Picture Books and Anchor Lessons

Problem  My students didn’t internalize the reading strategies or use them independently.  I wanted to find a way to make the reading strategies memorable.  Since my students were very visual, I wanted to try connecting memorable reading strategy lessons with a picture book.

Strategies  I created an “anchor” lesson for every reading strategy.  I connected each strategy to a picture book.

Data Collection  Pre and post surveys.  Student questionnaires  Teacher observations of student comments and behavior  Student journals to assess independent use of the strategies

Results

Students Use Strategies Independently  “Hey, connecting. We did that!”  The schema of skateboarding.  ESL student said The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf taught him to predict.

Connections  To Literature  “The Jabberwocky” and A Sound of Thunder  “A Man Called Raven” and Far North  To Your Life  Bullying  You and your attitude  Bullying  Terrorism

Anchor Lessons Parents  Class where throw string around  6 th grade teacher uses it The Wall  Feels like home  Guys can appreciate a good wall  Motivated to bring in items

Aide to Understanding

Student Engagement

Continue to Use

Conclusion  Success  Pairing picture books and anchor lessons = memorable experiences  Classroom community that used texts in common to connect with new texts  They made connections with themselves, other texts, and the world.  It can be used in other content areas.