest, intrigue and most of all, cultivate rich, deep discussion and questions. With that being said, pretty much any one of his books would be great for teaching students to talk back to a text through questioning. However, I chose a unique and thought provoking book for this post; Just a Dream. 

This book, Just a Dream,  follows the journey of a young man named Walter who aimlessly lives in the world, littering and not caring about the environment. Walter dreams of a life in "the future" with robots that sort his trash and and lots of machines. He doesn't understand why his neighbor Rose loves plants and why he should have to separate his garbage or recycle.

The story causes students to think deeply about the content in this book, ask questions about the character, and make text connections. The reader faces their own feelings about the environment, as well as questions about their author's point of view verses their own, as well as the author's message to the reader. Formulating questions before, during and after reading this book is not hard. In fact, it's a must as the reader connects with the text and with Walter, the main character. 

Here are my visual lesson plans for a week of teaching Asking & Answering Questions with my students using the book Just a Dream. As you scroll down, I'll briefly explain how the mini-lessons work, following the gradual release of independent learning. 

(Asking Super Questions {HERE}, Ask and Answer Questions: NO PREP Center {HERE}, & Pop the Question: A Game for Fiction & Nonfiction Texts {HERE})

Mini-Lesson #1 (No longer than 15 minutes):

• When introducing questioning techniques, students must already need to know how to make text connections and recall information.
• For real readers, we want them to be able to ask deep questions that allow them to connect with the text.
• Students need to ask deep questions that give them juicy answers. In order to do this, we have to ask questions that are more than "Who is the main character?" or "Where is the setting?" Although these questions are important, they aren't meaningful in connecting with the characters, the author's purpose/word choice, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and understanding the author's main message to the reader. 
• To begin the discussion of making deep questions, show students a bag. Tell them in order to find out what is in the bag, they must ask meaningful questions.
• Example of Meaningful, DEEP Questions:
• "Is the thing in the bag necessary for living?"
• "Where might you find someone with the thing that is in the bag?"
• "What is the thing in the bag's purpose?"
• "Why might I need what is in the bag?"
• "Who makes what is in the bag?"
• "How will what's in the bag make a difference in my life?"
• "Is the thing in the bag simple or complex? Why?"
• Examples of Non-meaningful Questions:
• "What color is the thing in the bag?"
• "Is the thing in the bag big?"
• "Is the thing in the bag ugly?"
• "Is the thing in the bag light of heavy?"
• Explain to the students that this is how we connect with a text. It's important to ask meaningful, deep questions to really comprehend what we are reading.

Here's a simple anchor chart that explains to students that not only do we ask deep, meaningful questions while we read, but before and after we read as well. 

Mini-Lesson #2 (No longer than 15 minutes):

• During this mini-lesson, you will be modeling how a reader asks questions as they read. 
• Before I read the book aloud to my students, I read it and labeled my questions before-hand. This is optional, not a must for the teacher.
• Because the mini-lesson is only 15 minutes long, I created my anchor chart (see below) before the lesson began.
• Also, I only read the first 8 pages with my students, modeling how I formulated questions while reading. (Refer also to the illustrations to ask questions)
• While I was reading, I wrote my question, the page I was asking the question about, and the answer to the question as I came upon it. Sometimes, I had to infer my answer (if this is not a skill your students are familiar with, this would be a great time just to introduce inferences just in conversation).

Mini-Lesson #3 (No longer than 15 minutes):

• Today with my students, I use a collaborative teaching method with students.
• I modeled for them yesterday and today, we will work together to formulate questions.
• I continue using the book Just a Dream, and I give each student a Post-It note* to write down one question they have while I read aloud the book (*NOTE: If you follow a reader's workshop model, you may have already covered how to quietly record your thinking on a Post-It note by asking only deep questions while reading. If not, this is a great time to introduce this skill).
• I first model formulating a question and writing my ? on the Post-It note and placing it on the anchor chart I would have created before the lesson.
• Then, students put their Post-It notes on an anchor chart as you read. (My students were always at the carpet with me for mini-lessons. They simply stood up quietly, placed their Post -It, and sat down).
• After reading a few pages, I would stop, reference the students' questions they posted and discuss why they asked these questions. If we found the answers, together as a class, we would identify the answer. 

Mini-Lesson #4 (No longer than 15 minutes):

• Today with my students, I used a guided approach when conducting my mini-lesson. 
• I would finish reading the book Just a Dream.
• Today, I would guide students' thinking when having them formulate questions to ask after a reader finishes a book/passage.
• After reading a book, students should ask:
• "What was the author's purpose for writing this text?" (F & NF)
• "What is the author's point of view of this text? How is the same or different than mine?" (F & NF)
• "Did my opinion/point of view of this topic change or stay the same after reading this text?" (F & NF)
• "What character in the text did I connect with the most? Why? How could I have learned from this character?" (F & NF)
• "What is the lesson/theme/moral of this story?" (F)
• "What was the text structure?" (NF)
• Together with the class, create a graphic organizer on an anchor chart with these questions, and discuss them as a group.

