Using Reading Response Notebooks to Guide Instruction

1
Using Reading Response Notebooks to Guide
Instruction Improve Student Learning

• By Andrea Frasier
• First Lessons 8.1

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School-Wide Objectives

• Implement the use of reading response notebooks
  at every grade level
• Look carefully at student responses and use
  observations to drive instruction improve
  student learning

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Written Response to Reading

• With great pressure on teachers to ensure that
  students perform well on standardized tests,
  teachers must be able to understand how different
  kinds of readers comprehend what they read.
• Formal assessments often lack the insight into
  student thinking that teachers need to tailor
  their instruction to improve learning.

4
Written Response to Reading

• By gaining a deeper understanding of how
  different students process what they read,
  teachers can design instruction to better meet
  diverse needs.
• Reading response notebooks facilitate discussion
  among students by allowing them the opportunity
  to reflect and share their ideas. Teachers are
  able to gain insight into their thinking, and
  provide instruction based upon their
  observations.

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Types of Responses

• "Thinking aloud on paper" A way to generate and
  record what you're thinking about as you read or
  as you prepare for discussion (may be on
  post-its, organizer, T-chart, etc.)
• Formal synthesis A way to refine thinking
  that has come up during reading and to mold it
  into something more formal. It may include a
  summary opinion (see checklist).
• Response to a Question Students write an
  extended response to a specific question about
  the text. It follows the written response
  criteria (see rubric). Questions may be posed by
  the teacher, incorporate standards, and be
  written in CMT like language.

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How Often Should Students Respond?

• "One of the strengths of writing in notebooks is
  that it allows students to capture all of those
  great ideas that float off into the air during
  the discussion."
• However, Response writing can also become
  drudgery if students are asked to write too
  often, given little choice or inspiration in what
  to write, or simply if they don't have anything
  to say. -Katherine Noe

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How Often Should Students Respond?

• Don't overwhelm students by asking them to write
  a long response every day, or they won't have
  time for the joy of reading itself!
• Seek to achieve a balance. If you require too
  much writing, it becomes a dreaded task. If you
  only use notebooks once a month, students will
  not become proficient in using notebooks to
  reflect on their reading.
• Be flexible with how you use notebooks. Once a
  week you might use them for a written response to
  a question, and the rest of the week students can
  record their thinking and submit one formal
  response at the weeks end.

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Tips for Success

• Teach for in-depth response Model, discuss, and
  practice written response.
• Score Sample Responses Students should have
  opportunities to score and revise written
  responses together (They must understand the
  criteria of the rubrics!)
• Assess and evaluate written response Build
  students' skills through ongoing feedback and
  refinement.
• Utilize Reflection Allow students who have
  successfully met the criteria to share with the
  class.

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Tips for Success

• Go slowly. Try to find prompts or activities
  that will really make your students respond to
  what they're reading in a way that is meaningful
  to them.
• Less is more. Write less often about things that
  matter deeply to your students. Ask them to help
  you figure out what that might be.
• Make it meaningful. The more engaged your
  students are with what they're writing, the more
  assessment information you'll glean about what
  they know, think, and can do as readers and
  writers.
  -Katherine Noe

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Provide Sentence Starters

• Students respond to strategies that have been
  modeled during crafting lessons
• If I were the character...
• A quote I like or reacted to strongly is...
• I wonder about...
• This reminds me of...
• I predict...
• This line is interesting/ challenging/ puzzling
  because...
• I now understand why/how/what...
• I was surprised by...
• Some questions I have are...
• I'm confused about...

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Use Notebooks to Guide Instruction

• Make instructional decisions based on your
  observations/assessments of the notebooks
• Determine which students may need more explicit
  instruction during an invitational group
• If the majority of the class is struggling with
  something in particular, it may need to be
  addressed during whole-group crafting
• Consider instructional changes that you could
  make to ensure that you are meeting the needs of
  all your students