CONSULTANT'S NAME - South Orange Maplewood School District

New Directions for Excellence in Education
10 Olde English Court | Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 | 201-612-3883 | sandistern@gmail.com
read.” The theme would not be, for example, “Tommie DePaola.”
9. During reading clubs, the teacher confers with reading club partners. The teacher actively supports
and extends students’ work by teaching them helpful strategies or by offering ideas for how to push
their thinking further.
Book Group Expectations: To be valuable and productive, students must eventually learn . . .
to be prepared
to sit so they can see everyone (like a circle)
to share leadership roles
that only one person can speak at a time
to take responsibility for ensuring that everyone has a chance to talk
to keep the conversation focused and keep it moving forward
to listen to the ideas of others and build on to or extend their thinking
*Reminder from our work the last time we met:
Realistic Fiction Writing
Following the character study unit in reading is key for these writers. They will have an arsenal of fantastic
fiction and rich characters as a reference.
Work with partners to read through their writers’ notebooks or folders. Which pieces that I wrote got the best
responses when I shared them? Choose one of those to grow it into a realistic fiction piece.
Possible lessons for the shift from personal narrative to fiction:
changing the characters’ names
adding or subtracting a character
changing the outcome or ending
going to far – falling off the cliff – not realistic anymore
sticking to what you know in setting, character age, illnesses, awards – again, how not to go too far
Resources
Next Steps
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy
The Perfect Place for an Elf Owl by the 1 st and 2 nd multiage class of Anthony T. Lane Elementary
Max’s Words by Kate Banks
Reading for Real by Kathy Collins
First Grade Writers by Stephanie Parsons
Can we use what we learned in our Persuasive Writing Unit in our Author Study Unit in reading?
Plan for Next Visit