short text sets

Monumental Women: A Timely Short Text Set

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

Did you know that August 26, 2020 marks the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment?  As women, we are thankful for the many who fought for our right to vote.   The very first statue of women in Central Park will be unveiled this week to commemorate the 100th Anniversary and the millions of women it took to get the 19th Amendment into law. The statue will feature three suffragists -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth -- who represent this hard work.  You can watch the unveiling LIVE on Wednesday, August 26th beginning at 7:45 a.m. by visiting THIS LINK or visit it at a later time where it will be archived.   

This post will feature short texts at your fingertips focused on women and women’s suffrage that can be used in real time or to look back in the days and months to come.   

BUILDING SOME BACKGROUND

There are a lot of great books, texts and resources about women and the women’s suffrage movement.  Here, we highlight a few of our favorites that can be used as:

  • Whole group mini lessons, shared reading, or read aloud

  • Small group work led by the teacher, by students, or a combination of both

  • One-to-one during teacher/student conferring or for independent reading

PICTURE BOOKS

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LINKS TO THESE TITLES [for reference or purchase]

Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers  and The Staff of the New York Times

Equality's Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America By Deborah Diesen

History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote By Kate Messner

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote by Kristen Gillenbrand

Marching with Aunt Susan: Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women's Suffrage by Claire Rudolf Murphy 

How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 

My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner 

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble by Doreen Rappaport

OTHER ARTICLES, VIDEOS & OTHER SHORT TEXTS

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Share one (or more) picture books or resources with students about the Women’s Suffrage Movement.  Invite conversation around the ideas that are shared.  Ask students if they have any questions or wonderings about voting rights, either related to today or in the past.  Jot those questions down to reference later.  Or, show the students a photograph or drawing of the new statue.  Ask them what they notice about the three women depicted. There is a great deal of symbolism included.  Then introduce the three important figures through some of the resources above.

Step 2

Pose the following questions and ideas to students, with the whole group or in small groups, and provide time and space for some conversation.

  • Did you know that Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth were all from the same state?  Do you know what state they are from? [New York]

  • Was Susan B. Anthony alive when the 19th Amendment was passed?  

  • What is an Amendment and how does it become official?

  • In 1872, fifteen women voted illegally.  Who were they and what happened to them?

  • What are the rules around voting today?  Can everyone who lives in the U.S. vote?  

  • Why is this new statue so important?  Why do you think there are so few statues of historical women?

  • What other historical women do you think should be depicted in a life-sized statue?  Why?

As students share, listen in and note students’ background knowledge, misconceptions, and wonderings.  For more on ways to kidwatch, check out the Kidwatching section.

Step 3

If time and interest permit, invite students to form mini-study cohorts (small groups no larger than 3-4) to research and learn more about a voting topic of their choice. Each mini-cohort can focus on the same topic OR they can research a variety of topics.  The main goals would be for students to have an opportunity to:

  • Read more (volume!) about a related topic of interest

  • Collaborate with peers, either by researching together or sharing new information they’ve learned with others

  • Use short texts to pique interests, potentially leading to reading even longer texts 

Step 4

Determine how long you’d like to dedicate to this learning experience and share that timeline with students.  A reminder that this opportunity can be a one-day exploration or more, depending on the time you have available and the goals you’ve set with students.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TEXT SETS

This is the perfect opportunity to use a text set.  We love to use a curated set of texts about a topic or related topics.  Start general and get more specific (e.g show an image of the new statue and then explore the woman depicted and the movement.  Or, go the other direction and read one of the woman’s life stories and then talk about the Suffrage Movement and the statue.  By reading a number of different short texts, the readers get a broader view of the topic.  And, they get to explore the topic further.  You can start by reading a text together and then inviting your students to pick another text that is of interest to them.  

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (Benchmark, 2021).

A SHORT TEXT SET AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: CELEBRATING WOMEN

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

This short text set celebrates women.  March is Women’s History month and it seems fitting - although we like to celebrate women all year long! 

Short text sets can be used to celebrate a certain group of people, especially a group that has been marginalized in the past, like women.  It can highlight accomplishments – in this case the Women’s Rights’ Movement – or anything else that makes these individuals unique and worthy of study. 

In the summer of 2020 a statue was unveiled in New York’s Central Park.  14 foot-tall and made of bronze, it depicts Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  The monument is the first sculpture of real women (there are some fictional figures) ever erected in the Park’s history.  Of the 5,193 public statues depicting historical figures in America, only 394 are of women.

TRY THIS

Step 1

Print or project a photo of the Statue - this photo is a short text! Here is one you could use, but there are lots of examples out there so find one you like.

Women Statue

Statues often represent individuals worth remembering. Ask some questions to get the discussion rolling about who these women are and why we should honor and remember them:

  • Who are these women?

  • Can you tell anything about these women by just looking at them?  Look closely at their clothes, and the other things the sculptress chose to show

  • When did they live?

Step 2

The story of the effort that went into getting this historic statue erected is a fascinating one. The Story from Smithsonian Magazine is a great short text for you to read aloud or one that older students can read in a small group or independently.

