A Simple Reading Strategy to get Students Using Their Heads and Hearts

I recently found the book These Hands at the Scholastic Book Fair and immediately fell in love! Using beautiful illustrations, this book tells the story of a grandfather teaching his grandson all of the amazing things he can do with his hands like playing the piano or throwing a curveball. But he also shares things his hands couldn't do during his past, like bake bread at the Wonder Bread factory. Even the youngest readers will be able to gain new understandings about our country's past through this inspirational story. 

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Click to find out more about this book!

This book was a perfect fit to practice the BHH (Book, Head, Heart) Reading Strategy created by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst in their phenomenal book Disrupting Thinking. 

** Side note, if you don't already own their book you need to stop what you're doing and go order it now! It is by far the BEST professional book I've ever read. It addresses the need for authentic reading as well as offers practical suggestions on ways to get students engaged in their reading. **

Click to find out more about this book!

WHAT IS BHH READING?

Reading is meant to be a personal and engaging experience in which we make connections and reflect on the text. We want students to actively think about the text instead of being passive readers. This BHH (Book, Head, Heart) Reading Strategy helps students pay attention to the words the author has written and also reflect on what those words mean to them.

In the BOOK

Students are encouraged to think about what information is explicitly stated within the text. We want to make sure they can accurately summarize the information, answer text-dependent questions, and identify the theme. They may answer questions such as: 

• What is this about? 
• Who is telling the story?
• What does the author want me to know?

In my HEAD

Students begin to think beyond the text, dig deeper into what is being said, and make connections. Students need to consider how the text fits with and impacts their own thinking. They may answer questions such as: 

• What surprised me?
• What changed, challenged, or confirmed my thinking?
• What does the author think I know?

In my HEART

Students reflect on the story and their personal connections. Reading should move us so we want them to think about their feelings which are provoked by the text. Students may respond to questions such as:

• What did I learn about me?
• What did this text help me learn about others?
• How will this help me to be better?

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HOW TO IMPLEMENT BHH READING?

This strategy can be used with almost any book! You obviously want to find stories with a powerful story when first introducing the strategy so that students have content they can reflect on easily.

All of my students have their own composition notebooks that we use for their reading responses. Ideally, you want your students to realize they can implement the strategy on ANY text with any paper they happen to have nearby. By forcing students to only record their thoughts on a specific template or graphic organizer it hinders their ability to transfer the strategy to other texts. 

The BHH strategy will require plenty of teacher modeling and student practice before they will find success independently. Model your thinking as you read the story aloud and write your reflections using the gradual release of responsibility model. After that, you will want students to gain opportunities to practice the strategy with your support. During this time, you may want to assign a specific question/prompt in which you want students to respond. Providing students with ample time to discuss their responses will also be beneficial to help them learn from each other and improve their ability to think more deeply about the text. Eventually, with enough practice, the students should be able to reflect on the text independently.

ADDITIONAL BOOKS TO USE

• The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
• Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
• A Piece of Home by Jerri Watts
• How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting

Have you used this strategy with your students? What other ways do you get students to actively engage with the text and reflect on how the words impact them? Share in the comments!

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Tooth Trouble

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Tooth Trouble by Jane Clarke is the perfect book to share with students for Dental Awareness month in February. It tells the story of Wilbur the walrus whose tusk hurts but he is too afraid to go to the dentist.

Not only is this book ideal for teaching dental health, there are various literacy skills that can also be taught using this book. The best part is it's written at 2nd grade reading level so students can enjoy it independently!

Skills to Teach with this Book:

• Problem/Solution - The conflict and resolution are explicitly stated which makes them easy for early readers to identify.
• Sequencing Events - This book naturally lends itself to using the "Somebody Wanted But So Then" model.'
• Character Changes - Compare how Wilbur feels at the beginning of the story to how he feels at the end.
• Retelling - I use this book to practice three different retelling strategies to help students remember what they read (as shown in the first picture). Click to find out more and to download the FREEBIE shown below!

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Click to find out more about this book!

Have you used this book with your students? What other skills/strategies have you used it to teach? Share in the comments!

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Ricky the Rock That Couldn’t Roll

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If you haven't read Ricky the Rock That Couldn't Roll by Jan Miletsky then you need to go check it out immediately! My students and I all LOVE this heartwarming story about a flat rock who couldn't roll like his friends! 

Another major appeal of this book is that it's the perfect mentor text for so many different skills. You can easily reuse it for multiple skills and students will never get tired of reading it!

