Kayla Response 2/25

I agree with both Stacey and Allison about how I often use comprehension strategies without even thinking about them. When I read I definitely go through most of the comprehension strategies that the Gregory and Cahill explained, especially visualization. Usually this only occurs when I am reading a fiction novel or a story within a non-fiction piece. Often times I feel as if I am not reading words at all but I am seeing images play in my head. This has helped me comprehend as I read because I am creating the image in my mind and able to see things rather than just reading words. Making connections is another one that I use quite often but perhaps not enough. Sometimes I don’t stop to think about connections to my own life or things I already know that might help me better comprehend what I’m reading. I do this randomly as I read but maybe if I stopped to do it explicitly than my reading comprehension would increase. Making inferences is definitely one that I use without even stopping to think about it. This is very important to reading comprehension or else all readers would be literalist as the Applegate article explained.

Also, as Stacey mentioned many of her students could be put into the profiles of comprehension I think that each of my students at one time or another have exhibited one of these profiles. Each profile I read I could think of at least one student that has shown this. I would need more time in my classroom seeing reading comprehension assessments to know if these students always exhibit these profiles. 

Altenberger Response Post 2/25

I agree with Stacey's post about the importance of asking students questions about their ideas and what they read. After completing the reading I see the importance of asking open ended questions. Thinking back to my education and observation time in classes, I frequently see teachers asking questions that have a specific answer. I also agree with Stacey that while reading most readers can use these strategies without noting that they are using them. Using these strategies becomes habit after awhile.

When reading I often check my comprehension. Obviously I have found that to be very important when studying for tests. I will restate something that I just read or will look something up if I have questions. Which also means that if I don't understand something, then I question it. To help me remember important parts of a book I will highlight. I really enjoy books when I can relate to a character or aspect of the book, which often times involves making connections. Many times I will find myself thinking about schemas in a book and comparing them to my own ideas or experiences. Visualization is also a tool that I have used when reading throughout the years. I can recall when reading Harry Potter how I visualized what was happening, especially since I read them before the movies came out. When I read Harry Potter I was always trying to make predictions about what happened next. Reading strategies can be very useful.

Initial Post 2/23 Comprehension

Today’s readings helped me understand that when comprehension strategies and processes are explicitly taught then readers will be more likely to comprehend what they are reading. In order to elicit high level of thinking, it is necessary to ask questions that require students to think about ideas, not simply to recall text details. When reading different types of texts I use different types of strategies (connecting, determining importance, drawing inferences, monitoring, predicting, questioning, summarizing, etc.) to help me understand what I am reading. However, I do not explicitly think about the strategies I am using. For example, when reading a title on an article for class I may make predictions on what the article may be about, during reading I may connect this material to other readings in class, determine the importance or noticing the big ideas, and after reading I may summarize this reading. After reading the Applegate article, I found it interesting that 8 profiles for reading comprehension were defined. I can identify several students in my classroom that fit the description of the literalists, fuzzy thinkers, left fielders, and minimalists.The Gregory article stated that while many comprehension strategies are associated with the instruction of older children that younger students such as the kindergartners in the article can perform these strategies as well. It is important to remember that all students can benefit from instruction on comprehension strategies as this will help students construct meanings and interpret the texts.

 The readings helped me understand the reading behaviors of the students in my classroom because now I get an idea about the different types of thinking these students posses and what is needed in order to comprehend. The Tompkins reading explains that reading comprehension requires students to have adequate background knowledge about the topic or genre, be familiar with most words in the text and being able to read the text fluently.  Suggestions are offered to help ensure all students are meeting these prerequisites such as involving students in authentic experiences, pre-teaching or reviewing words in the passage, making K-W-L charts, graphic organizers and choosing appropriate texts in which even the struggling readers can read. Different comprehension strategies are also used to facilitate students understanding. The readings in Tompkins helped me learn some types of activities and experiences that can help students reading comprehension strategies such as think-alouds, reading logs, question-answer-relationships, etc. Furthermore, through explicit instruction on comprehension teachers can make these strategies more evident.

Stacey Fisher's Response Post

I agree with what both Kayla and Allison have said about these students. All of these students need accommodations. Teachers must understand their students and how they learn. Also, making the lessons authentic and engaging will help keep the students focused and involved. Lastly, it is key to remember that not every student learns the same way!