Mini-Lesson #5 (No longer than 15 minutes):

• Today with my students, I would use a collaborative approach with my mini-lesson. The students would be paired with a buddy at the carpet.
• Students would be given the "Asking & Answer Questions" graphic organizer (a FREEBIE below) and a mini-passage (I just used mini-passages from reproducible books that came with our reading series).
• With their partner, the students would read their mini-passage, then formulate questions before, during and after their reading using the graphic organizer (a FREEBIE below).

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Here are some {FREEBIES} that go along with my mini-lessons for the week! Download them by clicking the picture.

Here are some other activities I would use in differentiated small groups and literacy centers to reinforce questioning skills (see my visual lesson plans above):

I hope you found this post helpful for introducing or reviewing questioning skills with your kiddos!

What trade book do YOU use? We want to know! Link up with us!

How it Works:

• The third Thursday of each month, we will be featuring one of our favorite trade books that we love using to teach a reading skill
• Follow us on Instagram (@shastess and @primarypolkadots) to see what skill we will be focusing on for the month
• Write a blog post about using a favorite trade book to teach a specific skill and link up with us!
• If you feature a paid product, you must offer a freebie in your post.
• Link up either under the K-2 or 3-5 linky!

An InLinkz Link-up

Trade Book Tuesday...x's 2, plus 2 FREEBIES!

So, I originally started this feature because...
(a) I LOVE finding awesome trade books to use in mini-lessons and thought it would be fun to share about on my blog
(b) I thought it would keep me accountable to my bloggy buddies! Well, you can see how long that lasted! haha I haven't had a "Trade Book Tuesday" since August, and in case you've seen a calendar lately, there's been lots of Tuesday's since August. We won't talk about it.

 Moving on to it, sistah (or any brotha out there)!

So if you follow my TpT store, you might have noticed an influx in inference activities. Well, guess what we be doin' in our learnin'?! If you guessed making inferences...*DING! DING! DING!* Of course, making inferences has always been one of my most favorite skills to teach in reading. So, having only 3 weeks to focus on this abstract yet exciting skill before our next district test, I figured we'd jump right into it the first two days back from Christmas break, last Thursday and Friday.

This is what we did:

THURSDAY:

1) I introduced what an inference is by stomping into the room, crossing my arms, pouting, shuffling papers loudly on my desk, and finally plopping down harshly in my chair {You should have seen their faces! haha PRICELESS. Try and you'll see.}
2) I had the students recount what they'd just seen, and of course they described what I had done, and inevitably one little muffin said, "Mrs. Flood! You were MAD!"
3) I asked the students how they knew I was mad, and of course they explained all the actions and then I told them that they just made an INFERENCE.
4) I talked up the skill BIG time...like, if they made an inference, they would probably grow up to be the greatest detective ever to live because they would be using clues. They loved it!
4) We watched "BrainPop, Jr.'s" inference video {except I couldn't get my sound to work so I narrated Moby the robot and Annie the 5 year old child which they thought was hys-TERICAL}
5) Then, I showed the kids my inference poster and talked about the two things they'd need to make an inference:

Background Knowledge {Schema - Their "file folders" of information} + Text Clues {words and pictures in the book} 

= An Inference

{You can snag this poster I used, plus a free graphic organizer, here at my TpT store!}

Then, I created this anchor chart with my kids {I had the face and book drawn before class, but then added the other elements during my mini-lesson...or supposed-to-be-a-mini-lesson-that-was-really-about-35-minutes...ooops....so it would make sense to them as we went}. I have the mini poster, plus this poster, hanging in visible spots for my kiddos to reference!

The definition got cut off in the pic...sowwy. It says, "To figure out what the author is
trying to tell me, but doesn't."

Then, we read this super fun trade book, Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paolo. It's a wordless book, so it's perfect for making inferences. 

The kids did AWESOME while we filled out our anchor chart. I led the first inference, and they listened, except for giving me their background knowledge. The second & third inference, we made together, but I guided the process and prompted their thinking often since this is the first time this year we've talked about making inferences.

 I loved their schema. They were also so cute when they "pulled out" their "file folders" {I told them to "open their brains" and pull out the folder...and by George, they did! CAH-yute!}These are the results of their thinking. I have two classes, and these are both of the charts. I love  how their thinking is so different, but on target both times! 

I add the students' initials after they give their schema. They love seeing their initials! It makes the proud, and want to be more involved in the lesson! 

