Hola mis alumnos!

      Today is Camel Day, October 12, 2011.  You have heard me say before that good readers INTERACT WITH TEXT.  Good readers interact with text just like having a conversation with the author.  As we interact with text, we need to leave tracks of thinking.  This makes our thinking visible.  It brings it to real life OUR INNER VOICE that is so hard to hear sometimes. 

       Think about the tracks animals leave in the snow or the mud.  You can't see the animal.  You can't even touch the animal, but you know it has been there from the tracks it's left.  Readers need to leave tracks so that other readers and teachers can see the thinking.  Thoughts are invisible unless you leave tracks that they have been there. 

      Here is how we are going to start to leave tracks...
L         
Q or ?  
??      
!   
R     

That's it.  Have fun! 

Wait, I haven't told you what those tracks mean.  Silly Mr. C! 

L   new learning(At times this will be the answer to our questions.)
Q or ?  questions we have(These are the things that go on our Q and A forms.)
?? you are confused/gaps in knowledge
!  exciting or surprising information(These are very similar to the L, but they could be just random facts that surprised us.)
R for a connection (reminds me of...)

Tracks like these hold our thinking so we can come back later to see it.  If you are reading an article that is yours you can write these TEXT CODES right on it.  If you are reading a book that isn't yours feel free to use a post-it.  Have fun interacting with text and leaving tracks. 

Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest!

     

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher

School District of Waukesha

Waukesha STEM Academy