I agree that there is a lot of questions that come to mind when thinking about Lupita. Being quiet does not suggest a lack of knowledge. I feel as if there are a lot of assumptions being made without fully knowing this student. As Allison said, forgetting she is present in the classroom because she is so quiet is sad. I feel as if the teacher should spend some time getting to know her and perhaps in this time Lupita will reveal information that could help her participate more. Lupita talked and helped two students that asked for help so if she feels comfortable about those students a buddy or partner system could be beneficial. In several of our readings we as teachers are encouraged to teach and represent the material in a variety of ways but also allow for children to show their knowledge in a variety of ways. Lupita demonstrated her knowledge by constructing a puzzle and even helped other students. Mrs. Potter should giving the students more hands-on activities or an option to draw and use pictures to express oneself. A lesson is not supposed to be a “one size fits all” and as teachers it is important to remember that one way will not work for everyone and varied instruction will be beneficial.

Mrs. Potter could start by spending time with Jonathan and assessing his knowledge in regards to his phonological awareness, phonics, spelling and vocabulary development, fluency and comprehension. Knowing what he is having difficulty with can help the teacher tailor to his needs. Additionally, strategies can be provided so he can improve in his skills. Perhaps the material he is being asked to read has complex words and he struggles with decoding. I agree with both Allison and Kayla that a reading group or partner reading could be beneficial. Also, a teacher could talk with the parents and set up an at home reading program requiring this student to read every night. The card system posed by Allison is a great idea to help this student overcome asking for help.

Continuing off what Allison and Kayla had said, completing and FBA and BIP could be very beneficial for Eddie for the reasons Allison stated. Also, perhaps giving Eddie a stress ball or a sensory need will help Eddie channel his energy. Designing lessons that will allow for physical movement could help as being forced to sit in a seat, focus on the teacher and concentrate on the work may be challenging.  

Kayla's Response 2/17

I definitely agree that Lupita needs more attention in the classroom. It seems that the teacher hasn’t taken the time to get to know her so I agree she needs to spend some time asking her the questions that you have posed. I also think that once these questions have been answered the instruction does need to change. I think that it is important for the teachers to make learning relatable to all of their students and since Lupita has a very different background she may need different questions. I think that the teacher should encorporate some of Lupita’s funds of knowledge within the classwork. This not only helps the work become more relatable to Lupita but it introduces the entire class to a different culture or different ideas. Just as Lupita is learning from the class, the class can learn from Lupita.

Similarly, I think that Jonathan would benefit if his teacher tried to get to know him better as well. Learning more about Jonathan’s funds of knowledge and interests could give the teacher insight as to what reading would interest him best. I definitely agree that reading groups would benefit not only Jonathan but every student in the class because they can learn together with peers of similar reading ability. The reading groups should be tested often, perhaps once a week, that way the groups are continually being checked and changed since all students learn to read at different speeds. I love the card idea! I have never seen this in a classroom but I love the idea of Jonathan having a discrete way of letting the teaching know he needs help. Perhaps this is an idea for the entire classroom!

I agree with the idea of creating a FBA/BIP for Eddie. I think that this should be a step before going to a special education teacher or psychologist. Perhaps the cause of Eddie’s behavior can be identified through an FBA and then the teacher can change her instruction. I think that Eddie would benefit from self-monitoring strategies because he could keep track of his own behavior and become more self aware. The reinforcements should be something that Eddie is interested in. Learning more about what Eddie is interested in will also help the teacher create lessons that may interest Eddie and this could be beneficial to his short attention span. The FBA and BIP should be evaluated often to make sure it is being implemented correctly and is being effective. If various BIPs are not being successful then I would bring it to the attention of the special education teacher and the psychologist.

I love that you agree with the readings about teachers needing to make accommodations for their students. The teacher is there to help the student so it is their job to do the most that they can for each student!

Allison's Initial Post 2/17

The common theme throughout this week's articles is about accommodations and how to individually help students. Each of the students listed on the "What Do You Think?" page provide reason for their teacher to have some concerns.

Out of the three students, Lupita is the one that I had to think more about what to do. I feel that there are questions I have to ask about her before I can make the best plan for her. Since she has been in Mexico with her Grandmother did she know English prior to entering this second grade class? If so, is she receiving ELL support from the school? Who told the teacher that Lupita has had limited interactions with crayons, scissors, toys, etc? Did the teacher designate one or a couple of students to be welcoming to Lupita when she arrived and to help her transition if needed? How much testing did the school do about her academic past and to see what she knows now? I think the statement about the teacher forgetting she is there is a sad one. If she is that quiet, then the teacher should figure out a way for her to participate more--maybe she would feel more comfortable working with a partner or small group instead of the whole class. I think it is important for the teacher to make her feel welcome and to get to know her well, especially since that can influence how she learns. Since Lupita solved the puzzle without problem, did the teacher not have her try one before and just took the word that she hadn't really done one? I would keep having Lupita use items on that list that she supposedly has not had much interaction with. I would keep partnering her up with other classmates so they can help one another. I would call on her or check her work more to see what she knows and if she is understanding the material. It definitely sounds like Lupita needs more attention in school. I don't think the teacher needs to change any instruction necessarily, but to keep monitoring how Lupita is doing with her work and if she is comprehending well.

