the Hats we wear

Some of the "ladies" came to visit today.

In Social Studies, Ms. Leom's class is starting our unit on the Northeast Region (Mr. Greninger's class will return in about three weeks for their turn). We are using this opportunity to learn how to predict, read, question, clarify, and summarize informational text.

To illustrate this model, Ms. Leom "texts" her "bffs" ("best friends forever" as the several friend-saavy students are quick to supply), to explain, model, and support our learning.

First, we took a peek at our materials. We laid them out side-by-side, so we can be successful. We took a "pretest", predicting answers. Then we labeled a map of the Northeastern Region.

 We highlighted the key words in the questions for the first section. Then we started reading. As we read, we frequently stopped to check our understanding. We were asking questions, when Ms. Leom interrupted us to ask us if our "imaginations were turned on" ... before we knew it, Ms. Leom had disappeared and in her place was ...

Queenie, the Queen of Questions

 Queenie asks herself questions as she reads. Sometimes it is what does a word mean. Sometimes it is to something she doesn't understand, or doesn't sound right as she reads. She has a magic wand for pointing and a microphone to magnify her questions.

Queenie no sooner asked a question, and Clara arrived.

Clara Clarifier

Clara is all about making ideas clear. She speaks in a Southern Accent. Her favorite saying is, "Reread! Reread! Reread!" She uses a highlighter to highlight important ideas. She uses the dictionary to understand words.

We were having a lot of fun and making significant progress in our Social Studies learning, when we had to stop for Specials. We'll return to our learning tomorrow.

Some other "ladies" that will be visiting our classroom this year are ...

Madame Prediction

Madame Predictions speaks with a (horrible) French-Italian-dramatic flair and likes when students predict what is going to happen next. Our pretest today would be an example of Madame Prediction's work; although, she did not appear.

Students will also be meeting,

Sunny Summarizer

Sunny is a reporter, looking for the big story. She likes to retell what she reads succinctly (expressed in few words). We'll be learning the term soon.

These four ladies work together in various orders using their skills to read and comprehend. The "professional strategy" is called "Reciprocal Teaching". It is a researched-based strategy that we have used in Milaca for over 15 years. You may notice that each of these ladies wears a different "hat". We talk about how successful readers continually "wear different hats" to understand. Successful readers are constantly predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, to be successful when they read.

 Learning is an adventure, and with these "tour guides" available, our learning develops a life of it's own. Welcome to the learning adventure!!

Note, another friend who might find her way to class ...

Captain No Name

Captain No Name collects treasure, and one important treasure that each student has is his/her name. For many, names were specially selected at birth. The intention is a humorous reminder to write a name on a paper (rather than "take a punch" on the Responsibility Card). Captain No Name is loud, brash, and rarely signals out any individual student, rather strolls the aisles muttering about "walking the plank", "searching for tre-shure", and has yet to successfully find a "no name" paper. 

"Beware of strangers wearing hats!" You never know what meaningful learning adventure will be arriving in the classroom!