Step 3

Let’s get to know these three fascinating women.  There are lots of ways to do this.  For example, read some of the wonderful short biographies about Stanton, Anthony and Truth (see the resources below) and:

  • Report on these women to the rest of the class.   Divide your group/class into three and each group could read about and then “report” to the rest about the woman they studied

    • Read a picture book about each one

    • Or a short biography (there are So many to choose from!)

    • Listen to a podcast (or two) about these courageous women

      • “American History Tellers” and “The History Chicks” are two we like (Please note: they are geared to adult listeners).  There’s a new podcast based on the “Who Was” series that is just for kids.  Hopefully these women will be featured on it in the future.)

  • Study some of these women’s words:

    • “Truth is powerful and it prevails.” Sojourner Truth

    • "Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry."  Susan B. Anthony

    • “The best protection any woman can have... is courage. ..” Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Step 4

If your goal is to increase reading volume and/or give students an opportunity to write about this topic, consider: 

  • Reading more about The Women’s Suffrage Movement

  • Listing the other women who should be celebrated

  • Writing about a woman who deserve to be celebrated and why you believe there should be a statue erected to honor her

  • Writing from the perspective of one of these women.  Perhaps a letter from one to the other

GOING DEEP & WIDE

Looking for more titles and short text types that add to and expand your text set? Check out these titles:

Celebrating Women
Celebrating Women 2

STAY TUNED!

More about short texts and short text sets coming soon!

A SHORT TEXT SET AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: PICTURE BOOKS

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

By design, picture books combine the wisdom of the words with the visual power of the illustrations to convey the story.  Beginning with the earliest readers, picture books create building blocks that promote a lifelong love of literacy.  

We love picture books because they can be read multiple times and for multiple reasons. We love to share picture books with students.  Sometimes we read aloud to students for pure pleasure or to showcase fluent reading.  Other times, we use shared reading as a way to dive into a book with students so that we can unpack the story and co-construct meaning together. 

Shared Reading

If you liked our Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Picture Books (Fiction), we think you’ll love these ideas about taking one short text about a favorite picture book and expanding it into a short text set.  Just a reminder:  If you don’t have this book at your fingertips, swap it out for one you do have  and imagine other short texts you can pair with it to create a short text set.  

TRY THIS

Step 1

Some children may need some historical background to understand this book.  Consider both the background knowledge the children already have and their developmental age when you introduce this book and texts that support this book in the short text set.

Start by sharing Who Are Your People?, written by Bakari Sellers and illustrated by Reggie Brown.  As you share the book, spend some time talking about the opening page.  Use this excerpt from the book to launch an authentic conversation about the people who have shaped you/us. 

Who are Your People?

Then, as you read the rest of the book, consider:

  • Listening to Who Are Your People? read aloud by the author, Bakari Sellers.

  • Leaning into the illustrations (check out Reggie Brown’s website) and references to the figures in the book which includes:

    • Muhammed Ali

    • Maya Angelou

    • Stacey Abrams

    • Martin Luther King, Jr.

    • Harriet Tubman

    • Barack Obama

    • Serena Williams

    • Jackie Robinson

    • Kamala Harris

    • John Lewis

  • Talking about the proverb in the book that says, “it takes a village to raise a child.”

  • Discussing the call to action at the end of the book that reads, “So what will you dream, and how will you change the world?”

Step 2

Sharing this picture book can lead to other reading, writing, and talking opportunities, especially when you curate a short text set that includes picture books and other short text types like the example below.  Take a look.

Picture Books

Use this short text set during whole group shared reading, with small groups or give students individual opportunities to read the texts to learn more about civil rights, Black heroes and resistance stories.  

In addition, you could:

GOING DEEP & WIDE

Looking for more titles and short text types that add to and expand your text set?  Check out these titles:

Hero's Books

STAY TUNED!

More about short texts and short text sets coming soon!

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Launching into Summer Writing

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: LAUNCHING INTO SUMMER WRITING

For the past ten weeks, we have offered a series called Short Texts at Your Fingertips.  One or two times each week, we provided teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. The ideas we have shared were easily integrated into any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. For some, summer is already in full swing.  For others, summer is just a few short weeks or days away.  Regardless of when your school year ends, it’s important that students of all ages keep reading and writing across the summer months.  Last week we wrote about the WHY and HOW to create voluminous readers this summer!  You can read that post here.  This week we wrap up this series with the WHY and HOW to create voluminous writers this summer! A big THANK YOU to my friend and colleague for being such a great thinking partner and writing partner!

SUMMER WRITING

There is always lots of talk about summer reading.  Children take home books and reading lists.  Writing often gets a line or two at the bottom of the book list (e.g. “Don’t forget to write.”)   We would argue that writing needs equal attention.  Encoding is just as important as decoding and picking up a pencil can be just as easy as reading that short text.  Just as readers need daily practice, writers also need time and motivation to write.  There are lots of ways to incorporate writing into your summer plans. While some children can (and will) write and write and write, all children can create some short texts.   One of the most important ways to encourage writing is to make sure your young writer has ample materials and some great inspiration.  Read on for ideas!