The next student is Jonathan. Since Jonathan is struggling with reading, I would try to get him more reading practice and instruction. If there is a school reading specialist for him to work with, I would suggest that. I hope in class she is doing some sort of reading group and other reading activities for the students. Those activities help students get more practice reading and allow the teacher to work on reading with either individual students or students at similar reading levels. If she is not doing something like that in her classroom, that should be an adjustment. I would also say that that adjustment might not only help Jonathan, but other readers in the class. I would also be interested to find out if he is doing any reading at home. It sounds like there are two issues surrounding Jonathan--reading and asking for help. I would try to find out if he is uncomfortable asking for help, if he doesn't think he needs it, etc. If he is uncomfortable asking for help in front of the whole class, I would try to make an accommodation for him. Maybe the teacher could have a non-verbal system set up with Jonathan. He could have 3 cards: one color card representing that he is doing his work and understands it, another color card stating that he might need help soon and another color card saying that he does need help. Since he excels at other areas of his life, it probably is difficult for him to not do well with reading. I would try to set up a motivation system with him as well.

It sounds like the teacher should make a FBA/BIP for Eddie. There's a couple of things to look into: 1. If he has ADHD or something similar or 2. If he is getting up so much, then that could mean that he doesn't want to do his work. If ADHD is the source behind him constantly moving and not being focused, then she should talk to the school Special Education teacher or psychologist about him getting checked. If he just likes to move around a lot and has trouble focusing, then the teacher can make a positive reinforcement system with him. For example, if he only gets up once an hour, then he can get a check mark and all of those will add up for a positive reinforcement. Or if he completes so many assignments, then he could also get a positive reinforcement. I would also try to give him something to hold onto, as it mentioned in one of the articles. Students even like holding on items such as a balloon filled with flour. It should be fairly easy for the teacher to find something for him to hold onto during class instruction. As the article stated, it could be good for Eddie to continue seeing lots of visual items in school. I would also want to find out what he enjoys learning about to see if that will help him focus.

As it said in the readings, it is necessary for teachers to make accommodations for their students. If it is something that will help the student thrive in school, then why shouldn't the teacher do it? I agree that it is important for the teacher to remain flexible to help every student.

Allison's Post 2/11

**After I sent the e-mail to you about the writing sample, my MT said I could pick the samples up today. She had me come in right before class, or else I would have had this done sooner.

I collected two writing samples from student's writing journals. The journal entries were written on "Memory Monday" when students write about any memory that they have. I took writing pieces from students who have very different writing styles  writing knowledge. The one piece is written in great detail and is quite long. The student was very thorough about writing down her entire memory of watching the Super Bowl and celebrating her grandma's birthday. The other student does not care for writing and usually has to be urged to write more. He wrote about going to the mall and his sister's friend coming over.

Both of the writers are at stage two, letter name-alphabetic spelling. The students are beyond emergent spelling because they know how to make letters, can write left to write and can match letter sounds to the letter. Consonant blends and vowel sounds are being taught and reviewed in their class right now. Vowel sounds and identifying the vowel in a word needs to be worked on more. For example, in the boy's piece he wrote went as "wint," mall was "mol," walked was "wockt," my was "mi" and fun was "fon." They learned about long vowels, but the student still struggled, such as when he wrote came as "kam." Basic sight words were struggled with as well. Over is a current sight word, but he spelled it as "ovr." Overall the student did a decent job of sounding out words and being close.

The female writer does well with sounding out words and her spelling overall. the words she misspelled are: late was "lat," watched was "wcht," close was "clos," Valentine is "valitime," because was "becuse," power was "powr," phone was "phon," team was "tam," and tomorrow was "tomrw." She struggled with getting vowels correct as well. She did well with getting word parts such as: -er, -le, ght, and -st.

For a center I would have the students work on a vowel assignment.I want to have pictures on a sheet and have them identify which vowel goes with that word. I think it would also be beneficial for them to hear words and have to identify which vowel(s) are in the word for further practice (like a tape in the classroom tape player).

