I get the majority of the crosswords from here. They are easy and work really well for when I'm needing to give attention to someone in the group. The crosswords (for some reason) have been something the students have loved this year. I also use this book for ideas for word lists when I'm making the sorts.
During my intervention blocks, we devote the beginning to Word Work/Phonics. The students I work with are the kids who are struggling to read on-grade level and sometimes just struggling to read at all. So I can't just keep throwing more reading AT them, I have to find out where they are and start teaching phonics and word work from that point. One book that I have relied on for support with this it Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades. I love this book as a resource that I can always flip through to find direction or inspiration. This book is great for ideas or sequence of what to teach but it's also full of lists that I constantly refer to when I'm teaching new rules or patterns. Our Word Work time has a phonics focus. Below you can see a focus on Vowel Teams/Digraphs. We focused on two at a time (until we got to U) and we just took some of the most common digraphs to practice with. Our time begins with a look into what our focus is for the week (which is what the picture below is of). We discussed the digraph's sounds and the vowel team combination that could make that sound. Once we have introduced the focus, we complete a sort based on the patterns/rules the words use. We sort the words each day of the week, but then after the sort we usually do a different activity. Some days it's simply saying them aloud (especially when I'm working with the students who need decoding work) because that allows them to see and practice the rule. For example, if we are working with long i and they are struggling to decode the word, I remind them of the rule/pattern and they know to sound it out using the long i. Some days I have the words uploaded onto Spelling City so that one or two students can play with the words on there while I work more intentionally with students who need it (again, the decoding, pattern practice). Sometimes towards the end of the week we will use the white boards for an assessment or a quick game of hangman. Many times they beg for a crossword. I usually have one ready and allow them to work on that while I'm working with an individual or if they finish something early. Our Word Work time is usually about 10 minutes total and I feel like we get a lot done in those 10 minutes each day. The majority of students have not been taught phonics and that is okay for most students. But when they are struggling to progress in their reading, many times it is because they are needing some phonics and word work.
I get the majority of the crosswords from here. They are easy and work really well for when I'm needing to give attention to someone in the group. The crosswords (for some reason) have been something the students have loved this year. I also use this book for ideas for word lists when I'm making the sorts.
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This intervention lesson series was a review and reinforcement of making inferences. Many of the students I was working with needed low-level practice of making an inference and proving it with evidence. As I like to do with a lot of topics, I found some videos/clips. The first day we practice supporting or inferences using a clip from Madagascar 3. This literally took about a minute. The clip I used I was found here. I paused it as the red eyes beamed in the dark with all of the bones lying on the floor around them (at about 46 seconds). We discussed the music, the bones, the darkness, the scratches, the animals shaking, etc as evidence to why we would think the red eyes belonged to a scary beast. The next day I used One Man Band, a Pixar short film. This one had a blog post with it and I used the graphic organizer to keep track of our inferences/evidence. I paused at 2:11, 2:47, and 3:07. These three (and then the end) were the perfect spots for the students to infer the answers to the four questions on the graphic organizer. Another day we watched For the Birds, another Pixar short film. This one was more for just review and discussion so I just paused a few times and asked about what they thought about the birds, the actions, their "talking", etc. The last video I used was an adorable video of two bulldogs trying to get a tire out of a swimming pool (here). We paused this one several times to make inferences about the dogs' actions and thoughts. This one brought some great discussion. After videos, I used pictures several different ways. The first was with "The Z Was Zapped" by Van Allsburg. We went through each letter and quickly inferred what was happening to each letter based on the picture. It was nice and quick and the kids liked it. Because Norman Rockwell paintings lend themselves so well to inferences, we looked at some to infer and explain our justification. Another way I used pictures was through power point. I saw something similar online and made my own. It is attached below. We just briefly went through a couple of pictures and then went "back in time" to look at pictures of some old things (ie: old timey football helmets, hockey pads, things like that). The old things have hints to go along with them.
Next, I used a case from "You Be the Jury". I made a copy for each student so they could highlight evidence. Then, they wrote who they thought was guilty and the evidence that led them to believe this. They really liked this! We also read "Two Bad Ants" by Van Allsburg and inferred where the ants were on each page before I showed them the picture. They folded their paper in half and made a T-chart. They wrote their inference for where the ants were or what the ants were doing on one side and then why they thought that on the other side. We went through it pretty quick and the kids did really well! Using cartoons that were cut up, we inferred what order made the most sense. After they got the hang of that, I took away a piece and then the students had to infer the missing part. This was hard, but they liked it! We will do this one again! There are hundreds for free at GoComics.com Below are some activities I found online and all worked very well for practicing. I have no idea where these first two came from because a teammate gave them to me, but when I searched "Inference Task Cards" on Pinterest I found a ton of free ones. I laminated these so they could write on them. This one was great for my fifth graders to get in a bit of science review. I found it on Teachers Pay Teachers here for $3.00.