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TRY THIS!

Step 1

If you are looking for some strategic ways to support summer writing, here are some possible pathways:

  • Read about authors and their writing process. Here are a few to get you started:

    • Reading Rockets has lots of videos of amazing authors talking about their work

  • Often some new writing materials to help motivate -- a new notepad or notebook and some beautiful new pens often helps, a lot. See below for more thoughts about this!

  • Correspondence is a great motivator.  A teacher or relative makes a great pen pal.  The correspondence can take place via text, email or mail.   

Step 2

Help students make a plan for summer writing.  Ask:

  • How many days each week will you write? 

  • How many minutes will you spend writing each time you write? 

Ask students what they want to write about.  Do they want to write:

  • Fiction or nonfiction?

  • Notebook entries

  • Poems

  • Letters or postcards or texts

Step 3

Ask students to identify different places to write.  Create a short list of places that might be a perfect place to write, such as:

  • The kitchen table

  • At the computer

  • At the park on a bench

  • Under a favorite tree

  • On the airplane or train

  • On the sidewalk with chalk

  • Anywhere and everywhere as long as there is paper and a writing utensil

Step 4

One of the keys to writing voluminously is to have writing supplies on hand.  Some supplies that promote writing:

  • Paper (lots of it)

    • Unlined (aka copy paper)

    • Lined

    • Construction paper, card stock, etc.

  • Pencils and pens (adults have their favorite writing instruments, encourage your writers to explore different tools)

  • Crayons, markers, paint (many authors need to draw first to “rehearse” their stories and other authors want to illustrate their words)

  • A stapler (and a staple remover) for making books

  • One or more notebooks (for catching all those great ideas and for taking places so there is always somewhere to write)

  • A computer (for those who want to write with a keyboard)

Step 5

Keep reading!  Writers get inspiration from other writers.  Use a loved author as a mentor and try to write in the same style.  Or write a sequel to a favorite story and another in the series.  Here are some other ideas to spark some writing!

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Step 6

Get some other ideas from our other blog posts.  Each one of them can inspire some writing.

Step 7

Get the writing out into the world.  Writers need to “publish” their work and have it read.  Some ideas:

  • Send a piece to a relative or friend

  • Post it on social media

  • Make an author’s video and send it to others to watch

  • Host a virtual (or real) book signing

  • Write a letter and send it off 

FOR MORE  RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Launching into Summer Reading

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: LAUNCHING INTO SUMMER READING

For the past ten weeks, we have offered a series called Short Texts at Your Fingertips.  One or two times each week, we provided teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. The ideas we have shared were easily integrated into any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. For some, summer is already in full swing.  For others, summer is just a few short weeks or days away.  Regardless of when your school year ends, it’s important that students of all ages keep reading and writing across the summer months.  In this blog post we talk about the WHY and HOW to create voluminous readers this summer!  Stay tuned for next week’s blog post where we wrap up this series talking about the WHY and HOW to create voluminous writers this summer!

SUMMER READING

Readers bring so much to the reading experience. We love chapter books and novels, but we also know that for some kids short, interesting texts  will  keep them reading.  We think about reading as eyes on print - eyes on print - EYES ON TEXT.    It doesn’t matter if you are reading a long text or a short one, reading often with many pages turning is what creates voluminous reading.  We want kids to be in the driver’s seat so that they can create reading habits that last into adulthood.  Choice helps kids to feel empowered.  We often tell students that becoming a stronger reader requires building muscles.  When we are building our basketball or soccer muscles, our karate muscles, our art muscles (or even cooking muscles), we have to practice in order to get better and stronger.  The same is true for reading -- we get better at reading and build our reading habits when we read widely [lots of text types] and deeply (reading lots about a topic, idea, or author).

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Ask students what they want to read about.  Do they want to read:

  • Fiction or nonfiction?

  • Short texts or novels/chapter books?

  • Books and texts by the same author or different authors?

  • With someone or on their own?

If you want to find out about students’ interests and curiosities, consider using one of these surveys:

Step 2

Ask students to set up a summer reading goal.  Ask:

  • How many days each week will you read? 

  • How many minutes will you shoot for each time you read?  

If it’s helpful, ask students to set up a summer reading calendar outlining the days and times they plan to read.

Step 3

Ask students to identify different spots for their summer reading.  Create a short list of places that might be a perfect reading nook such as:

  • Comfy chair

  • Snuggled up on a couch

  • On the porch or in the backyard

  • At the park on a bench

  • Under a favorite tree

  • In the car

  • On the beach or at the pool

  • On the airplane or train

  • In bed on a rainy morning

Step 4

Ask students to gather a stack of summer reading books and texts.  Consider creating a stack and taking a picture of the spines to celebrate summer reading goal setting!  Here’s an example:

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Step 5

Visit the local library regularly (either online resources or if possible, in person).  And, make sure all readers have their own library card!  

Step 6

If it’s short texts that you are interested in, check out our blog series which is filled with lots of resources that can be found right at your fingertips! 