Skills to Teach with this Book:

• Theme - the last page states a beautiful message to young readers!
• Problem/Solution
• Sequencing Events
• Character Traits and Emotions
• Speech bubbles -You'll definitely want to read all of the speech bubbles in the book since they're sure to make you laugh!
• Retelling - I use this book to practice three different retelling strategies to help students remember what they read. Click to find out more!

Click to find out more about this adorable book!

Have you used this book with your students? What other skills/strategies have you used it to teach? Share in the comments!

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Retelling Strategies Made Simple

My students struggle to remember what they've read. As a result, we've been working on actively thinking about the text as they read. One way we do this is by stopping on each page to retell what they read using three strategies:

• Stop, Think, Paraphrase - SAY what happened

• Stop and Jot - WRITE what happened

• Stop and Sketch - DRAW what happened

Scroll to the end of the post to download a FREE version of this sign!

Teaching Sequence

Initially, I begin by introducing each of the strategies separately using the gradual release of responsibility method. 

• Model the strategy. (I DO)
• Practice it together with my modeling and them practicing it at the same time. (WE DO)
• Provide opportunities for students to independently practice the strategy while offering them support. (YOU DO)

Eventually, we practice all three strategies together using one text. During my read aloud, we first stop after each page and practice paraphrasing together as a group (Stop, Think, Paraphrase). 

I model how I simplify my paraphrasing and write down what happened in the story (Stop and Jot). I challenge the students to write 5 words or less when they jot, since their paraphrasing tends to be wordy. This encourages them to focus on the most important details. Plus the purpose of the strategy is to write a quick note to help them remember what they read without overwhelming them by having to write a lot.

I also model drawing a quick picture to summarize what happened (Stop and Sketch). Similar to the Stop and Jot strategy, I remind them it's only a quick sketch to help remember what they read. As a result, I tell them it's not art class and recommend they use stick figures to save time.

As I'm modeling each strategy, students practice applying them in their own reading notebooks. You can use any loose-leaf paper, whiteboards, post-it notes, etc. I prefer to keep it all within one notebook so I'm able to view their progress with the strategies. 

Next Steps

After finishing the book, I model how to use our notes/sketches to retell the story. This shows students how the stategies help them remember what they've read.

We also practice using our notes to easily find answers to questions, since inevitably students are expected to take standardized tests. I ask questions and they use their notes to answer the questions and/or tell me which page to find the evidence. 

By using our notes to practice these additional skills, it leads to more student buy-in. They begin to see exactly how these strategies can help them be more successful with their reading.

Tips for Success

Even though we practice all three strategies at the same time, I do not expect students to implement them all at once. I model and guide students through all three but ask them to try one strategy for each page. The goal is for them to ultimately decide which strategy works best for them based on their own strengths. As we know some students love to draw but dread writing. So why force them to use an approach that isn't a good fit for them?

My daily exit ticket for students is to tell me the strategy that we practiced. But I don't allow them to just name the strategy, they must explain to me what we did. If they're able to explain it, that helps them internalize the strategy.

Another part of their exit ticket is to reflect on if the strategy was effective for them and I ask them to tell me why/why not. My goal is to help them find strategies that work best for them, so it is crucial for them to self reflect.

Read Alouds

Check out some of the picture books we have used to practice these strategies. Click on the links to find out more about each book!

• The Way Home for Wolf
• Ricky the Rock That Couldn't Roll
• Tooth Trouble

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Have you used any of these retelling strategies with your students? Share your tips for implementation or other strategies that you have found successful in the comments!

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Christmas Reading Response FREEBIE

One of my favorite books to read with my students in December is Are You Grumpy Santa? Not only is it a hilarious story that kids love, but there are also so many supplemental activities you can do with it. This book perfectly lends itself to exploring emotions to enhance students' vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing skills while reflecting on their own feelings.  Continue reading to find out more about these activities!

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If you are unfamiliar with the book Are You Grumpy Santa, stop what you're doing right now and go check it out! We can all relate to the rough day Santa has when he stubs his toe, takes a cold shower, and experiences other funny mishaps! 

In this FREE reading response activity, students reflect on how Santa's emotions change throughout the book. They can refer to the Character Emotions Chart to draw Santa's facial expressions based on how he was feeling. Students are also encouraged to provide text evidence to support their answers. Not only that, but students can make a connection to their own personal lives by writing about a time when they felt grumpy or happy like Santa.