This activity is was pretty fun and used a lot of STAAR language and stems. I found it here. I also used this game which I found on FCRR. Lastly, for a group of students who have really been struggling, we used this game from Lakeshore. It was simple enough that they felt successful but challenging enough that it took some thinking.
One way to teach/reteach finding the right summary is similar to the way I teach Main Idea. Students have a different color for each answer choice. We read the answer choices one sentence at a time and put a tally next to the paragraph that the sentence connects to. Next, they add up the tally marks to see which answer choice had the most connections. They ALSO look to make sure that answer choice has connections all the way through the passage. If all of the tally marks are in the middle of the story, then that is not a good summary answer. A tip I have heard from another teacher but haven't tried is that she has her students start at the end of each answer choice. If the answer choice doesn't include the ending/resolution/lesson, then it most likely isn't a good answer choice.
Again, for intervention I use examples from the lower grade's STAAR. In my opinion, working with main idea can be one of the most frustrating activities! Sometimes students just can't see the big picture. This intervention series brought success for my 5th and 6th graders so I consider it a winner! These first two files are a station I used at the computers. They wrote their answers on paper or a white board and could scroll up and down through the pictures at their own pace. There are 5 sets of pictures on each one. The first five are pretty straight forward, and the second five start to get a tiny bit trickier because I cropped some of the pictures. They were to look at the sets of pictures and then write a main idea for the whole set.
After we discussed main idea and details and made an anchor chart to reinforce our thoughts, we completed a sort. The sort was a freebie from TPT and can be found here. I liked this one because it consisted of three details and one main idea which is what STAAR tends to do. We used that as a spring board for our discussion of answering Main Idea questions on STAAR. For STAAR, I like to teach the strategy of using highlighters or tally marks to determine the best answer. That looks something like this: In the picture above, I used a paragraph from a STAAR passage and typed it out breaking it up sentence by sentence. Below, I took the answer choices and put each in a box. I like this concept because it gives room to write proof or take notes about the answer choices if needed. Once we have practiced this way a couple of times, then I have them try with a "normal" STAAR style. I use a lower grade's STAAR when practicing like this with intervention groups. The numbers in the above picture correlate to how many sentences connected to that answer choice. I think this gives students who may struggle with this concept a concrete way to help them choose an answer. Attached below is how I used an old 4th or 5th grade STAAR to help me teach this.
I like to use this same concept for summary questions on tests. We also practiced Main Idea and Details with an outline. I chose a passage for each grade level based on the reading levels of the groups. For 5th grade, our passage was about the Northern Lights and 6th grade we went with Bioluminescent Animals. Both were very interesting topics that neither group knew much about. Because I figured there would be a lack of prior knowledge, I found a couple of videos for each topic to start the groups with. Videos: Northern Lights 1 Northern Lights 2 Bioluminescence 1 Bioluminescence 2 From there, we discussed vocabulary that might trip us up and then read the passages. While reading, we would stop with each paragraph and come up with a couple words/a phrase that described that paragraph and then write it out to the side or in a graphic organizer. Then we moved to the outline where we used the passage to find the missing details. Lastly, I created a sort by using sentences from the passages. They sorted the sentences into Main Idea or Details. The passages came from Spectrum Reading books and then I created the outlines. Those are found below.
Instead of playing war with the numbers, I added words to the cards using labels. There are two of each word within the deck. Divide the deck in half and two students can play war, trying to say their word correctly the fastest. If they throw down the same card, they go to war...throwing down 3 more cards and flipping over the 4th. Whoever says that word correctly the fastest wins the whole group of cards. Play continues until all cards are with one player or the time is up.
We began this series by creating an anchor chart. We used the word taciturn and looked at all the different ways context clues could be used. I found this activity on Fun With Language. She has lots of context clue activities and the chart I used was her free download. I cut apart the definitions and examples and then the students put them on the board where they thought each fit best. We also used the chart that came with the download to write our own examples for each type. We continued by using a lot of sorts and games and just overall reinforcement. I loved these three games from here. 1. Talk Like a Pirate 2. Context Clue Tic Tac Toe 3. Text Message Context Clues Context Clue Dominoes was pretty hard, but they were able to complete it with support. It was another great way to practice using the clues in text to figure out word meanings. I found this here. These last activities turned out to be way too hard and we ended up abandoning them, but it may work for others. I found it here. It says 5th grade STAAR, but it wasn't working for us. They were $4 :(. Oh well! The second thing that I planned on using, but didn't work out because of the difficulty came from ImLovinLit.com. I used (or tried to use) her Context Clues Practice and Assess Grade 4-5, but that wasn't a success either. Luckily it was a free download. I guess now I know! Both activities were great, just a little too hard for us at this time.
As I was trying to help some students realize that seeing the pictures in your mind of what you are reading will truly help them understand the text, I was desperate for a concrete way to show them. I found the idea for this lesson online, but now I can't find where. At the suggestion of that website, I used the poem "My Neighbor's Dog is Purple" by Jack Prelutsky. A color copy is attached below.
