Workshop Model:Getting kids to talk back to any

text and enjoy (not fear) reading.

#RSCON4 session by Laura Gilchrist

A little about me!!Laura Gilchrist6th grade Science and Social Studies Educator, 19th year

My husband and I have 17 and 19 year old daughters and a PUG and CHIHUAHUA!

Passions: Nature, Birding, Photography, Bringing people together in learning and fun to create opportunities for kids

1st e-Conference! Excited and oh, a little nervous!!

WELCOME!! Happy we’re at RSCON4 together!

How do we get kids talking with text and opening up to LEARNING from it?

Typical Classroom: Textbooks. Worksheets. Paper.Kids are seen LOOKING AT TEXT in a textbook they can’t touch and then FILLING OUT COLD STERILE WORKSHEET.

Workshop Model Classroom: Real HANDS-ON Conversation with TEXT involves getting messy and colorful; taking a quiet time to read, mark up, talk back to the TEXT….Kids ENJOY IT!! Time for conferring time with teacher helps kids read!They have time to PROCESS the content and learn new words and skills.

It’s all about Conversation

Here’s my story about the power of CONVERSATION with text and how it has moved my kids, my daughters, and ME as a teacher into a happy place of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive growth!

It’s all about Conversation

The start of one of my stories…The start of one of my stories…College move-in Day!College move-in Day!

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This is how we set our children up to work with

text:

HANDS-OFF

Distant. Lifeless.Mute.

Irrelevant.

This is how we set our children up to work with

text:

HANDS-OFF

Distant. Lifeless.Mute.

Irrelevant.

The TextThe Text

Our kids…LOOKING at the Text.

Our kids…LOOKING at the Text.

We need to change the dynamics of this picture.

Kids: Grab your highlighters and pens, or your stylus because it’s….Time to Get PersonalWith TEXT! A publication of

Kids need to…cc

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: Talk BACKTo the TEXT—Get personal

SHAKE HANDS WITH THE TEXT

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MARKING the TEXT ANNOTATING In the margins!

Nice to meet you!

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1. Meet the text andShake hands with it

By marking the text with highlighters, pens, pencils, sticky notes, and more they

GET TO KNOW IT!!

The big hand represents the texts we wantkids to be able to read!

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Seth

2. ANNOTATE—WRITE thoughts, questions, ideas in the margins!

-WHEN YOU TALK back, PUT YOUR thoughts, ideas, questions INTO THE MARGINS. Teacher can see what you’re thinking and can talk with you, help you and guide you. You might find inspiration and happiness there!

Now Let’s Talk!

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by timrb

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I wonder what

they’re talking

about.

I wonder what

they’re talking

about.

Marking the text and Annotating (Writing in the Margins)

*Look at the attention paid to the words/text via the highlighting and writing in the margins.

Student was ACTIVELY reading/processing and creating metaphors. Did marking text/annotating before metaphor drawings.

I see the power in this

I see the power in this

Marking the text AND Annotating (Writing in the Margins)

--Invites kids to get TO KNOW the textand see that they CAN READ IT and get smarter from it.

And NOT in thisThe same text as previous page.Lifeless. Untouched.

--Kids just LOOK at it and maybe touch it. HA!They answer Questions on another sheet of paper. PASSIVE.

Kids need to be DOING! Circling, underlining, making connections to self, wondering, thinking and then talking to others, like classmates and the teacher about their thoughts and their reading.

How can the teacher….…help kids read for understanding if he/she can’t tell what students are EVEN thinking?

If kids put their thinking in the margins, teachers WILL BE ABLE TO see what kids are thinking and HELP kids one on one during Annotating time--CONFERRING!

I tell the kids: If you were having a conversation with a PERSON, you would be a GOOD LISTENER and give 100% attention to the person. In this case, the person is the text.

Since we are good listeners, this is a time of quiet and focus on that ‘person,’ the text!!BONUS: During TEXT TALK TIME, the TEACHER confers with kids as they’re reading—going around and HELPING THEM to get meaning from text and increase skills. Teachers use the comments/annotations in the margins to see where kids are at!!

Classroom management tips:

While kids are GETTING PERSONAL with the text through marking and annotating, YOU, the teacher, are freed to look at comments and HELP the kids make more meaning; use new strategies!

*****Get out there with the kids and help them one to one!!*********

Power of Workshop Model:Relationships and worktime WITH both TEXT AND TEACHERS!

Conferring!

Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett; my WorkshopModel Gurus at a North Kansas City Schools‘modeling’ a lesson for teachers!

MODEL marking the text and DO IT WITH THE KIDS! -SHOW your Marking and Annotating on the doc camera

if you can.-There is no ‘right’ way to mark the text. -Annotating—provide starters and examples and just

THINK OUT LOUD ON THE SAME PAPER the kids are reading.

*****BE A LEARNER WITH YOUR KIDS!*********

Model it!

No Text shall scare the kids any more when they know Workshop Model!They can mark up and learn from any text! It may take longer to get to know some texts, but kids will know they can do it!

NO FEAR!

Problem: TEST is over 5 chapters and the lectures!!

LAMENT:“I just took 11 pages of notes from the chapters and I don’t know ONE THING! I’m goingTo FAIL!”

I have a SOLUTION!!! ~mom

The story of a college freshman… My daughter’s STORY:

http://lauragilchrist.blogspot.com/2013/09/storytime-what-my-freshman-college.html

My daughter’s STORY: http://lauragilchrist.blogspot.com/2013/09/storytime-what-my-freshman-college.html

AnnotatingUsing tech!

Idea: Kids can take a picture of the text they want to annotate, then upload and annotate in tech tool! Idea: Kids can mark and annotate on paper (using pens, hilighters, sticky notes or dry erase surface)around text and then take a picture and upload to their ePortfolio or their docs.

Question came up at RSCON about best web/app tools for annotating with tech.Another question was raised about best tools for annotating text as a group!Great questions.

(Google docs, Subtext, and more were shared)

I’m just getting into the tech side of Workshop Model. More later!

I asked two of my students…. VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmkCtECEZ88&feature=youtu

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VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmkCtECEZ88&feature=youtu

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1. Shaking Hands with the TextMARKING THE TEXT—like shaking hands.

-Circling words they don’t know-Underlining and/or highlighting things they think are important-Kids need to find their own style; no one right way; highly

personal

-MODEL marking the text and DO IT WITH THE KIDS! SHOW your writing on

the doc camera if you can. BE A LEARNER WITH YOUR KIDS!2. Talking to the TextANNOTATING the TEXT—like talking to the text!!

-WHEN YOU TALK, YOUR WORDS ARE SPILLED INTO THE MARGINS. Teacher

can see what you’re thinking and can talk with you then, too!

Recap!

BY Laura Gilchrist.

@lauragilchrist4