Additional Activities to Analyze Character Emotions

Emotions Charades

Playing charades to act out the emotions is a fun and easy way to learn what the words mean. In this version of the game, students are allowed to talk to paint a clearer picture of how they're feeling without actually saying the emotion. For example, a student may say "My mom won't let me have a sleepover. This is the worst day ever." to demonstrate that they are feeling upset. While a student is acting out the emotion, other students should be observing them closely. They will be noticing what their face, body, and voice are doing. Paying attention to these details will help students identify emotions while reading and be able to incorporate similar types of details into their own writing.

Emotions Task Cards

Fluency is a reading skill that tends to be overlooked when providing explicit instruction to our students. The emotions task cards I use not only improve fluency, but they also build comprehension. Students can read a brief scenario to determine how a character is feeling. The character emotions charts are a beneficial tool to help students identify the emotion. Once they've figured out how the character is feeling, they will read a quote from the character using expression to reflect the emotions.

Reading Interactive Notebooks

Students record synonyms for emotions words that they find during independent reading. They can also record examples of how the author provides details to show how a character is feeling rather than just stating the emotion word. These pages become a valuable tool for students to improve their own writing with enhanced vocabulary and details about how characters are feeling.

These are just a few ways emotions can be used to enhance students' comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and writing skills. This awareness of character feelings will make a huge impact on students' overall literacy development!

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Click to view the other activities mentioned!

What other activities do you do to supplement the book Are You Grumpy Santa? Are they additional ways you help use characters' emotions to enhance students' fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing? Be sure to share them in the comments below!

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How to use Emotions to Enhance Writing

Do you wish your students would add more descriptive details to their personal narratives and creative writing stories? Are you looking to improve the level of vocabulary words they use in their writing? Incorporating emotions is an authentic and engaging way to enhance students' writing!

The Show, Don't Tell Writing Strategy is an effective way to help students use details to describe how a character is feeling instead of just telling the emotion word. It is helpful for students to think of what the character's body, voice, and face are doing in order to add details to their stories. Continue reading to find out the various activities you can easily implement to help your students improve their writing through the use of emotion words. 

Click to download this FREE writing anchor chart!

USING EMOTIONS TO WORK ON VOCABULARY

Students first need to gain a basic understanding of what the emotions words mean before they can begin incorporating them into their writing. An easy and FUN way to introduce the emotion words is through a game of Charades. 

How to play: Write various emotion words on index cards and have students take turns acting out the words. The other students will write down their observations of what the actor's face, body, and voice are doing to express the emotion and then guess the word. These observations help students become aware of the details they can add to their own writing when describing how a character is feeling. This authentic practice makes it easier for students to understand what the emotion words mean and think of details to vividly describe the characters' emotions in their own stories.

Emotion Cards and Observation Recording Sheet

Students should record the observations from the charades game into their writing folders. This provides them with a tool to refer back to as they are writing their own stories and want to vividly describe how a character is feeling.

Recording Sheet to add observations to Writing Folders

USING EMOTIONS TO WORK ON SYNONYMS

Once students have a solid understanding of what the basic emotion words mean, they can expand their vocabulary to include synonyms for these words. Teachers can add a chart to students' writing folders where they can record synonyms as they find them while reading. Students can refer to this chart to add higher-level vocabulary words to their stories. For example, using ecstatic instead of happy.

Emotions Synonyms page for Interactive Notebooks

USING EMOTIONS TO WORK ON WRITING

Prior to having students incorporate the Show, Don't Tell Writing Strategy into their stories, teachers should provide additional isolated practice. Students can select an emotion word and practice writing details to describe how the character is feeling. They can read their descriptions to a buddy to see if he/she is able to guess the emotion word or if additional details are needed.

Character Emotions Charts for students to think of Emotion Words
to use to practice the Show, Don't Tell Writing Strategy

Another scaffold that is beneficial to support students with their own writing is a story graphic organizer. Students can use a template to plan their story with how a character's emotions change from the beginning to end and the events that lead to these changes. 

Additional practice for Show, Don't Tell and
a story writing graphic organizer

The strategies suggested above help to scaffold students to be successful with the Show, Don't Tell Writing Strategy. Once they learn how to use the tools and know the language to use to describe characters' feelings, they can begin to incorporate emotions in their own stories.

Click to download the resources included in this post!

Have you used emotions and the Show, Don't Tell Writing Strategy to enhance your students' writing? What tools and activities have you found beneficial for helping your students find success with this skill? Pin the following image and share your ideas in the comments! 

