I HATE STICKY NOTES (ANNOTATING) FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS! Why do I have to do them? What does a teacher do with them?

READING IS AN INVISIBLE PROCESS! Reading takes place in your thoughts! Sometimes your thoughts don’t connect to the book! In order for you to become a better reader, you must be better at thinking about reading!

Reading makes your future your choice! Difficult, but true facts about reading: 43% of those with the lowest reading skills live in poverty; 70% of inmates fall into the lowest levels of reading ability; College graduates earn 76% more on average than those with just a high school diploma.

Reading is an invisible process! Sometimes you may think: I can’t understand what I’m reading! Some of these words are too hard. I thought this was a scary book? This isn’t anything like the cover! I love this book! These characters are just like my friends! Reading is a great escape! But, I won’t be able to tell what you are thinking until I read your annotations.

To become a better reader, you must make the reading process visible by writing your thoughts on sticky notes or annotating!

Reading is like a sport! Practice matters! To be a good reader, you must practice, especially if you hate reading!

BUT, I HATE READINDG! You hate it because you aren’t good at it, which is normal! I don’t do things I’m not good at unless I have too! In order to get better at reading, you MUST read! Successful People Read!

Why do I hate reading? Instead of reading, I have been fake reading! Skip words Listen to Ipod while reading Fall asleep while reading Daydream Forget what I read Read too fast Look at the book without reading the words! Look at the words without reading the book!

Good readers know that in order to understand what they read, they must do more than pronounce words. This is just like when I …

Good readers are aware of their thinking. Good readers understand that if comprehension is to occur, they must engage in several thinking processes. Good readers are aware of their thinking.

I am trained to see into your brain I am trained to see into your brain! I am a reading brain surgeon: trained to diagnose reading difficulties by reading your sticky notes and discussing your book!

I am a reading and writing specialist! I am specially trained to read your sticky notes and decide how to help you become a better reader! As I read your sticky notes throughout the year, I can help you progress to higher levels of thinking! Everyone can improve their reading so that even the most difficult text can be conquered!

For example, by reading your sticky notes I can tell: if you understand the story which words you are having trouble with which concept or skill you are having trouble using how you are connecting to the text and characters how to help you have more complex thoughts about the text if you are actually reading the story which texts you are critically reading and which texts you are skimming

Did You Know: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/61444/long-read- kids-every-day So the requirement for this class is that every student read 30 pages a night which should take 30 minutes! You should create a sticky notes worth of writing that shows your thinking about the text. This is called annotating. You need to do this at least once every ten pages.

IN THIS CLASS YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO: IN THIS CLASS YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO: CREATE THREE STICKY NOTES A NIGHT: MONDAY – THURSDAY! CREATE ONE STICKY NOTE FOR EVERY TEN PAGES OF READING! Annotation is a fancy word for sticky notes!

Quality sticky notes starter sheets! Every month I will give you a quality sticky note starter sheet that will help you concentrate on specific reading skills. We will go over the sticky note rubric every week, so you can get better at writing about reading. You will keep these sticky notes in a composition notebook or on the computer so that you can trace your reading thoughts as they become more complex throughout the year.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO READ? You are in charge of your learning! I can provide the help, but you must provide the effort. The best thing about learning this way is you choose what you want to read! You choose what you want to write about! You are in charge of your progress! Finally, this is a class with you at the center!

Book Guidelines! Books that are too easy aren’t fun to read! Books that are too hard aren’t fun to read! How do I know a book is right for me? I will be giving each of you a reading test. I will tell you what your reading level is and give you some examples of texts that are on your reading level.

In Order to be a great reader, you must read books on your level! How do I pick out the right book for me?

Five Finger Rule = Great Reads Open a book to any page! Read the page to yourself! Make sure you don’t stumble (even a little) over more than five words! If you do, put the book back! It’s not right for you YET!

To wrap things up: Reading is important. Successful people read! What you are thinking while you read is invisible. The only way I can tell what you are thinking about a book is by reading what you have written about your thoughts. You need to read 30 pages and/or 30 minutes every weekday! I will check your three sticky notes every day. You will turn them in every other week for a test grade.