The One Tool You Need to make Reading Response Digital

Are you looking to go paperless with your reading response notebooks? Padlet is an AMAZING digital tool that makes it engaging for readers to respond to text. 

What is Padlet?

Padlet is an free online bulletin board that allows multiple contributors to post ideas, images, links, videos, and more. Teachers can use the website or the app for students to access the Padlet boards they have created.

Using Padlet to Annotate Text

When setting up the padlet, teachers can create columns that correspond with text annotations. I created Padlet boards for each book club book with the following columns: questions, important details, and interesting facts. Rather than annotating text using post-it notes, students can type their responses into the shared Padlet. 

Students can also comment on the ideas posted by other students! For example - one student asked a question about an unidentified character in the book. Another student responded in the comments with new details to help figure out that character's identity.

Using Padlet to Track Characters

When reading chapter books, students can struggle to keep track of all of the characters. I created a Padlet that had columns for each of the main characters and a column for new characters. As students found additional information about each character or met a new character, they could add it to the Padlet. It was a visual way for students to easily remember what they knew about the characters.

Additional Benefits of Using Padlet for Reading Response

• Students can easily collaborate with other students who are reading the same book. 
• Students can immediately see new ideas on their device as other students contribute to the board.
• Displaying the Padlet on the Smartboard leads to more student accountability and encourages them to take the activity seriously.
• Students can respond to other students ideas in the comments. They can also like each other's comments - which adds a whole new element of excitement for them!
• There is an option for students to add pictures, so they can take a picture of their evidence from the text. 
• Teachers can customize the backgrounds of the Padlet boards. This is helpful when multiple books are being discussed at once. Different backgrounds make it easier to quickly distinguish which book is being discussed.

Setting up Padlet for Reading Response

The following video provides step-by-step instructions for setting up Padlet boards for reading response.

These are only a few ways that I've used Padlet with my students, but there are limitless options for other ways to use it. How else could you use Padlet for reading response? Are there other digital tools you use for your students to response to text? Please share your ideas in the comments below!

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Reader's Theater is NOT Just for Fluency Practice

Reader's Theater is an extremely effective and popular strategy for fluency practice. Students get to practice reading fluently in an authentic manner. But there are so many other skills you can teach using Reader's Theater! 

5 Alternative Ways to use Reader's Theater

Read on to find 5 simple ways you can easily use Reader's Theater to enhance more than just students' reading fluency. By focusing on these additional skills, it improves students' overall reading ability which leads to a more expressive and fluent final performance of the Reader's Theater script!

Reader's Theater to Identify the Setting of a Story

Have your students look through the script to identify the parts of the story which refer to the setting. Reread those parts and write down the adjectives used to describe the setting. Discuss the word choice and determine where the story takes place. The students can then use Google images to find photos that best match the descriptions. This leads to rich discussions about which picture is best based on the evidence in the text! These photos can be added to a green screen app or simply displayed on your Smartboard behind students as they perform. 

Reader's Theater for Vocabulary Development

Students may be unfamiliar with some of the words in the Reader's Theater scripts. This is a perfect opportunity to practice using context clues to determine the meaning of those words. Students may also find words that are hard for them to pronounce. Rather than making them stumble over the words during their performance, you can help them use context clues to find synonyms that are easier for them to accurately read. You can replace any of these difficult words in the script by writing in the easier word directly on the script or on a post-it note covering the challenging word. This allows students to feel more confident about their ability to read the text fluently as they perform for their peers.

Reader's Theater to Teach Comprehension

Reader's Theater is a great opportunity for students to work on a variety of comprehension skills. Students may practice making inferences about the characters, settings, and events. Reader's Theater scripts are also ideal for working on moral and theme. The students tend to find it easier to identify the moral in these texts because they are more personally invested in the story. They take on the role of their character which naturally deepens their overall comprehension more than when independently reading a passage out of a text. 

Reader's Theater to Analyze Character Traits

Reader's Theater is the perfect tool to use for character analysis. Work with students to identify the character traits and have them provide text evidence to support their inferences. Help students make inferences about how their character must be feeling in the story. Encourage students to draw faces in the margins or on post-it notes to show how their character is feeling. It's a perfect visual reminder to add the appropriate expression when performing the script!

Reader's Theater for Writing Practice

There are many opportunities to use Reader's Theater for writing practice. Allow students to rewrite some of their lines or change the ending. In fact, you may even want to have your students write an entire script themselves! 

What are some other ways you've used Reader's Theater with your students? Please pin the following image and share your ideas in the Pin's comments! 

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