And don’t forget to think about how you will make these  short texts easy to access and use.  Maybe you have a basket or tub filled with inviting short texts or longer texts with the short pieces bookmarked and ready to go at a moment’s notice.  Or, if you have some printed short texts, fill a binder, manilla folder, or two-pocket folder so that you can store them easily and read them over and over again.

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Articles

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. One or two times each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: ARTICLES

Articles are a perfect short text.  Found in newspapers (the old-fashioned ones still found in driveways and at newsstands and now also online), in magazines and on websites, they are easy to find and easy to share.  While we all want to be careful about how much of current events we share with children, there are lots of fascinating articles to share with any age group.  Sports stories are often the hook needed to get a reluctant reader interested.  And, if you read about a game you watched or attended, you bring lots of background knowledge to your reading.  We are particular fans of the quirky human interest story: the armored truck with the faulty door that spills thousands of dollars in cash all over the highway or the message in the bottle that washes up a 100 years after it was dropped into the ocean on the other side of the world.  There really is an article for everyone.

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TRY THIS!

Step 1

Find an article you want to share.  There are lots of places to find articles.  One excellent source is your local newspaper.  It is a great source of information about your town or neighborhood and is likely to be filled with issues and events of interest to your young readers.  Local papers usually have online platforms, making it easy to share the article or get a printer-friendly copy in readers’ hands. In addition, there are many online sites to peruse so take a look at the resource list provided below.  

First, select a subject matter that will interest readers.  Consider a:

  • Current event

  • Human interest story

  • Sporting event

  • Historical event (old newspapers also have fascinating articles)

Next, ask yourself, will you and your students read the article:

  • All together?

  • Partially together and partially on their own?

  • On their own?

Step 2

Discuss the article.  There are many ways to guide the discussion such as:

  • Look at the features of the article and talk about their importance. 

    • Headline -- What is this article about?

    • Byline -- Who wrote this article?  Can you figure out their job at the publication?

    • The “Lead” --  How does this article begin?  What’s the pithy sentence or two right at the top to catch readers’ attention?

    • Photograph / Image -- What do you see?  Is there a caption?  If so, what does it teach you?

    • Quotes -- What are some one-liners from the article worth noting?

  • To keep the conversation going, considering asking:

    • What are some facts from this article?

    • Do you have any connections or new ideas based on your reading?

    • What are your opinions about this article?

    • What other questions do you have about what you read? 

Step 3

Ask students to brainstorm a list of interesting topics that they may want to learn more about (such as animals, space, rainforest).  Then, invite students to go on an article hunt and find 1-2 articles related to any of the topics that were generated.  Ask students to share the articles with their peers.  This can lead to high interest, voluminous reading filled with texts curated by students for students.  For more on ways to curate texts to inspire voluminous reading, check out this blog post.

Step 4

Give students opportunities to write their own articles for their peers or for online publication submission.  Check out these two resources:

  • Time for Kids  - A great site which includes articles by grade level. 

  • Google has some free templates that students can use to create their own newspapers. 


FOR MORE  RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

  • DOGO News - A great site that one can search by topic.

  • Scholastic News  - A tried and true publication which is organized by grade level.

  • News For Kids  - Lots of interesting articles organized by date, with the most recent articles at the top.

  • KidsPost  - This the kids’ section of “The Washington Post”. 

  • Teaching Kids News - A site started by a parent and a teacher and geared for grades 2-8.

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Short Stories

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. One or two times each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: SHORT STORIES

Short stories provide lots of benefits for readers of all ages, one being they are short! Or  Short stories provide lots of benefits for readers of all ages.   For one thing, they are short!  They are usually fast-paced with a single-plot.  Short stories have other benefits too. Readers can read from start to finish, avoiding the struggle of failure to launch and failure to finish.  Short stories give readers opportunities to try new genres and authors.  Short stories are portable, tradable, can easily be read several times, and can be a path to reading longer texts.  Short stories are a great resource to use in flexible, small groups where kiddos have many opportunities for reading, writing, and talking opportunities!

We get jazzed up by short stories -- both stand alone stories and those collected in anthologies.  We would be remiss if we neglected to mention a favorite short story type called a picture book.  We wrote about picture books -- check it out here.  Take a look at some of our favorite short story anthologies.  They are sure to pique students’ interests, inspire reading more and more often, and create culturally responsive reading opportunities for students across grade levels.  

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LINKS TO THESE TITLES

Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance by Jason Reynolds, Samira Ahmed, et al.

Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys' Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys by Jon Scieszka

Fresh Ink: An Anthology by Lamar Giles

Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto 

Flying Lessons & Other Stories by Ellen Oh

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories (World Full Of...) by Angela McAllister

Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed

Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. Ever. by Betsy Bird

5-Minute Marvel Stories (5-Minute Stories) by Marvel Press Book Group, Brandon Snider, et al.

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Find a short story you want to share.  There are lots of ways to share a short story.  Ask yourself, will you share the short story:

  • As a read aloud?

  • As a text for shared reading?

  • With a small group?

  • With an individual student?

Next, ask yourself, will you and your students read the short story:

  • All together?