After I read the first two stanzas (and actually while I reread it a second time), the students drew on the first side of their paper. They drew what they were picturing the dog to look like. Then I read the last stanza aloud. After I read this, they had to draw on the second side of the paper what they NOW pictured in their minds. Below is the chart we used, but just notebook paper or a white board would work too.
Next, because the science teachers were teaching about adaptations, I went with that topic to extend the visualization practice. I read the following information to the class (found here) about the Star Nosed Mole: Star nosed moles are one of the most distinctive types of mammal. Their noses are hairless and ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles. The star has 11 appendages per side that vary in length from 1 to 4 mm. This species ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs between 35 and 75 g. Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylindrical body with heavily-built forelimbs, broad feet and large claws. Its hair is short, dense and coarser than that of other moles. The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown underneath. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter. Students were then given time to turn and talk to a partner. Together, the drew what they saw in their minds for the Star Nosed Mole (the information was also displayed for them to look back on). Once they finished, we looked at what a real Star Nosed Mole looks like. Source This next step was to tie the topic into the adaptations they were learning about in science. Each student was given the information about the Star Nosed Mole and needed two colors or highlighters. They made their key at the top and then highlighted which pieces of information were behavioral adaptations and which ones were physical adaptations. From here, we created an anchor chart that helped us remember what it means to visualize.
We spent a couple of days on figurative language. For sixth grade, this was all review, but for my fifth graders while it seemed to be some review, we definitely had to do some teaching too. We reviewed and made our anchor chart using these cards that I found online here. Once we had refreshed our minds, we sorted the definitions with examples. This sort was found online here. After much discussion of why each one fit in each category, we used photographs and figurative language examples. This activity was found here. I also added in a few photographs I found and had the students think of their own figurative language examples as I told them the type. This was a good assessment. The next day brought some more review and some more sorts. The first set of sorts was a great review because there were so many examples. We didn't go through all examples of each type, but we got a few of each done. I found these sorts here on The Curriculum Corner. After we did the above sorts as a whole group, we then broke into individuals to sort on our own. Each student was given their own set of cards and found a place to work. They had to match the type with the definition and with an example. This allowed me to see if there were any students who were still pretty far away from the target. This is an old sort created by another teacher and I only have a hard copy (otherwise, I would share!). Some other resources I used throughout the week... the pink cards came from Kagan's Balanced Literacy book (5th Grade) and the Figurative Language cards came from points with Scholastic. I also flipped through these books when we were discussing idioms. Finally, our favorite part of the week came with a little competition. I showed this video which is so fun for figurative language. There are many of these videos out there, but I liked this one because after each clip, it showed the text of the figurative language. They were also all numbered which helped me turn it into a contest with my groups. They would discuss and then give an answer and earn a chip (pattern block). I moved the cards down to the table they were sitting at so they had a "word bank" to choose from. The students or groups with the most chips at the end were the winners. The kids loved this!
I really liked our character traits week and I think my students did too. They seem to enjoy when I use video clips which I try to do often. For this week, I used a different clip each day (I meet with students four days a week so that is why there are only 4 clips). We focused on the traits of the characters in the clips. For two of the videos we had a chart or graphic organizer to record our thinking and for the other two, we just discussed the traits we noticed. Day 1- Charlotte's Web (Wilbur finds out he will be dinner at Christmas) Day 2- Geri's Game (the links have changed for this one a couple of times, it's a Pixar Short Film) Day 3- Patch Adams Day 4- The Lorax For Charlotte's Web, I used a chart where students could write down traits the noticed for Charlotte, Wilbur, and Templeton. I also had a word bank for support of coming up with the traits. Those are attached below.
For Geri's Game, I remade a chart I found on Funky in Fourth. She had this lesson and I loved it and was able to incorporate parts of it into this intervention series. Below is the chart I used.
The picture books I used this week to reinforce traits and character changes were The Raft and Verdi. Both of which lend themselves perfectly to this topic.
I worked with some groups from a different class than I normally see and the teacher asked for some support with main idea. The following stations were ones we used for that review. Read Think Sort I got this off of another website forever ago. I'm pretty sure it was even before Pinterest. But I really love this sort for students struggling or needing reinforcement with Main Idea. There are 5 sets of cards and each set can be divided into three groups. Then students must come up with a category for each group. Graphic Organizers We also used these graphic organizers and articles that I got when I bought Hello Literacy's Informational Text bundle. They worked perfectly for Main Idea/Detail review. Games I also pulled out a couple of Main Idea games/matches from Lakeshore for two other stations. These were very low level but they worked perfectly for some of the students that I was working with. Sort
Lastly on this day, I pulled out a Nonfiction Text Features matching game. I try to always tie in Text Features with Main Idea because the features always give us support and clues as to what the Main Idea is going to be. This match is super simple with an example on one card and the name of the feature on another card. There are stickers on the back so students can self-check. |
Lessons & SeriesIntervention lessons and series of lessons designed for (but not limited to) 5th and 6th graders
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