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.  

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:

• Short Story Collections

• Storyline Online

• Read.gov [Library of Congress]

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:

• Cricket

• Stone Soup

• Highlights

• US Kids

• Aquila

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

• A Year Full of Stories: 52 Classics from Around the World by Angela McAllister

• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

• The Hero Next Door by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich [Editor] **pre-order now available!

• Scope Magazine

• School Magazine

• Spider Magazine

COMING SOON!

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

Co-Planning: Reading & Writing Mini-Unit Focused on Expert Studies [PART 3]

Written by Julie Wright & Barry Hoonan

HOW WE GOT INTO PROFESSIONAL CAHOOTS WITH ONE ANOTHER

We’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with one another for the past seven years.  We met at a school in Harlem, Julie as an Instructional Coach and Barry as a Model Classroom Teacher and Instructional Coach. Our work continued well past that experience.  With Barry out west and Julie on the east coast, we’ve spent the majority of our years working across 3000 miles.  Highlights include Sunday morning co-planning sessions and co-authoring What Are You Grouping For?, Grades 3-8: How to Guide Small Groups Based on Readers -- Not the Book.  We’ve always enjoyed being THINKING PARTNERS and we believe educators need someone to think beside now, more than ever.

A DISCLAIMER OF SORTS

As we navigate and co-plan learning during the weeks ahead, here are a few shared agreements:

1. We are not going to edit these videos which means it might be clunky at times.  You might get a barking dog, tech glitches, or family interruptions.  We know you’ll be able to relate and hope you’ll be understanding.

2. The ideas we share are NOT “the way” or “the right way” -- they are just one way to approach things.  And, we are figuring it out as we go along too. We hope you’ll take the big ideas we are discussing and — adopt, adapt or improve upon them — making them fit your settings, interests and needs. 

3. We suggest focusing on process -- our work will continue to unfold between video segments.  That’s why if you pop back into our shared document links, you’ll notice changes because we’ll be adding ideas.  That’s because responsive plans evolve across the days and weeks.

HERE’S WHAT WE ARE UP TO

• Kids have been learning from home for several weeks now.  Barry and Julie have a co-planning routine and they “meet” about 1-2 times each week. 

• Barry’s students have settled into a learning from home routine, sort of.  Each week brings about new celebrations and new challenges.  

• We just wrapped up a mini-writing unit focused on Greek mythology.  Kiddos spent 2 weeks reading Greek myths and then they worked on narrative writing with a twist of Greek mythology.

• Up next—a reading and writing unit focused on Expert Studies.

THINGS WE ARE THINKING ABOUT NOW

• How does workshop play out in terms of synchronous and asynchronous learning?

• How can mentor texts that we choose and that students choose be used to support learning?

• When, where, why, and how will students meet in small breakout groups over the next week?

• How can student work be used for a minilesson using a digital platform?

• How can doing our own assignment [as teachers] become models/minilessons to use for instruction?

VIDEO

If you are interested in watching a coach and teacher co-plan — working as THINKING PARTNERS in response to the unique times we are currently experiencing — check out this video.

In this video, we briefly reflect on this week's plans. Then, we think through a process for responding to students using as asset-based approach. Finally, we begin noodling plans for an upcoming Expert Studies mini-unit.

RESPONSE TO STUDENTS

Whether we are face-to-face or facilitating digital/remote learning opportunities, our response to students matters. Thinking together about ways to support students is an important coach-teacher conversation. Here’s one way to think together to noodle plans for supporting students that starts with students’ assets. Note: It’s important to think about ALL students, not just students who may appear to need extra support due to deficits or weaknesses.

Ask: Who is on your worry / wonder list?

OTHER LINKS & RESOURCES

Our DRAFTY, dynamic, in-motion, evolving plans: Co-Planning: Julie & Barry

Planning Templates: Co-planning Templates

Small Group Plans: Small Group Reading & Writing Lesson Plans to Adopt, Adapt or Improve [During Remote/Distance Learning]

Interested in post-it note planning, check out one of these resources: Chapter 8 & 9 Resources from What Are You Grouping For?, Grades 3-8: How to Guide Small Groups Based on Readers -- Not the Book.

BARRY’S REFLECTIONS

• I am still thinking about the different ways to plan for the Expert Studies mini-unit. I’m thinking about our work during shared experiences and independent work time.

• I need to make a list of end demonstration ideas for this new mini-unit and if I will co-construct ideas with students.

• I am going to begin with the WHY when I share this new mini-unit with students.

JULIE’S REFLECTIONS

• For the kiddos on Barry’s worry/wonder list, did his response plan yield the desired results?