Stacey Fisher's Response Post

 In my classroom I collected four different country reports in which the students picked a country and spent over a week researching this country. The students then had to write a two-page paper discussing the population, the people, the land, the culture, etc. However, even though I tried to select a range of papers the spelling within was almost 100% accurate.  While one of the students I asked to copy work from is considered a low learner in language arts most of her spelling was good and this was probably because they were able to use books, the Internet, and dictionaries.  Thankfully, I also collected two worksheets that asked short answer questions on the reading, Shiloh. These samples gave a more accurate picture of their spelling abilities as they were not copying information from a book or the Internet.  

The one sample I collected did not have complete sentences, correct capitalization (first letters or names), or punctuation.  The word “because” is spelt “becouse” two different times and spelled like “cause” once. Also,  the word “hurt” is actually spelt “heart” two different times.  Some confusion between the letter “b” and “d” are evident as the word “both” is written “doth” and the word “bird” is written” dird”. Although this student is 12 years old, I think she may be between Stage 2: Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling  or Stage 3: Within-Word Pattern Spelling. She is confusing the difference between “b” and “d” but is able to spell short vowel sounds (pet, get, bad, him, vet, dog). This student does show evidence of the more complex consonant sounds and less frequent vowel patterns.  However, this student does demonstrate some inflectional endings (abus-ing and gett-ing) but she is unable to differentiate between homophones (your- you’re, there-they’re). It is hard to distinguish her spelling when the sentence structure is very incomplete. This includes, “cut grass for people”, “she scared for Shiloh”,” there taking good care for him”, “one was female one was male”.

The other sample I collected spelled the word “take” as “tack”, the word “my”  as “me” and the word “she” was written as “se”. Also, the word “probably” was spelt “probley”, the word “been” is spelt, “bin”, the word “through” is actually spelt “threw” and “hospital” is spelt, “hospatil”. The student is not understanding CVCe words, and is spelling words how he thinks they are pronounced such as “probley” and “hospatil” and is also not understanding homophones which is indicated by “threw” when he meant, “through”. This student does speak only Spanish at home so I can see the disconnect that is happening with his spelling. With this I would say he is between a Stage 3: Within-Word Pattern Spelling and Stage 4: Syllables and Affixes Spelling.

Literacy Centers would need to include a variety of activities. When viewing this link that was provided on ANGEL under helpful literacy center ideas I found an awesome PDF that included some great ideas. One activity has students match synonyms by playing a bingo-type game. Each student will have a different bingo card and there will be a deck of synonym cards that will be face down. Students will take turns drawing the top card and reading the word (ex: under) and will look for a matching synonym on their card (ex: below) and if there is a match a counter will be placed on the synonym. Students must continue until one card is full.

Another idea is matching antonyms by playing a domino game. Students will scatter the domino cards face up and taking turns a student will place the start domino on the table and read the word at the other edn (ex: awake) and they will look for the domino with an antonym (ex: asleep) and connect it to the domino. Students will then read word on other side (ex: brave) and find a domino with a corresponding antonym (ex: fearful), connects the previous domino and the process continues until they are all connected. There are two more activities that build off these two skills that I also like.

Another center that could be meaningful to these students is a matching homograph game in which a homograph is matched with their corresponding meanings by playing a sorting game. Homograph word cards are placed face up in a column and the homograph meaning cards are placed face down in a stack. A sheet is used to help the students sort and make sense of this. Taking turns, students select the top meaning card from the stack and read it (ex: inside of a hand) and will read the words in the column and determine which word best matches the meaning (ex: palm). The meaning card will be placed to one side of the homograph card. Students will continue until each homograph has a meaning card on both sides (ex: inside of a hand and a type of a tree). Student sheets wil be completed by writing sentences to match identified meanings.

Another activity that could be beneficial is different homophones such as having flash cards with the different homophones and their meaning/how they are used on the flip side.  The students would then need to use these words in a sentence.

When viewing Valentines Day stuff on Pintrest there was a lesson that had Valentines Day cards with messages and the students had to edit them. While this lesson was for second grade students I could definitely make the messages more challenging. I would include mistakes I have seen in their writing such as “cause” for “because” or “probley” for the word “probably”, etc. Having practice with editing other’s writing may make them aware of mistakes they have made.

