Workshop Wednesday: Responding to Reading

I've been a busy lady.  I'm sorry about the lack of blog updates and blog commenting (mainly the blog commenting though.  I feel bad reading a post and not commenting!).  I have a MESS of deadlines coming up...two big ones on Friday, then another big one on Thursday and then I should be in the clear for quite a while!

If you are here because of Joy In the Journey's 200 Follower Giveaway, thank you!  If you didn't know, Joy in the Journey has a big giveaway going on right now!

There are lots of great prizes for K-6, but the giveaway is has TWO categories for 3-6!  Yay, upper grades!  You'll find my Spring Themed Math Centers in the 3-6 category :-)  {This is Common Core Aligned for Grade 5}

Today I'm linking up with Ideas by Jivey for Workshop Wednesday!  I love Workshop Wednesday...so many great blog posts to read!  This week's topic is responding to reading.

Like many workshop teachers, I give my students stickies to leave "tracks" in their reading.  We use sticky notes together while we read and then I expect them to practice what I've taught in their independent reading.

I have students keep their stickies in their reading response notebook.  Most students are pretty good about keeping the stickies nicely organized with the title of the book at the top of the page.
 

In guided reading, I've started having students write their responses in a booklet with comprehension and higher order thinking questions printed out for them.  I was noticing that my kids had a difficult time holding on to their response question while reading and often my conference with a student was being interrupted by a student who forgot the question.  These little booklets are also a matter of practicality: I can just quickly glance at the booklet to assess their comprehension before we begin our discussion.

Finally, I've blogged about these bookmarks before, but I updated them a little for independent reading.  I started using these bookmarks to help my literature circles move away from using role sheets.  They transitioned to bookmarks to keep them organized and focused and now, I'm SO proud to say, they bring their own notes to the literature circle! 

The boxes will hold the student's sticky notes perfectly!  Grab the independent reading bookmarks HERE!

That's it for me! Be sure to link up with Jivey to share how you have your students respond to reading!