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Boost Your Students' Reading Comprehension

6/26/2017

Summer is a great time to kick back and explore some apps that might work for your students. While not every classroom has 1:1 iPads, many teachers and specialists have access to at least one iPad. If so, check out the Reading Comprehension Booster app.

This app provides a bookshelf for each student where they can store notes about the book they are reading. Notes are stored on interactive bookmarks, based on essential instructional elements identified in literacy, brain and learning research. Each booster bookmark has a variety of interactive options to tap into different ability levels and interests. Users can read or listen to directions, draw, type, drag or record responses, and much more. Children can choose from Characters, Connections, Story Seeds and other bookmarks, or use several simultaneously. They can also create their own bookmark template and share it with the class. Children can easily email their work to a parent or teacher for review and discussion.

I have also used it with a whole group while reading a book aloud. Simply project your iPad onto a screen and ask students to help you with creating bookmark notes.

All for just $3.99!

PS If you don't have a classroom iPad, find out if the student's family does - perhaps they will want to use it at home.

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Participation Trackers

6/12/2017

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There's a mantra I like to repeat when I am planning and implementing my lessons - "The person doing the talking is the person doing the learning." It reminds me that student talk is usually more valuable than teacher talk, minus a few mini-lesson minutes. Because of this goal, I am always on the hunt for simple structures that encourage and track student talk. Here is an easy-to-implement idea I saw in a Wisconsin classroom recently.

Student names were on regular-sized sticky notes. To adapt it for the secondary level, I would create a similar chart for each class, but smaller - perhaps on a piece of construction paper - and use the smaller sticky notes. That way I could still have each class posted on a wall. Another option is to create just one chart with numbers only and have each student assigned a number.

We might not get to every student in one lesson, but with creative structures like this one, we can be sure to come back to them in the next! When you set up your classroom for next school year, how will you include structures for increasing participation?

For more ideas, keep following and look for an announcement in the fall about my newest book!

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Boost Your Students' Reading Comprehension

Participation Trackers

Anne M. Beninghof

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