Bookmarks
Everybody uses a scrap of paper, a napkin, or a piece of string to mark his or her place in a book, and this activity puts that bookmark to work! By using bookmarks to record their thoughts while reading, students can easily make connections, predictions, inferences, summaries, or a list of questions while keeping track of these thoughts and storing them right in their books.
This activity takes advantage of the piece of paper that students use to keeping place in their reading. Students simply fold a piece of paper in thirds and use this “bookmark” to write and even illustrate their thoughts as they are reading. One advantage of this activity is that it can be modified to highlight any of the thinking strategies of effective readers and to fit any reading situation. Typically, the teacher generates a few questions for students to answer or tasks (such as drawing a picture) for students to complete on the bookmark. I have provided an example of such questions and tasks below. After reading, students can use their bookmarks to engage in small group or whole class discussion. The teacher can also collect the bookmarks to track students’ thinking during reading.
A few key tips for successful bookmarks:
· Model this activity first so students know what you are asking them to do.
· Allow students to practice this activity in class using a short reading passage and then compare results.
· Use the bookmarks as a tool for discussion, monitoring, and/or checking for understanding. Don’t just use this activity for another way to get kids to answer a bunch of questions about the reading and then move on without discussion.
This activity takes advantage of the piece of paper that students use to keeping place in their reading. Students simply fold a piece of paper in thirds and use this “bookmark” to write and even illustrate their thoughts as they are reading. One advantage of this activity is that it can be modified to highlight any of the thinking strategies of effective readers and to fit any reading situation. Typically, the teacher generates a few questions for students to answer or tasks (such as drawing a picture) for students to complete on the bookmark. I have provided an example of such questions and tasks below. After reading, students can use their bookmarks to engage in small group or whole class discussion. The teacher can also collect the bookmarks to track students’ thinking during reading.
A few key tips for successful bookmarks:
· Model this activity first so students know what you are asking them to do.
· Allow students to practice this activity in class using a short reading passage and then compare results.
· Use the bookmarks as a tool for discussion, monitoring, and/or checking for understanding. Don’t just use this activity for another way to get kids to answer a bunch of questions about the reading and then move on without discussion.