  • Partially together and partially on your own?

  • On your own?

Then, ask yourself, will you and your students:

  • Read just for the sake of reading?

  • Jot some notes, draw some images, write about what you are thinking or wondering about your reading?

Finally, ask yourself, will you and your students talk about the short story:

  • All together during the whole group?

  • In a half group?

  • In small groups?

  • One-to-one between teacher and student?

Step 2

Find other short stories that students will enjoy reading.  Check out these online resources:

Step 3

Select other short stories you want students to read.  Decide:

  • Will all students read the same short story?

  • Will students have choices in the short stories they read?

  • Will students go on a hunt and find [or curate] short stories for their peers to read?

Step 4

Consider giving students opportunities to write their own short story for their peers or for online publication submission.  Here are some publications that accept short stories written by students:

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!


COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Poetry

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. Twice each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: POETRY

Poems are the quintessential short text.  Easy to find and usually under a page in length, poems are our “go-tos” for lots of reasons.  Sometimes we use poems in the classroom whenever we need a little something extra or we use them as part of a poetry unit.  We always have a few poems on deck and now is the perfect time to bring them out.  There are poems about every subject imaginable and almost as many types of poems to read or write about them.  There are rhyming poems and odes and poems for two voices.  There are so many different types, we could really write many blog posts about poetry.  For today we are going to think about just two: concrete poems and acrostic poems.  Both are easy to understand, easy to write and easy to love. 

An anthology — or collection of poems — is a great resource to encourage voluminous reading. You’ll find anthologies that are filled with one particular type or various types of poems. Some anthologies are authored by one poet while others by many. …

An anthology — or collection of poems — is a great resource to encourage voluminous reading. You’ll find anthologies that are filled with one particular type or various types of poems. Some anthologies are authored by one poet while others by many. And, poetry anthologies can be about one subject — such as sports, weather, or honoring important people — and others are filled with poems about various topics. You can’t go wrong with a poetry anthology — there’s something for everyone!

TWO TYPES OF POEMS

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TRY THIS!

Step 1

Find a poem or poems to share.  We suggest you introduce one type at a time (i.e. get to know and understand concrete poems before moving onto another type of poem).

Some places to look:

  • Poetry books you may have on your bookshelf

  • Go online (So many to find!).  See the resources below.

  • Write your own.

Step 2

Study the poem or poems you have chosen. Things to consider:

  • Will you show the poem first?  Or read it first?  Both approaches have advantages.  Note: we usually show both of these types of poems before reading the words because the visual is such an important aspect of these particular forms.

  • Ask the readers what they notice about the way the poem looks.

  • Ask the readers what they notice about the words of the poem.

  • After studying one poem, readers can start to shape (pun intended!) their own definition of this type of poetry.

Step 3

Look for other reading, writing and talking opportunities using this short text type.  Here are some examples:

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Step 4

Look for other concrete or acrostic poems and read those too!  You could also consider:

  • Write a concrete or acrostic poem and perform / read your poem to others.  Make sure you display or show your poem too!

  • Writing an acrostic poem for each of your readers (a quick poem to brighten up their day)

  • Use the acrostic or concrete poem builder app (listed in resources below) to generate a poem.

  • Use a “found” word as the foundation of an acrostic poem

Other Fun Poetry Types to Try:

  • Haikus

  • Limericks

  • Free Verse 

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

Acrostic Poems

Concrete Poems

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

CO-AUTHOR: ELIZABETH KEIM

Elizabeth Keim is a New York City based educator with more than 25 years of experience. She is currently an AIS Reading Teacher/Reading Recovery teacher for a school in Mamaroneck, New York. Previously she taught in District 2 in Manhattan,  serving as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and library teacher. In each of these roles,  she knows that, "it is all about finding a text that truly captures a particular reader."  She has taught Undergraduate and Graduate level courses at New York University and Bank Street College of Education, as well as workshops for teachers and parents.  An avid birder, Elizabeth enjoys her time in Central Park every spring and fall. Her most thrilling sightings to date are: A rare Kirtland's warbler and the tutti frutti colored Summer Tanager.

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Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Trivia

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. Twice each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: TRIVIA

Did you know that the singular form of trivia is trivium? Did you also know that in Latin trivia means “triple way” because long ago European students learned about three disciplines which included grammar, logic, and rhetoric.  Did you also know that the term trivia dates back to 1589 and has been references by many as insignificant pieces of information, The big question is whether you agree with Merriam-Webster’s definition that trivia is “unimportant facts, matters, or details” or if you believe trivia holds a significant place in our knowledge stream or if you believe that trivia is a fascinating and worthy pursuit.   Regardless, trivia is everywhere, it’s at your fingertips, and is one short text type that grows exponentially by the day.  

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TRY THIS!

Step 1

Think about where you can find trivia that will entertain, inform and inspire readers. 

  • Do you already know some trivia that you could share?

  • Do you have trivia books on your shelves?

  • Do you have magazines that include trivia?

  • Do you have online access where you can find trivia that piques interests?

  • There is often a page of “extra” facts (aka trivia) at the end of a nonfiction picture book.  

