Prompts for Mini Readers Theater

1. Beginning of the Book: A passage that helps us get to know the characters and the world of the story
2. Beginning of the Book: A passage that reveals something important about the characters
3. Middle: A passage that is a "turning point"-- a moment that represents big change!
4. Middle: A passage that seems to be a critical moment--that stops you in your tracks
5. End: A passage that seems to be at the heart of the story--what the book is really about, what it's trying to teach us, what the big ideas are...
6. End: A passage that feels like it is written in BOLD-- one that makes you slow down, that will stay with you...

Talk Moves

Conversation prompts help students grow ideas.

Thoughts About Extended Day and Summer School

"It's incumbent on schools to ensure that very nearly 100% of the school's day instruction is appropriate to each child's needs. I would argue that creating after-school or summer school programs is professionally unethical unless we are absolutely sure that all children receive optimal instruction all year long during the regular school day. All of us need to focus our primary efforts on ensuring that children have access to high-quality teaching in their classrooms before we consider adding extended-time interventions." -Richard Allington (2006)

Nonfiction Note Taking

There are two ways students might take notes while reading nonfiction: notes based on structure of the text and notes based on personal agenda. Many students take notes based on their own agenda (i.e. Chocolate milk should or should not be served) but many need to be pushed to take notes based on the structure of the text (boxes and bullets, compare and contrast, cause and effect, etc.). It is also important to note that we have to encourage students to get away from reading with a pen. Remember, students are not copy machines!