Character Traits in Room 24!
This week in room 24 we have been focusing on character traits. We use the Lucy Caulkins units of study and have been progressing in our bookclubs. Students in their bookclubs are expected to read as a group and complete their "reader's work" together. Students have found community inside their bookclubs which is nice to see! Next year I am hoping to introduce reciprocal teaching during their book clubs to foster more independence in my students. For our character traits, we have decided to spend more time on it than shown in the reader's workshop manual. This seemed to be a tricky concept for my students to grasp. We have focused both on physical and personality traits and searching for evidence to prove these character traits. This past week's focus has also been on describing why we think the author chose certain character traits for the various characters in the book.
With April rolling around, MCAS is also around the corner. To prepare we have been focusing on answering open response questions with evidence and support. This week we combined both our character traits unit with open response practice. Students had to read their book club book, identify two personality traits of their main character and describe those personality traits with evidence. The hardest part for my students was going back into their books and searching for evidence to prove their character's traits. I had students type their open responses to prepare for test taking on the computer. I then printed the responses, provided feedback and students will go back and change or enhance their responses with the feedback.
This week in room 24 we have been focusing on character traits. We use the Lucy Caulkins units of study and have been progressing in our bookclubs. Students in their bookclubs are expected to read as a group and complete their "reader's work" together. Students have found community inside their bookclubs which is nice to see! Next year I am hoping to introduce reciprocal teaching during their book clubs to foster more independence in my students. For our character traits, we have decided to spend more time on it than shown in the reader's workshop manual. This seemed to be a tricky concept for my students to grasp. We have focused both on physical and personality traits and searching for evidence to prove these character traits. This past week's focus has also been on describing why we think the author chose certain character traits for the various characters in the book.
With April rolling around, MCAS is also around the corner. To prepare we have been focusing on answering open response questions with evidence and support. This week we combined both our character traits unit with open response practice. Students had to read their book club book, identify two personality traits of their main character and describe those personality traits with evidence. The hardest part for my students was going back into their books and searching for evidence to prove their character's traits. I had students type their open responses to prepare for test taking on the computer. I then printed the responses, provided feedback and students will go back and change or enhance their responses with the feedback.
It's a very good idea to have your students practice writing for MCAS but using what they are also learning at that moment. Hopefully having the practice will make your students feel more confident during the MCAS. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAh, character traits is a great analysis as it takes inferential thinking to pinpoint the traits.
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