Kayla's Initial Post 2/8 Literacy Center

    While I was in my second grade class I collected two writing samples from two writers. I chose one writer because I saw many words that were spelled phonetically but she seemed very familiar with CVC words. The second writer I chose because I was impressed by them using blends and digraphs correctly whereas I saw many other students struggling with them. Due to these two very different writing samples I would have to say that my class is split between Letter Name-alphabetic Spelling (Stage 2) and Within-word Pattern Spelling (Stage 3). This makes sense because my students are about 7 years old and according to Thompkins, Stage 2 occurs around ages 5-7 and Stage 3 occurs around ages 7-9.

    In my struggling writer I notice that words such as “because” are spelled “bcus”. This shows that they are listening to the sound of the word but are unfamiliar with how to spell it. However, CVC words are all spelled correctly such as “can”. I do not see a high use of consonant blends

In the high achieving writer I see words such as “party” spelled correctly which shows their knowledge on r-controlled words. This student is taking more risks and using larger words such as “listening”. However, there are still a few mistakes such as they meant to write “from” and wrote “form”.

    A literacy center that both writers would benefit from would focus on r-controlled vowels. The stage 2 writer could get introduced to the idea of r-controlled vowels and the stage 3 writer needs to become more accurate with her spelling of r-controlled vowels. I found a really cool activity on Pinterest that will help kids visualize the words and make a game out of figuring out which vowel goes in each word.

    The students get paper train cars that have r-controlled words in them with the vowel missing. Once they fill in the vowel they connect the train cars together that have the same vowel. This seems like a great activity for introducing the concept as well as practicing it. These could even be taped to their desk as a resource.

Allison's response 2/4

I found Stacey's post to be very interesting. I was surprised about the lack of discussion within their classroom. I found it a shame that the teacher was only asking questions that required specific answers. I would be interested to see how the students would do with holding a discussion on their own with a book. Especially for 5th grade, that is a skill that should be worked on. I feel that the response-centered talk could be aided if each student had their own copy of the book. Instead of having students fill in worksheets, they could think about which part of the book they want to talk about, or find a theme throughout the book to discuss. The students need to see scaffolding and be shown how to lead a class discussion. There is definitely room for the teacher to improve classroom discussion here.

I am in a first grade classroom. My teacher at the beginning of the year did model to the class how they were going to have their book talks (so she modeled good/bad comments, how to share your opinion). They read at least one story a day and will talk about it after. She will ask open ended questions and the students share their responses. She will also open the floor to them and ask if there is anything they want to talk about from the book. In that case my teacher is allowing students to lead the discussion. I would ask the 5th grade class to share more of their thoughts about the book as a way to get the classroom discussion started.

Kayla Response 2/4

I find it very interesting that a 5^th grade class has yet to establish response-centered talk within their classroom. I am in a 2^nd grade classroom and it is mainly led by the teacher who asks certain questions, much like you described. However, in my classroom I think this is scaffolding the students to learn how to discuss. Unlike in your classroom my teacher does ask questions that can have multiple answers however, the students are still supposed to raise their hands before shouting out. I see this as an important scaffolding technique to prepare the students to soon be able to discuss amongst themselves without being called on. First, as you described, the teacher needs to set the comfortable tone within the classroom. My teacher is doing this through starting off their discussion by asking questions and having multiple students raising their hands to answer. The students are learning to respond to each other in a civil way (through the teacher’s help of making them be patient to say their answer) and are becoming more comfortable to say their opinions with the class. The second step would be to let the students answer and respond to each other without the teacher calling on them. So although I see the way that your teacher could be scaffolding I think that 5^th graders should be to the point that they could have a response-centered talk.

Also, I wanted to point out the positives that response-centered talk has for the teacher. I agree with all of the benefits that you listed for the students. I think that the students can reach beyond their own ideas and learn a lot from each other through discussion. It is also very helpful from the teaching perspective because you can verbally hear students answers a take notes. Discussion is a great way to see what your students are grasping and where they may have some misconceptions. As the McGee article told us, it is a great way to assess your students’ comprehension. Through discussion you can truly see how students are interacting and understanding the text. Your 5^th grade classroom could greatly benefit from a response-centered talk. Your teacher could get a better understanding of what the students understand from the text through their conversations better than through answering questions that are most likely explicitly stated within the text. Simply because they can retell what happened in a story does not mean they are fully comprehending the text and understanding what the author is trying to say.

Overall, through this week’s readings and reading your blog I have a better understanding of the benefits of classroom talk. It has great benefits for both the students and their teacher. These readings and your blog have given me great ideas as to how to implement this in my classroom!

