Stone Soup

I am not sure how many people are familiar with the magazine for kids, Stone Soup.  I had never heard of it, so exploring their website was eye-opening.  I can only imagine how motivating it would be to have some copies of Stone Soup in my classroom to show students. They would be able to look through and read writing from other children around their age level. Better yet, they might be encouraged to write something for the magazine. Whenever I have students write something that other people (besides me) are going to see, it is amazing how much more effort they will put into their writing and conventions.  Writing for a magazine like Stone Soup might really help some students become focused and concerned with their writing. They are writing for a possible audience, and that is a huge motivational factor!

I did some research about the Stone Soup website and found that it was mainly for children ages 8-13. They do not take emailed submissions so students would have to focus on writing neatly or using good typing skills to submit their stories through the mail.  I looked through a sample copy of their magazine, and it looked amazing! Students would really love this magazine, and I truly think they would be ecstatic to write a piece for submission. You could easily teach writer’s workshop lessons about editing to go along with their submission.  There is also an archive of past stories, and students can also listen to authors reading their own stories.  I also liked seeing the variety of cultural stories, including some written by young Navajo children.  I really suggest looking into the website and encouraging students to submit their writing. It would be a great motivational writing experience.

Zoom Into Motivation!

Reader’s Theater and plays are a huge motivational factor for students. I have already touched on it a few times in my blogging, but it is really a deal breaker for some students. Some students just do not like reading, and it is not an interest for them. Reader’s Theater is really able to reach those kids. We are  no longer asking them to read silently at their desk or at home; we are asking them to perform for an audience. This is a whole different scenario for students, and it is one that most students thrive in. They have a purpose, an interest, and it is something different. 

I have found a few really great websites for Reader’s Theater, but one that really stood out to me was the Zoom Playhouse site from PBSkids.org.  The website is actually activities from the show Zoom, which unfortunately I have never seen. There are tons of great activities for students to participate in and also opportunities to outreach into the community. Under Zoom Playhouse, there are many Reader’s Theater scripts. When you click on the title of a script, the characters and setting are listed at the top, and the script is right underneath. The scripts are easily readable, which is a definite plus. If you really want to be adventurous, a list of props and costumes is listed with each script. Some of the scripts have video clips from the show that go along with them, which might be fun to show your class before or after they have preformed their own Reader’s Theater with the script. There are also printer-friendly versions of each script. The only thing that I would like to change is that the scripts are not leveled.  If you have leveled books at your school, you may be able to figure out about what level each script is but it still might be a bit difficult. Giving students background and discussing vocabulary before they start reading the script is a must. Check out this site for some great, motivating scripts!

SkippyJon Jones

I cannot even begin to explain the love that my first graders have for SkippyJon Jones. They love the way I make him talk, they love the stories, they love his character. Basically they just love everything about him. He is a huge motivational factor for them, and the books are very high interest. I will be discussing a few other authors/high interest motivational books in my blog, so I thought I would start with one of my favorites: Skippy!!

Skippyjonjones.com is a great website. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. The Teacher's Corner has so much to offer! There are lesson plans for a Author's Unit with Judy Schachner, curriculum connection guides, printables, and Reader's Theater scripts. I just blogged about the importance of Reader's Theater in the classroom, and kids will be beyond motivated and excited to perform these scripts in front of an audience!

The site also has a place for kid to look around. It includes videos and downloads. There are also fun games for them to play, including a Spanish/English vocabulary game. There is also a link to the author's website, in case students want more books from Judy Schachner.

I think it is important to find books that are really exciting and motivating for students and make a big deal out of them. This gets students excited about reading and encourages them to do more. Skippyjon Jones has been a big hit in my classroom. See how your students respond!

Reader's Theater

Children love reading for an audience. Most children are motivated by it and just love doing Reader's Theater. I have noticed it with my first graders, and many will actually whine on days we do not have any Reader's Theater! Not only does Reader's Theater motivate students in the classroom, but it also gives them practice reading and helps with their fluency. It is also something different than silent reading opportunities we give students daily. Reader's Theater scripts can be found for any grade level, so do not worry about availability of scripts.