• What topics did Barry’s kiddos choose for their Expert Studies? What are the end demonstration choices?

• With only 2 “days” to teach reading and 2 “days” to teach writing, what are the short and long-term impacts for students’ knowledge, skills and understandings? As a multi-age teacher, how will Barry [and his colleagues] respond in the fall? How will this response be similar or different for single grade classrooms?

WANT TO SUBMIT A QUESTION or CONNECT WITH US?

If something we’ve shared inspires new ideas or ignites some questions, reach out to us using THIS FORM and we’ll do our best to get back to you!

Small Group Reading & Writing Lesson Plans to Adopt, Adapt or Improve [During Remote/Distance Learning]

Reading & Writing Lesson Links [Updated]

Connect with me through this CONTACT LINK for more information on these lessons!

I am currently co-planning with some teachers across grades 2-8.

Some of our plans have worked really well. Others have been a flop.

We are, like you, working really hard to figure all of this out. Steps forward often means steps back. Reflecting along the way helps us push forward again. It isn’t even close to perfect. It’s messy. But, we are living in the messy together.

USING MENTOR LESSONS TO JUMPSTART PLANNING

There isn’t one right way to plan. Some teachers use scripted lessons. Some teachers use scripted lessons with flexibility — adjusting them to meet the needs, interests and wants of the learning community they serve. Some teachers create authentic lessons from the ground up. While the latter is my preference, there are times where mentor lessons or units help jumpstart ideas for planning. Mentor lessons can help teachers get a running start. It’s a safe and trustworthy way to plan because teachers know they are still in the driver’s seat — adjusting lessons to meet the individual and unique needs of the learning community they serve.

PLANNING FOR REMOTE/DIGITAL LEARNING

Most schools are working to support students from a distance. Learning opportunities are being offered by teachers through digital and print materials — and some are using both. Schools are working hard to navigate these times using the tools and resources available to them, coupled with individual and collective know-how to best meet:

• curricular demands

• intervention and support demands

• students’ social, emotional, academic and physical needs

ADOPT, ADAPT & IMPROVE

Included in the links below are resources to use if you are interested in launching and sustaining SMALL GROUP READING and WRITING learning opportunities through remote or distance learning. You can:

ADOPT — Use these materials as they are written.

ADAPT — Make adjustments to these lessons in order to meet your students’ needs, interests, and wants.

IMPROVE — Try some of the ideas out, change them and make them better.

That said, as you make decisions about how you will use these ideas, first consider some of these questions:

• Are students learning via soft copy or hard copy? Is our district going paper/pencil or digital during these times? Or, a combination of both? How do these modes of learning impact these plans?

• What technology systems and structures are available to teachers and students? Does the learning community know how to access and use them? If not, can we learn them in efficient and effective ways?

• Do teachers have the ability to connect with students — via video, phone or shared folders/documents?

• Do students have the ability to connect with teachers — via video, phone or shared folders/documents?

• Do students have the ability to connect with one another — via video, phone or shared folders/documents?

LINKS TO READING & WRITING LESSONS [UPDATED TO INCLUDE 15 LESSONS]

If you are looking for READING LESSONS, connect with me through this CONTACT LINK for more information!

If you are looking for WRITING LESSONS, connect with me through this CONTACT LINK for more information!

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

If you ADOPT, ADAPT or IMPROVE any of these plans, please consider reaching out and sharing your perspectives so that we can learn with and from one another. Email me at julietwright4444@gmail.com or reach out via my CONTACT PAGE and share ideas!

Creating Entry Points #1: Try Using a Photograph to Spark Curiosity & Interest

SOME BACKGROUND [SHARING MY ROOTS]

Many moons ago, I was a self-contained, intermediate teacher. I loved teaching, loved my kiddos, loved my colleagues and my school. From day-to-day, my students helped breathe life into the work I was doing. That was especially true when the work was extra hard—navigating school initiatives, trying to understand state and district mandates, making sense of curricula, and staying on top of the never-ending, to do list on my teacher clipboard.

Those days are vivid in my mind’s eye because it was the same time my firstborn, Sydney, showed her beautiful face to the world. I was a proud, new, working mom [missing my baby fiercely] which resulted in a daily quick share during Morning Meeting, referred by my students as “Sydney Story Time”. I shared stories about Sydney throwing Cheerios all over the floor, her refusal to keep baby socks on her feet, her babbles and first words, and descriptions of lost toys in our backseat. My kiddos learned a lot about Sydney, but they also learned a lot about me and the things that were important in my life.