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9 Ways to Make Your Reading Buddies Program More Effective

Reading Buddies is a popular program in elementary schools that promotes literacy. Many students have greatly benefited from buddy reading over the years. If you're considering implementing this at your school, you'll want to check out these must read tips to ensure a highly effective program for all of your students!

This is Part 2 of my Reading Buddies series. Don't miss Part 1 where I explained the program and the benefits of it!

TIPS FOR IMPLEMENTING READING BUDDIES

Assign Buddies

If your entire school is on board, it is recommended to pair up a lower grade with an older grade with specific teachers being assigned to each other. Ideal pairings would be: Kindergarten with 3rd, 1st with 4th, and 2nd with 5th. These pairings should remain in place for the entire year, which allows students to build solid relationships. If your entire school isn't on board, you can still pair up teachers that will remain consistent all year.

After the classes are assigned to each other, it's time to pair up students. Students should have the same buddy all year. Obviously, things happen with students being sick, moving in/out, etc., but remaining as consistent as possible helps with the success of the buddies.

Things to consider when pairing up students
The two teachers should briefly meet to discuss students' personalities and ability levels to create ideal pairs. If you have a 2nd grader who is reading significantly above grade level, you obviously wouldn't want to pair him/her with a 5th grader reading below grade level. This defeats the purpose of the program for both students. Personalities should also be considered for effective pairs. Two students who lack focus would not be an ideal match. You may also want to administer interest surveys and pair students by their shared interests. This immediately creates a natural connection with students that helps build a better relationship between them. (Find out more about administering reading interest surveys).

Teacher form to document buddy reading pairs.

Schedule a Set Time

In order to make reading buddies a priority it helps to schedule a consistent time each week to meet. Teachers have busy schedules but if you know that on a certain day of the week you have reading buddies for 15-30 minutes, you're more likely to stick to it. You'll soon find that students look forward to those days!

Find a Place to Meet

Decide on a quiet place to meet with plenty of space for students to spread out. This could be a classroom, empty hallway, library, or even outside. 

Start with an Icebreaker

When students first meet their buddies you may want to plan some fun activities for students to get to know each other. You can use the same type of getting to know you activities you plan at the beginning of the year to build a sense of community. (Click to download a freebie of suggested Ice Breaker activities!) Buddies can also fill out an interest survey together so they can immediately discover their shared interests. This naturally gives them something to talk about and allows them to begin to form a connection.

Administering reading interest surveys can help teachers
more effectively assign students to reading buddies.

Establish and Model Expectations

Teachers should set expectations for students. How should the reading look? What should students achieve during this time? You may want to consider creating the desired structure for how you want the time to be spent. (Do students take turns reading each time or alternate by weeks? Who reads first?). Most importantly, these expectations need to be modeled for students. 

Provide Scaffolds for Success

Along with modeling expected behaviors, you will want to provide prompts to help reading buddies be effective. These scaffolds may include visual reminders to remind students of the expectations during that time together. It is also beneficial to provide prompts for older students to support younger students when they get stuck.

Buddy Reading bookmarks scaffold students for success!

Allow Time for Discussion

The reading buddies program allows students to improve their comprehension as well as their fluency and accuracy. You can orally provide a comprehension prompt for all partnerships to discuss after reading. Students can also have discussion bookmarks with prompts depending on the desired skill you want them to focus on during that time. This could be retelling what they read, making connections, or reflecting on their reading fluency. For teachers who want even more accountability during this time, you may want to assign a shared reading response sheet for partners to complete. This might not be needed in most cases, but some classes might require the additional structure for success.

Reading response sheets that buddies can complete
together to increase student accountability.

Reflect on Reading

Lead students in a discussion after reading buddies to reflect on what went well and what they can improve upon next time. Upper-grade teachers will want to provide time to help students problem solve and practice strategies to better support their reading buddies. 

Plan Events to Build Relationships

The reading buddies program isn't just about reading. Teachers can plan other activities where older students help students with math tasks. Buddies can complete projects together such as holiday crafts and/or Stem challenges. It's also important to plan a fun event at the end of the year to celebrate a year of growth together! This can be as simple as a popsicle party!

Click to view the resources I use for buddy reading 
with my students - including the tools shown above!

Hopefully, this has inspired you to start or enhance your reading buddies program. If you've already implemented reading buddies, what other tips were most beneficial for you? Pin the following image and share your tips in the pin's comments!

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