Week 3 Initial Post- Classroom Talk

In my fifth grade classroom I rarely see any classroom talk. Everyday after lunch the teacher stands in the front of the classroom and reads a few chapters from a chapter book (they are currently reading Avi). The students do not have their own copy and do not seem to be engaged or paying attention. A few times I have heard her ask the students to re-cap what they have previously read before beginning for the day but besides for a simple re-telling question the students are not being asked anything more. Also, in this new marking period the students have been working on a “Stone Soup” unit. My teacher had read them the book; Stone Soup and the students were given a packet of work regarding this book. Within this packet the students were required to search through the dictionary for three words A-Z that they could include in the soup. The students had to write these ingredients in cursive on line paper, another worksheet required them to read another version of Stone Soup and fill in a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two stories. They were also given a small paperback version in which the students had to read and then fill out a worksheet with several re-tell and comprehension questions. This last Thursday the students read a portion of Shiloh from their Treasures language arts book. Before reading this passage the teacher called on students who had their hand raised to provide a definition for one of the eight vocabulary words listed. After verbally reviewing all of the words the teacher read the passage and after the students were given two worksheets. One worksheet dealt with the vocabulary words and the other asked 5 questions about the reading such as, “Do you think Marty will return Shiloh to Judd on Sunday as promised, why or why not?” “Why do you think Ma offered to buy Shiloh from Judd?” “If you needed to make some extra money for something you wanted what might you do?”. With all of these stories there is some “recitation” but certainly no discussion as Almasi talked about. Some recitation takes place as my mentor teacher will stand in front and ask specific questions that have one answer, and the teacher will call on students that have their hand raised which tend to be the same handful of students every time.  However, the students mainly fill out worksheets, even in social studies the students read from their book and fill them out. Students should have the opportunity to discuss their ideas, instead of the teacher just telling them what the text was about or having them fill out worksheets. When incorporating literature into the literacy curriculum, I think it is important to keep in mind that discussions must be had in order for students to get meaning out of the literature. The discussions will allow for students to work off of each other’s ideas in order to reach new meanings. Students could really benefit from a discussion in this classroom as they are all diverse in their own ways and hearing each other’s thoughts and ideas could help expand their thinking.

            In order for the students to even be able to take part in a meaningful discussion my mentor teacher will definitely have to scaffold them. With this I mean she will first have to teach them how to participate in response centered talk meaning you let one person finish what they are saying before one speaks, you do not interrupt, blurt out or make rood comments. When responding, the students should be prepared to support their idea or argument but still be open to other’s ideas and opinions. In this classroom there has been some issues of bullying so coaching the students and reminding them that a student response centered discussion isn’t time to make fun of others ideas or be off task. The teacher will have to encourage all students to share ideas, ensuring each student knows it is a safe environment and all thoughts are welcomed. The teacher will also have to plan ahead, create open-ended discussion questions and refrain from doing all of the talking. Instead, the students will speak among themselves and the teacher will be there to guide students in certain directions, to help keep them on track and possibly expand on their ideas.

      Some types of learning resources that are available that have the potential to promote rich discussions are white boards, several copies of the same books, a classroom computer, laptops that are available to all students, and a projector. While my class does not have one, an Elmo could also be a great resource because the teacher could display certain pages of the book (assuming there are not multiple copies for everyone) so the rest of the class could see. If a student was referencing a picture on a certain page she could flip to that page and help keep everyone involved. The teacher can record a question on the white board so students can make sure they are staying on task, and the teacher could also use the board to record the student’s thoughts. My classroom also has many books organized by genre, type or level and several dictionaries available.  In our Weinsten reading, we are given some great examples of props that will encourage shy students to feel more comfortable speaking out.  A few examples they gave were a special pen, a wand, or a toy.  Using a prop like this ensures that each student will get a chance to speak while also preventing outspoken students from dominating the conversation. 

      Some students in my classrooms need scaffolding in order to participate actively in response-centered talk. Some of the scaffolding that students need are probing for the main ideas in a given text, probing for how those main ideas could and do connect back to their own lives, things from the chapter that reminds them of specific memories that pertain to them, scaffolding involving vocabulary, as well as questions or ideas on how to start and continue a group conversation. For students who are not as active in the classroom, there are many ways a teacher can scaffold.  For example, the Almasi article states that if a student gives a shorter response, a teacher can simply ask the student to provide a rationale.  Furthermore, if a student doesn't give a response at all, a teacher can ask if the student agrees or disagrees with the opinion just stated by another student.  Not only does this get the shy student to participate, but it also puts them in the position of the evaluator.