Research Mentors, Day 2

Day 2: Students finished finding information on their polar animals. The next step will be to take this information and create a book about their animals.

Research Mentors

We had some polar animal research going on today in the library. A group of curious kindergartners wanted to find out more about penguins, polar bears and other polar animals.

I had talked to the 6th graders before hand and asked if they would like to serve as mentors for our young researchers. We talked about how to engage the students in questioning rather than just telling them what to write down in their notes. 

It was really fun to watch the 6th graders, our most experienced researchers, help the students find information for their graphic organizers. There were a lot of quality conversations. And I'm not sure who was having more fun: the kindergartners or the 6th graders.

We look forward to another day of research tomorrow and another chance for the sixth graders to mentor our young inquiry-minded kindergartners.

Iowa Reading Research Center

Parents play a vital role in the reading development of a child. If you are looking for ideas on how to help your student(s) become better readers, here is a great source: Iowa Reading Research Center  There are over 200 resources, including videos, activities, parent guides and much more that you can use. The goal of the Iowa Reading Research Center is to provide resources to help every child in Iowa read proficiently.

The Iowa Reading Research Center also has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed that you might like to follow - @IAReading Check them out today!

Take out the trash!

During the last month, we have had a lot of research happening at the different grade levels here at Bridgeview which is fantastic.  

When second grade students started a research project on habitats, we told them to "Take out the Trash." One of the first skills a student needs to learn is how to take notes without plagiarizing. That's where the Trash and Treasure strategy comes in. When reading a piece of text about their habitat, the students must decide which are "treasure" words (key details) that they need to right down and which words to leave "in the trash". Then with the treasure words, we create our own sentences about our topic.

We were able to reinforce that in third grade when students started doing research on famous Americans who have made an impact on history. As students focused on Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chevez, Judy Huemann, and Martin Luther King, Jr., they recorded the key details about these people and how they impacted their community. 

And we were able to reinforce it again with Mrs. Hamann's 4th graders when they were trying to find evidence to support an opinion. Sure, we can make our own argument. But how much more effective is that argument when you back it up with factual information? The article to the left is a student example of highlighting the key details and then writing them in your own words. The students did a great job finding evidence to support their opinion.



These are skills that need to be practiced continually as the research questions and topics get more sophisticated. Bridgeview students are getting a great foundation!

Ah, the simple joy of silly words

Ah, the joy of read alouds. When I read this book to first graders today, one of them said I was "the best frog librarian ever!"

Don't miss out on the opportunity to share with your child the joy of "silly words" and wonderful pictures. It's such a great experience. Try it today!

Never trust a vegetable!

The first graders and I spent some time with Peter Brown during Halloween week. First, we read the book Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. Then we watched Peter's video describing how he went about creating his "creepy" characters. You can view the video here.

Then students tried their hand at making up their own scary vegetables. While some of them stuck with carrots, there were other students who ventured out into other vegetables and even combinations! 

Frustrated Food by Anna

Silly Spinach by Kimberly

We brainstormed other alliterative combinations: Pesky Potatoes, Rude Radishes, and others. I liked some of the vocabulary we were getting to use. Who knows? Maybe we have a future illustrator in our midst!

Oh yeah ... and the rumor was that some "creepy carrots" showed up in their classroom. Hmmmm

Scary Salad by Kaleb

Another Creepy Carrot!

Carrot by Maya - I love the smoke coming out!

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So who's telling this story, anyway?

Understanding point of view is an important skill in comprehension for young readers (RL.2.6.). Knowing that who's telling the story can impact how the story is told helps us understand the story better. One way to build an understanding of point of view is thinking about how a voice would sound when read aloud and how a new character's voice would change. This was the task that 2nd graders were working on in the library this week.



There is a very cute book called The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf and Grandma written & illustrated by Diane and Christian Fox. In the story, a frustrated cat keeps trying to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The overly exuberant dog keeps interrupting the cat's retelling with his own ideas for the story. Hilarity ensues.

After reading the story out loud, we discussed:
Me: How did you know which character was speaking? 
Student: Your voice changed for each character.
Me: Why do you think I chose a quiet voice for the cat? 
Student: The cat was trying to be patient with the dog. When my mom tries to be patient, her voice gets really quiet.
Me: Why do you think I chose to read loud and fast for the dog?
Student: The dog was excited and kept interrupting.
Me: Is that the only choice that can be made?
Student: No

Then, we turned the book into a Reader's Theater. Working in pairs, students chose who was the cat and who was the dog for one page. They read through the dialogue a couple of times first to get the feel of the text (and help with fluency). Then they thought about the voice they were going to do. Should it be angry? Sleepy? Happy? Excited? Silly?

Two by two, the students performed for the class and we recorded them. It was a fun way to help understand point of view. As one student said at the end: "I get it now. The dog doesn't like the story the way it is, so he tries to change it." Bingo!

The next week we continued this activity using the wonderful series of books by Mary Ann Hoberman called You Read to Me, I'll Read to You. Students worked in groups of two and practiced the piece they were going to read. What would a broomstick sound like? What would a pea sound like? Once the students practiced their reading and voices, we filmed again.