Reader's Notebook
Promoting the Use of Comprehension Strategies through Letter Writing (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 2: Consolidation / FluencyStage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
7-11
Grade Range:
3rd 4th 5thFood Groups:
Primary: Reading Comprehension Strategies, Text Structures & Genres
Transcript
Each week the students write a letter to me, in their Reader's Notebook, telling me about a book that they have read during Read to Self time. In their letter, they can talk about the story, they can make a summary, talk about characters, and make connections, as well as the language that the author uses. I then respond to them in a letter asking them further questions about the book that they are reading, or further connections that I am interested in. At the beginning of the year, we would make a chart together, that goes through different things that they can put in their letters addressed to me in their Reader's Notebooks.
Related References
Activity Objective
The goal of Reader's Notebook: Promoting the Use of Comprehension Strategies through Letter Writing (Virtual Tour) is to use a method developed by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell to help students understand the structural features of letter writing and promote comprehension as they journal about stories they have read.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Encourage students to continue discussing selected reading materials by asking specific questions about what they are reading.
- Keep your letters personal to each student.
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Reader's Notebook: Motivating Students to Read, Write, and Reflect
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Sentence Sort: Organizing a Paragraph (Virtual Tour)
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Who Wears These Shoes?: Building Comprehension by Making Inferences (Virtual Tour)
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