Year after year, I sit down with my administration for my evaluations and we talk about my “glows and grows.” Higher level questioning is ALWAYS an area that I mention I want to continue growing in. Anyone else feel this way? Teaching students to think deeply and respond to higher level questions is vital when comprehending.
The thing is: I know I do this. I know it’s something I think about on a daily basis. Whether it’s during our mini lesson, small group, etc. it’s happening. However, there’s always room for more.
With that being said, I knew that with higher levels of questioning, not only would I be challenging the students, but I would be strengthening the engagement within the classroom. It would invite them to partake in rich conversation, rather than simple discussion.
Getting Started
Have you felt like this and need a place to start? This product by Teaching and So Fourth is an outstanding way to keep this concept up all year in your classroom. It is interactive and helped me be more accountable with questioning.
The Problem
As I started teaching upper grades, I was finding a ton of awesome products that aligned with novels. I used them, but I was struggling.
Problem: I had 128 students. I taught two grade levels. Multiply that by 5-10 questions per chapter and different novels. You do the math. It was TOO much for me to grade. Quite frankly, it was too much for the students, too. I couldn’t keep up. So not only was this failing, but I felt as though it was busy work for students, while not giving them a quality purpose for reading. It was IMPERATIVE that I fixed this and gave them a deeper meaning for reading.
The Solution
So, what did I do? Well, instead of complaining, I started brainstorming. I was having a hard time staying on top of teaching everything in an hour. I knew I had to fix this for the upcoming year.
That’s when the idea for Chapter Book Companions came about. How are these different than what I was already using? Well, I developed a way to integrate reading, writing, language arts, vocabulary, and higher level questioning.
I needed that quality of questioning and instruction vs. the quantity. I needed value in what the students were producing. Selfishly, I needed a simpler way for me to look at their understanding of the novels. (Let’s be real, I also wanted less copies to make…)
That’s when I developed this affordable and valuable companion to go with these novels.
What will you get?
Without further ado, check out my latest: Chapter Book Companions for the novels Pax and Wonder.
If you’d like to try out a sample of PAX, click HERE!