In those days being digital was a 2 or 3 step process. Once a week, I added a picture to my narrative to add to the storytelling experience. My students would gather around our desktop computer to view the “Sydney Picture of the Week”. As I shared the play-by-play descriptions that accompanied the picture, my students would smile and laugh and ask questions and give advice. I knew I was onto something meaningful because if I was out of the classroom and missed Morning Meeting, my students expected 2 “Sydney Stories” upon my return. It was pure joy.

Each day during Reading and Writing Workshop, my students had 2 big chunks of work time where they were doing the work of READING [reading texts they chose] and doing the work of WRITING [writing a lot]. Among others, we had 2 goals that were consistent across every unit, every day. They were:

1. EYES ON PRINT, EYES ON PRINT, EYES ON PRINT to build reading volume.

2. PENCIL TO THE PAGE, PENCIL TO THE PAGE, PENCIL TO THE PAGE to build writing volume.

“Sydney Stories” often became entry points for my students’ reading and writing experiences. It was not unusual for a few details to show up in my students’ Writer’s Notebooks. Sometimes students recounted the events from Sydney’s point of view. Sometimes fictitious details were added. Other times, students would write a similar story, but change the main character or add a new ending with a twist. There were even times when a few students would launch some research and create things, based on something that was shared, which is how I acquired homemade, baby-safe, hanging toys in the backseat of my car.

SO WHAT? WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Kids want to know their teachers. They want to know about our experiences, talents, fears, family happenings, and the adventures of our daily lives. It’s reciprocal because we want to know our students in the same way. As the years passed, I expanded my Morning Meeting share to include lots of things about me— interesting things about my extended family, my passions, and curiosities. My sharing often inspired students to want to to do the same, giving everyone ongoing opportunities to learn about and know one another.

EFFICIENT & EFFECTIVE PRACTICES STAND THE TEST OF TIME

Recently, our family got a new puppy. Oh my…. it’s like having a toddler in the house! Here’s Denver, our 16-week old Bernedoodle.

As an instructional coach who visits schools, I often need to create opportunities to learn about students and ways for students to get to know me. Earlier this week I was working with some amazing 4th graders. To launch our work, I shared Denver’s picture above along with these details:

• My family got a new puppy.

• He is 16 weeks old.

• His name is Denver and he is a Bernedoodle.

• He came from a breeder in Indiana.

• His mom had a litter of 7 puppies.

• When Denver runs across the yard, he sometimes does a little somersault because he’s in that clumsy puppy stage.

Students broke into small groups for about 7 minutes to discuss anything they were thinking about. The room was full of productive chatter. Some students talked about their own pets. Others listed wonderings they had about Denver. During Reading and Writing Workshop, students were given several choices. They were invited to read or write something that they were previously working on OR they could do some work in response to Denver’s picture. During a quick brainstorm, we generated this list together of some possibilities.

Denver’s photo sparked curiosity and interest, but the key was students’ choice and autonomy in what they did [or didn’t do] after my quick share. Some students talked more about their own experiences with puppies. Some students researched about Bernadoodles and other points of interest. Some created lists of questions while others wrote Denver adventure stories. Most importantly, some went about with their own reading and writing projects because that is how they chose to spend their time. These 4th graders are just getting started—I can’t wait to see where their literacy journey takes them!

TRY THIS: USE A PHOTOGRAPH TO SPARK CURIOSITY & INTEREST

1. Find a photo/image that is meaningful to you [family member, recent experience, something from nature, etc.]

2. Project the photo/image so that students can see it and share a few details about it.. Note: If time permits, give students time to talk about the photo/image and/or ask you questions about it.

3. Explain that during Reading and/or Writing Workshop, students will have time to read or write something related to the photo/image you shared OR they can read or write something they were previously working on.

4. As a whole group, brainstorm some possible reading and writing ideas.

5. Give students time to read and/or write.

6. At the end of Reading or Writing Workshop, give students an opportunity to share what they’ve been working on [whole group or small groups].

7. As students share, listen in and kidwatch so that you can use this data/intel to impact your focus for instruction in the days to come. CONSIDER: Ask students if they would like more time to read and write using the photo/image as inspiration OR if they have had enough time. If students would like more time, plan accordingly based on students’ interests/needs and your school/district curricular calendars.

SOME TIPS

• Invite students to bring in a photo/image to share with the class. If there’s time and interest, give students an opportunity to read and write from classmates’ photos too!

• If you are an administrator or instructional coach, consider asking colleagues to bring in a photograph to share during a staff meeting. They could:

  • Form a small group and talk to colleagues about their photo.

  • Do a quick write about their photo or any photo in the room.

  • Brainstorm ideas about ways photographs/images could be used in the classroom to bolster reading and writing volume.