Step 2

Find trivia to share.  Things to consider:

  • Will you share trivia about one topic, such as sports or food, or multiple topics?

  • Will you ask students to find trivia to share?  Do you need to create shared agreements about what types of trivia are appropriate?

  • Will you share trivia as a regular routine at the beginning or end of the day [or class period] OR will you create a learning progression across a few days using trivia?

  • Once you’ve selected trivia to share, take a closer look and think about other reading, writing, and talking opportunities are tucked inside this short text. 

Sometimes trivia is set up in different formats.  Here are two examples:

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Step 3

Look for other reading, writing and talking opportunities using this short text type.  Here are some examples:

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Step 4

Look for other trivia that you find and read those too!  You could also consider:

  • Sharing a Fun Fact [trivium] during breakfast [families] or during a morning/class meeting [educators] each day.

  • Hosting a trivia day or night.

  • Asking students to do a mini-research project about a topic of interest and write trivia to share with others.

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

Books

Games & More

Online Resources

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Field Guides

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. Twice each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: FIELD GUIDES

Field guides are generally used to identify something in nature.  There are field guides available for endless subjects: birds, butterflies, trees, mushrooms, rocks and minerals- we could go on and on.  A field guide presents lots of  information and facts to help teach how to identify a particular species or type within a group.  Many of us have at least one field guide on our bookshelf and this is the perfect opportunity to dust it off and use it as a short text!  If you don’t have a field guide of your own, there are plenty of online resources to access.

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VIDEO 

If you’d like to see a short video on how to use field guides to entertain, inform, and inspire watch here.

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Take a look at your bookshelf.  Maybe there is a field guide waiting there.  If there is more than one, pick the one about the subject most interesting to you.   If you don’t have a physical field guide, find one online (see the resource list below).  Thumb through the guide and orient yourself to its structure and features.  Field guides are designed to be used as a quick reference (possibly in the field).   Decide which entry/entries  you want to look at more closely.   

Some things to consider:

  • How is this particular guidebook set-up?

    • Are there sections? 

    • Are the entries organized by type, by color, by region?

  • Look through the first part of the book.  This is usually where the structure of the book is explained and some important facts are provided.

  • Think about how you might use the guide if you were outside. 

    • Would you want to mark particular pages for easy reference?

  • Consider how this book is meant to be used.  

    • Does the author intend for it to be read cover to cover?

Step 2

Take a closer look at a specific entry in your field guide.

Here are two different examples:

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Here’s what we noticed:

  • The bird guide on the left uses bold headings to identify characteristics about a bird.  It includes a map and it is organized by color (see the oval on the top right).

  • The bird guide on the right shows similar species together on the same page.  Arrows show the most distinguishing marks.  On the opposing page there is information about each bird.

  • Both examples give distinguishing characteristics of the object featured.

  • Some guides have photographs, some use illustrations.

Step 3

Look for other reading, writing and talking opportunities using this short text type:

Reading  Ideas  

  • Compare entries in two different field guides (see above). How are they the same?  How are they different?

  • Look at  field guides about two different things (for example birds and mushrooms). What is included in both?  What features are particular to the thing being studied? 

  • Explore new vocabulary words.  Are there words you have never seen or heard before?  How can you find what they mean?

  • Learn how to use other text features including the Table of Contents, Index and Glossary.

Writing  Ideas  

  • Write your own field guide entry for the guide you have.  Use the features and structure of the guide to help you.

  • Write your own field guide about a subject you know well.

    • You could write about a habitat you know well (e.g., your bedroom, the kitchen).

    • You could write about a category of things (e.g., your stuffed animals, tools used to draw and write).

  • Use the field guide to add details to another piece of writing (e.g., include a more detailed description of what a character sees).

  • Start a “Life List” for the subject in the field guide (e.g., record your personal sightings).

 Talking  Ideas 

  • Consider who wrote this field guide?  How did the author prepare to write this book?  How is the preparation different than it would be to write a fiction picture book?

  • Compare the illustrations to a photograph.  What are the advantages to a photograph?  What can the illustration show that a photograph cannot?

  • Discuss who uses field guides and when?  

  • Compare field guides and think about what background knowledge a reader needs to use the guide.  Are different guides written for people with different background knowledge?

Step 4

Look for other field guides and explore those too!

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

To find a field guide about virtually anything, go online and type “free online field guide about_______”. Here are some examples you might enjoy.

To find more general information about field guides, check this out.

Check this out if you are interested in some fun, simple printable field guides for kids.

For more ideas about creating your own field guide, check this out.

CO-AUTHOR: ELIZABETH KEIM

Elizabeth Keim is a New York City based educator with more than 25 years of experience. She is currently an AIS Reading Teacher/Reading Recovery teacher for a school in Mamaroneck, New York. Previously she taught in District 2 in Manhattan,  serving as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and library teacher. In each of these roles,  she knows that, "it is all about finding a text that truly captures a particular reader."  She has taught Undergraduate and Graduate level courses at  New York University and Bank Street College of Education, as well as workshops for teachers and parents.  An avid birder, Elizabeth enjoys her time in Central Park every spring and fall. Her most thrilling sightings to date are: A rare Kirtland's warbler and the tutti frutti colored Summer Tanager.