FRIDAY:

It was a weird day. We had a "Peaceful School Bus" meeting so that ran into our morning session, we only had a 30 minute planning {Yippie!...said no teacher ever...}, then I had a four hour meeting in the afternoon. It is what it is. So, I was only there for my morning ELA rotation and we had a blast-a-roni reading this little muffin of a book!

My kids L-O-V-E Kevin Henkes. I read his books all the time. Chrysanthemum is one of those books that grabs every child's attention, because it's so relate-able {is that a word? I don't know... it has a red squiggle under it...oh well! It is NOW!}.

1) We started by reviewing our posters, and turning and talking and teaching our partners about what we learned on Thursday.

2) Then, I read to them Chrysanthemum {that's just so fun to say} and during a guided mini-lesson, we completed this chart:

We have a super dooper poster maker machine at school that allowed me to blow up this anchor chart so I wouldn't have to write it twice, plus I had a sub, so I wanted to make sure everything was perfect! {Not that I'm a control freak or anything. umm...yeah...}

Normally, we would move into my version of the Daily 5 rotations, but since I wasn't there and the first two days back were nutso-Mc-nutso, we will get back to the regularly scheduled reader's workshop this week. Woohoo!!! 

I'll post more about my inference literacy centers and activities that my muffins will be using during small group rotations soon. 

Have a wonderful week! :)

Until then,

Trade Book Tuesday: Shelia Rae, the Brave {and FREEBIE}

Happy Tuesday, friends! :) I am quickly becoming obsessed with falling in love with my weekly feature! I went through my books at school the other day to scan through all that I had for this week's post. However, I became very over whelmed with all of the books and post ideas that popped in my head. Needless to say, I don't think I will ever run out of ideas for this feature...WOOHOO!!

With that being said, I'm really excited to introduce you to my second favorite children's author, Kevin Henkes. His precious little books are great reads for all ages and the under lying themes of each book are perfect conversation starters about real kid issues.

I use Kevin's books all throughout the school year for many different skills. My top three favorites are:
1) Chrysanthemum
2) Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
3) Shelia Rae, the Brave

Click on the picture above to purchase this book from Amazon! 

This week, I'm gonna tell you all about sweet little Shelia Rae.


TITLE: Shelia Rae, the Brave
AUTHOR: Kevin Henkes
GENRE: Fiction
SKILLS THAT COULD BE TAUGHT USING THIS BOOK: Theme, Asking Questions, Making Connections, Point of View (Perspective)


In lots of ways, we have a little Shelia Rae in all us. Many times, we like to act brave, like we got it all together, until we are caught off guard. (Anyone ever experienced anything like this....say, the first day of school?!?! haha) Shelia Rae is that child that is never scared of anything and wants everyone  to know how brave and risky she really is. However, one day Shelia Rae gets caught off caught and has a moment where her bravery is almost nonexistent for a while.

This book is a precious book to talk about how it's okay not to always be brave, and learning to depend on others when you feel scared and don't know what to do.

Yesterday was my first day back with my little darlins' for the school year, and right after our Morning Meeting, I read them this book. We created an anchor chart and talked about Shelia Rae and her feelings and what it really meant to be brave. We talked about how they (as in the students) felt like they had to be brave coming into third grade (which for our kiddos is a HUGE step because they come from a K-2 school that feeds into our school, a total different building with 3-5 kids). We talked about what it means to be a good friend when a friend of ours isn't always so brave, how to help each other, and what it means to be brave for the other person.

I told the kids how I was nervous about the first day of school and how my teaching partners helped me to be brave because we leaned on each other for support.

After our looooooooooong conversation and completing our anchor chart, the kids went back to their desks and worked on the graphic organizer below while the rest of the class took turns turning in their school supplies. You can click on the picture to download a FREE copy of this graphic organizer from Google Documents.

Click on the picture to download your free copy of the activity to go along with the story!

I hope you enjoy this sweet little book with your kiddos as much as I do. And don't forget, if you ever start to feel nervous and not so brave anymore, lean on a friend (or go eat a piece of chocolate...that works too!).

Until then,

Trade Book Tuesday: The Boy Who Changed the World

Welcome to my second ever weekly feature! This week for Trade Book Tuesday you are in for a real treat! I have been so torn as to what book to share with you this time, but I just kept going back to this one. The book is entitled The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews.

TITLE: The Boy Who Changed the World
AUTHOR: Andy Andrews
GENRE: Nonfiction
SKILLS THAT COULD BE TAUGHT USING THIS BOOK: Theme, Cause/Effect, Asking Questions, Point of View/Perspective, Author's Purpose, Making Connections

Click on this book to order your copy from Amazon.com! 

Oh. My. Word. AH-mazing! {Emphasis oh the "AH" part!}

First, watch this little preview below. It's just 2 minutes, but well worth your time.