Literacy Connections has a wonderful site that gives us so many links to learn more about Reader's Theater, gives us tips and guides to implementing it in an effective way, and books that include Reader's Theater. This wonderful resource also gives us scripts to use and activities that go along with the scripts. While some of the script links are better than others, Reader's Theater Scripts and Plays for K-3 is a great site that has a listing of many, many scripts, tips, and many resources. Take a look for yourself and motivate students with Reader's Theater today!

How Garfield Helps with Motivation

I have already discussed the importance of tapping into student’s interest to get more motivated readers and writers.  Letting students choose their own books to read and giving them the opportunity to write about something that interests them will really yield better results from them in the classroom. A good way to find out a student’s interests, even in the beginning of the year, is to have them fill out an interest survey.  A great article on Education.com discusses the importance of surveying students to find out how they feel about reading and what interests they have. 

One of the more popular interest inventories is the “The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey” that features four different expressions from Garfield the cat. This survey is especially successful with the younger students, and I have used this in my classroom as well. The students love filling it out and circling which Garfield represents their feelings and interests, and it gives me the opportunity to see how students feel about reading and what they are interested in. It is a great resource if students are unsure or reluctant to write. I can pull out their survey, and we usually quickly find something on the interest portion of the survey to have the student write about.

The MRP (Motivation to Read profile) is often a great interest survey to give to older students.  A reading survey is given to the students, and then the second part is done one-on-one with the student. This profile will really give you a clear idea of each child’s interest, and it definitely lets you get to know that student better.

Excerpt from Strategies for Struggling Readers and Writers, by M.J Meyerson, D.L. Kulesza, 2006 edition, p. 29-30. © ______ 2006, Allyn & Bacon, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

The Writing Fix

The Writing Fix is a great resource that teachers can reference and use in the classroom.  Its tag-line is that it has “lessons, ideas, and resources to “fix” educators who don’t enjoy teaching writing.” I know that writing is not my favorite subject to teach, so looking through some of the ideas was really helpful and motivating for me.  

The menu on the left side of the page is overwhelming at first because of the amount of resources that you could be linked to.  I recommend taking some time each day to look through the resources because there are really so many helpful links to look through. They even have a page for new users to look through. This First Time Visitor page explains who they are and how to navigate their site.  There are writing prompts, information on 6 Trait writing, Writer’s Workshop ideas and scrapbooks for every level, and ideas on how to incorporate writing throughout the curriculum.   There are links to books, in-service ideas and presenters, and mentor text lessons. I cannot stress how much information is on this website. Please take a moment and look through the site. You will not regret it, and your students will love your new ideas!

Four Ways to Motivate Adolescent Readers

While we might have those days where we sit back and really wonder how we get kids motivated and actually have them care, we still know it is very possible for each and every child to get excited about learning.  I came across a wonderful article on the All About Adolescent Literacy website called How Can Instruction Help Adolescent Students with Motivation? It is really a great article, and I recommend spending some time on the AdLit.org website as well.  

The article focuses on four main ideas that teachers can use in the classroom to motivate young readers and writers. 

1.       Set clear goals and expectations for performance.   Students have to know what is expected of them, and what we would like them to achieve and learn. Before having students read a chapter from a book for the night,  give them some background knowledge beforehand and explain what we expect them to discuss the next day. If students are unclear about the assignment, they will lack motivation to complete it or complete it successfully. 

2.       Guide Students to focus on their own improvement.  We have all seen other students looking at each other’s papers and asking how their peers did on a specific assignment.  We want students to focus on themselves and their own reading goals. The article states that teachers can work with literacy coaches and reading specialists to work with students to set up their own goals and find a way to track their progress. This will motivate students more when they focus on themselves and their own goals rather than how other students are doing. 

3.       Provide variety of choice in materials. This is mentioned in almost every motivation article I have read. Students are going to be more motivated to read something they picked out because it will be more interesting to them. It makes sense! When we go to the library, we pick books that are interesting to us. Let’s make sure we are giving students the same opportunity.

4.       Provide opportunities for students to interact through reading.  This includes small group discussions in the classroom. It is always nice to mix up the students in the group, especially so students of all abilities can discuss and learn together. 

National Institute for Literacy. (2007). Adapted from What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/adolescent_literacy07.pdf