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Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Cereal Boxes

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

In mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic hit home, and teaching went from classrooms to living rooms and kitchen tables in the blink of an eye. To keep kids learning and feeling safe, cultural and literary heroes opened up their digital doors. There are museum tours, celebrity read alouds, Mo Willems sketching and penguins at the Shedd Aquarium. The cast of Hamilton sang on Youtube to a young girl who was sad her trip to see the show was cancelled.   All of these experiences and assets were—and are— amazing. Teachers can continue to share these riches with their students.

Now it’s mid-April, though, and teachers are tasked with planning and delivering curriculum. The question now is, How do I create engaging lessons for the children who usually sit in front of me but are now learning from home? As an elementary reading teacher (Elizabeth) and a literacy coach (Julie) we are grappling with the same steep learning curves as teachers as we try to find our way fast with online instruction. Our jobs, however, as those trained to support teachers with resources and best literacy practices, have propelled us to realize that the learning kids do now has to be different because we are living and instructing in different times. As educator Pernille Ripp declared, “Whatever your plans are, cut them in half. Then cut them in half again.”  

With this less is more mantra in mind, we offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. Twice each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. We may not sing like Lin Manuel Miranda or read aloud like Kwame Alexander or Kate Messner, but we know these lessons will brighten kids' days.  

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: CEREAL BOXES

When you were young, or maybe even today as an adult, was reading the back of a cereal box part of your morning eating routine?  Did you ever have repeat readings across several days and see things you didn’t see the day before? Did reading something on the back of the box ever pique your curiosity and make you want to know more?  Today, many short texts, such as food packages, give us reasons to read and write because they entertain, inform, and often inspire us. Here’s what we mean.

Entertain -- brings us joy 

Inform -- teaches us new information and/or renews our thinking about ideas and topics 

Inspire -- motivates us to read, write and share more

VIDEO 

Check out these two short videos focused on how to use a cereal box to entertain, inform, and inspire.

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Grab any cereal box in your home.  Take a look at the front, back, and side panels.  

  • What do you notice?

  • What do you wonder?

Note:  If you don’t have a cereal box, choose another type of food package.

Step 2

Share a cereal box that you find exciting.  Think aloud about ways this short text entertained, informed and/or inspired you.  

Examples: Back of cereal boxes

Examples: Back of cereal boxes

Take a look at the first example which is the back of a Cap’n Crunch cereal box. This text is filled with reading, writing and talking opportunities.  For example, you could:

  • Play the matching berry game on the back panel. [back panel]

  • Make new words by creating 12 new words using the letters in “Crunch Berry” [back panel]

  • Play the dot game. [back panel]

  • Read and investigate the ingredients and Nutritional Facts  [side panel]

  • Use a measuring cup or scale and rice to visualize the amount of sugar

  • Read and think about the recycling information [top panel]

  • Share what you’ve learned and created with others

Step 3

Look in your pantry and find other cereal boxes.  Compare cereal boxes and think about how they are similar and how they are different. 

Step 4

Look for other reading, writing and talking opportunities using this short text type.

Reading Ideas 

  • Go to the cereal company’s website and poke around to see what interesting facts and images you can find.

  • Grab 2 or more cereal boxes and compare the nutritional information.

  • Read other breakfast food boxes.  What do you see? What are you wondering?

  • If you are watching any television or videos, listen and watch closely for breakfast food ads.  What do you see? What are you wondering?

Writing Ideas 

  • Make a list of all the cereal brands and types you know.

  • Design your own cereal.  What is it called? What will the box look like?

  • Write a letter to the cereal company telling them what you think about their cereal and/or ask them questions about their cereal.

  • Create a survey asking people to share their favorite cereal choices and why they are a favorite.

Talking Ideas

  • Why is the cereal called… (Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc.)?

  • Which part of the box do you look at in the grocery store?  Which part do you read at home?

  • Recall the cereal aisle in a supermarket, or find a photo online. What colors do you see? Why? Where is the aisle located?

  • Why does the company want you to know what they believe (i.e. philosophy)?

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)

MEET ELIZABETH

Meet my friend, colleague, co-author and co-blogger, Elizabeth Keim. She is a New York City based educator with more than 25 years of experience. She is currently an AIS Reading Teacher/Reading Recovery teacher for a school in Mamaroneck, New York. Previously she taught in District 2 in Manhattan,  serving as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and library teacher. In each of these roles, she knows that, "it is all about finding a text that truly captures a particular reader." She has taught Undergraduate and Graduate level courses at New York University and Bank Street College of Education, as well as workshops for teachers and parents.  An avid birder, Elizabeth enjoys her time in Central Park every spring and fall. Her most thrilling sightings to date are: A rare Kirtland's warbler and the tutti frutti colored Summer Tanager.

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From Ed Consultant to Teacher Mom: Reflection #5

Creating a Text Set Using a Chapter Book & Short Texts

I love books.

