Move beyond the book report

Posted by Melinda Kolk on Oct 28, 2014 1:08:00 PM

The book report may be the most dreaded elementary classroom assignment of all time. The elementary Common Core writing standard for argument includes opinion pieces about books, encouraging many teachers to incorporate some form of literature review rather than worksheets filled with information.

A book report that simply regurgitates facts like who, what, when, is doesn't push student thinking and presents no argument. Being assigned such a task is an open invitation to copy and paste a summary from a wiki or even the book’s dust jacket. While we can police student work for plagiarism, we can also do much better.

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Topics: pixie, creativity software, Wixie, literature, comprehension,

Take Retelling to the Next Level

Posted by Melinda Kolk on Sep 18, 2013 10:15:00 AM

Young students are often asked to retell stories. In fact, from Kindergarten to Grade 3, the Common Core Standards explicitly ask students to be able to “retell [recount] stories." While this may not be the most engaging student task, it is one of the most straightforward ways to assess reading comprehension.

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Topics: common core, 21st century classroom, create, literature, curriculum, retell

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