Secondly, I have only recently stumbled upon this wonderful children's book a little over a year and a half ago. I discovered it upon reading Andy's adult version of The Butterfly Effect . The inspirational, true story of how one person's split second decision changes the lives of generations after ward was amazing to me. It's hard to fathom how just one thing we say or one thing we do has such a profound effect on others. "Everything you do matters!" As I searched on Andy's webpage one day, I stumbled upon the children's version of The Butterfly Effect. I knew I had to get a hold of it.

As I read through this book one day, I learned of the life of Norman Bourlaugh, the boy who changed the world. How he learned as a young man to work hard on the farm with this family, and how blessed he was and the importance of sharing his blessings with others. This story tells how Norman grew up to create a super-seed to feed billions and because of one action, saved billions of people's lives. But then, we meet another a boy named Henry Wallace. He was the boy who changed the world...or was he? Then, as we continue reading, we find out about George Washington Carver and his amazing true story of survival and triumph and how one kind gesture of another can impact millions of people. And maybe he was the boy who changed the world...

The point is is that not one single person is capable of changing the world, but lots of kind, unselfish actions do. And when we work hard to realize how kindness {and even cruelty} has such negative affects on others, it makes a difference in everything.

I couldn't wait to get this book to school to read it to my babies. It's a definite higher order, critical thinking book {PERFECT for Common Core}, AND it's nonfiction on top of that! We had great discussions and the kids asked super questions {some that I never thought to ask as a reader} and the connections they made were phenomenal!

But it's much more than that.

It's truth. Truth, because of the importance that children need to know how everything they do, good or bad, affects others. How they can be the child that changes the world if they just believe in themselves.

I started out the 2011-2012 school year in an inner city school in the housing projects of New Orleans. Talk about culture shock for Little Mrs. Kentucky girl!! But you know what?! I read this book to those babies {well, big babies...there were some 14 year olds in 5th grade} and it's exactly what they needed to hear.

They can make a difference in the lives of others.

They hold the key to their future ahead.

They matter.

Everything they do matters.

I look forward to starting out this school year again with my babies reading this beautiful story to them, to encourage them, and to inspire them.

And you know, teacher-friend, everything we do matters. So thank you, for loving on the babies that aren't always loved, because you are the wind beneath their sweet little {sometimes broken} wings.

Click HERE to download a FREE butterfly worksheet activity to go along with  The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews. Directions: Copy this on construction paper or colored card stock, and have the kids illustrate and caption how they could be the kid that changes the world!

Trade Book Tuesday: Two Bad Ants

I am really  excited to introduce my Weekly Feature: Trade Book Tuesday! I can not tell you how many trade books I've hoarded collected over the years, but I just can not get enough of them! A GREAT trade book is priceless and when it's good, it's good! 

Click on the book to order from Amazon.com! 

The first book I think every teacher should have in their collection of Children's Literature is Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg. Have you read it? If you haven't, you need to. You {yes, you, the teacher} will get a good laugh at this quirky book with hilarious antics {ANTics...HA! Get it?! No pun intended!} of two naughty ants that stray from their colony into a giant mountain {...a house} full of swirling, brown whirlpools {...or coffee as you may know it} and giant, shiny crystals {those would be sugar crystals, SHUGAH!}. They have a shockingly not so good time in this fantastic story of adventure, drama, and cheeky humor!

This book is PERFECT for teaching Perspective/Point of View. I have used this book to teach this skill with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and they ALL love this book! It's a great introduction to perspective and it truly lays a great foundation for understanding why we all have opinions or certain points of views on things based on age, life experiences, height, beliefs, etc, etc.

The illustrations are fantastic, and in classic Chris Van Allsburg style, the story {secretly} teaches a lesson that is sure to bring about great conversation with your little readers! It's a great way to reinforce those listening skills....Wait? Kids forget listening skills???

Naaahhhhhhh....

I have a great little packet you can check out at either one of my teacher stores that uses Two Bad Ants for this exact skill! The mini unit can be used to introduce or review point of view/perspective based on Common Core RL.3.6!

Simply click on any of these pictures to link to the packet! :)

Here's some examples of two of the activities from the packet! The "Personal Perspective" activity is so fun for the kiddos {and was for ME, too!}. It was so fun to find out everyone's point of view/perspective on different topics and most importantly, why! It was a great conversation piece and definitely a higher order thinking activity!

I hope you enjoy this book with your little friends as much as I do! Get ready for LOTS of Chris Van Allsburg trade books! I use them ALL the time!

**P.S. -- The first three people to COMMENT on this post, get this mini unit FO' FREE!!! Leave your email address and I'll send it to you tonight!! WOOHOO!!! Don't forget to Follow my TPT and TN stores, too!**

HAPPY READING!