I love the smell of them. The feel of them. The stories and information inside them.

Additionally, I love texts — all shapes and sizes.

Some people say friends are tucked inside of books and texts. I agree that is true for some, but for me they are guides more than they are friends. Books and texts guide me to appreciate the familiar and experience the new or unfamiliar. They teach, mentor, provoke, inspire, and guide.

Books and texts have a dual role in my literacy journey. I can consume them [read, watch, view, listen] and I can produce them [write, sketch, make, create, design, perform]. In turn, when I’m working with school leaders, coaches, teachers, and kiddos, my goals always include creating similar learning opportunities where we consume and produce books and texts.

Taking It Slow

For the past two weeks or so, my boys and I have been joining together once a day for some book club time. As I mentioned in this blog post, we started reading Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech. Besides the fun conversation about the book, it’s characters, and all things donkey — the best part is that we are taking it slow. We have found that our pace doesn’t matter. We aren’t racing a clock, we aren’t trying to get to the end, we aren’t hurrying so that we can jump to the next thing. We are lingering and it feels so good and so right. It’s just what we need right now.

Using Text Sets to Inspire More Reading & Writing

When we put texts together that have something in common with one another, we create a text set. In this case, we put both long and short texts — and texts of different shapes and sizes — together to create a text set. As mentioned, we are using this chapter book to jump start some reading and writing tied to our interests. In addition to reading Sharon Creech’s Saving Winslow, here are some reading and writing opportunities that we created with and for one another.

Note: There was no magic in what we read or wrote and/or the order in which we did them. We let our conversations and our inquiries lead our decision-making. Together, we:

  1. Read a few reviews of the book.

  2. Previewed Sharon Creech’s website. We went back to this site multiple times for different reasons.

  3. We read and watched different texts to increase our knowledge of donkeys.

  4. We wrote in our notebooks to ask questions, noodle ideas, and hold our thinking.

    • Reflections and wonderings after reading chapters from the book

    • Interesting and intriguing donkey facts

    • Sticky notes filled with old and new ideas

    • Questions we have for Sharon Creech

    • A letter we co-wrote to Sharon Creech

    • Addressing an envelope and a self-addressed envelope for the letter we wrote

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We aren’t finished with this study yet, but I’m excited to see where we head in the days to come!

From Ed Consultant to Teacher Mom: Reflection #3

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It’s a new week.

With the news heavy with increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases, announcements of school closures and distance learning plans that will take some districts through the end of the school year, my crew needed a little break from it all — even though it’s only Monday.

To switch things up, we put our time and energy into building our individual and collective reading and writing volume. Instead of working with a long text [which is often associated with chapter books to build volume] we used a bunch of short texts to educate and inspire ourselves — and to bolster our reading volume! Here’s how we spent our time:

SHORT TEXT #1: A SHORT VIDEO CLIP

  • We watched a short video clip about this amazing kiddo named Parker Curry. You probably read about her or saw her on the show Little Big Shots or Ellen. Check out this link if you are interested in watching a short clip.

SHORT TEXT #2: TWITTER FEEDS

  • Watching the clip led us to Little Big Shots and Parker Curry’s Twitter feed. That’s not because that was “the right” next text to read, but rather where our interests and questions led us. We couldn’t find the full episode of Parker Curry on Little Big Shots so we went digging around which led us to Twitter. When Parker Curry was tagged, it surprised us [because she’s a little kid] and we wondered what her Twitter feed was all about. Worth Noting: Being interested in what we are reading — whether you are an adult or a kiddo — makes us want to read more. When something piques our interests, we often read more which in turn leads us in directions [and more reading] that we may not have originally anticipated.

  • If this has ignited your curiosities too, check out @NBCLilBigShots and @_parkercurry.

SHORT TEXT #3: PICTURE BOOK

  • I have two middle school boys. I wasn’t sure how they would interact with Parker Looks Up An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry. I think the word that best describes my reaction to their reactions is INSPIRED. They hung onto the words “…she saw a road before her with endless possibilities.” I have to say, our conversation, while hard to completely capture, was pretty great. Our talk and sharing led us to ask:

    • Where is the National Portrait Gallery?

    • What paintings are in the National Portrait Gallery and who gets to paint them?

    • Who is Amy Sherald?

    • Who painted President Obama’s portrait?

    • What does Parker Curry want to do when she grows up?

    • Did Parker Curry go on a book tour?

SHORT TEXT #4, 5, 6…: INDIVIDUAL TEXT CHOICES [BASED ON INTERESTS & CURIOSITIES]

  • This short text study had our curiosities going in different directions. So, we decided to let our reading interests guide us individually. We agreed that we would choose short texts to read and we’d collect IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING by jotting things in our COVID-19 Notebooks [a scary time, but a notebook will help us stay organized I guess]. Some of the texts we explored [and will continue to explore] include:

This SHORT TEXT SET gave us something to celebrate — Parker Curry’s attitude, passion, and uplifting message that life is paved by roads with endless possibilities brought us lots of JOY, INSPIRATION, AND HOPE which is just what we needed!

© 2024 Julie Wright Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.