My Journey Through Wonders
We
adopted McGraw-Hill Wonders program two years ago. And….I actually really like
it! I feel like I can still do my reader’s workshop model using this program.
Sure, there are some things I’m not fond of (I’m talking to you, weekly tests), but, overall, I appreciate the rigor and I
really love how my high readers are finally being forced to use those reading
strategies. Vertical alignment is on point and the technology pieces are really
fun. I love love love the vocabulary parts, mostly because they use the
activities from one of my favorite authors, Isabel Beck. If you haven’t read Bringing Words
to Life, stop what you’re doing and pick up that book!
But of course, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine….
Like, how the heck do you fit everything in?! How do I not worksheet my kids
to death? How do I get them to pass these weekly tests without wanting to cry
(me, not the kids)? How do I get parents to understand that growth is more
important than a letter grade? How
do I get my kids to fall in love with reading and writing?
Well, to every problem, there is a solution. So, I
set out on my Wonders journey. It was a lot of trial and error at first, but I
am really getting the hang of it now.
Here’s a breakdown of what I do in my classroom.
Before I start, just know that I am a very flexible teacher. I do not always
stick to this routine. And it will probably change a little next year, because
I will have different kids, with different needs. This is a 5-day schedule, and
I am hoping we move to a 6 day schedule so we can do more of the activities on
those blue pages. But here is what usually happens:
On Mondays, after morning work is done, we practice with
the fluency passage for 5 minutes. They each read for 2 minutes and they keep
track of their progress and get ONE skittle if they improve. This skittle is
like gold to them. At the end of the week, they answer the questions
that go along with the fluency passage. During whole group,
I do the
introduction, introduce the vocabulary, and then do my shared read. The shared
read includes all of the mini lesson questions. One of our trainers told us
that several Wonder's veterans did this, and it absolutely changed my life.
Then, I introduce leveled readers to the kids. They all do a first read of
their weekly readers (leveled books) that way our small group can go a lot
faster. Some of my kids listen to the text and some read on their own. It’s
what works for them. Trust me, being read to is just as beneficial as silently
reading a complex text. I meet with my lowest group first, so I can do some
reteaching and address possible misconceptions I think they might have as they
read. The other kiddos are
silently reading either their weekly reader or an independent reading book and
responding in their Reader’s notebook.
On Tuesday, I have rotations. One group is listening or
reading the selection from the Anthology. They stop and jot any questions or
vocabulary words they were stuck on during reading. During the third quarter, they
take notes in a graphic organizer, which I modeled during the 1st
and 2nd quarter. (We are 1:1 ipads, so this is easy to do. If you
are not, it might be a bit trickier...although, you could have your kids
partner read.) Another group is working on their Practice Packet, which
includes all those lovely worksheets we never have time for. I print these as
booklets to save paper. I leave an answer key so they can check their work as
they complete the packet. They can also collaborate with each other if needed.
They have all week to work through this. If they don't get it done, it's no big
deal. Another group is pre-reading their leveled readers. Another group is
silently reading and responding in their reading notebook. The last group is
with me. We close read from the leveled readers. I always look at the upcoming
tests and try to structure some of my questions like they appear on the test. I
also do a lot of modeling during this time.
On Wednesdays, my kids are ready for a close read of the
anthology. Keep in mind that they have already read it once during rotations. During the 3rd quarter I start giving them note-taking pages, but that gets
modeled a lot beforehand! We sit
in a discussion circle, and I pick questions that I think are the most
beneficial. I do not ask every single question! I used to, and it literally took
up my entire reading block! I try not to go over 20 minutes to discuss. My kids
love this day because I keep track of how many times each person contributes to
the conversation and whoever participated the most gets to wear the discussion
crown and be our discussion king or queen. Then, we do our rotations: practice
packet, leveled reader (may include analytical writing that I've sent them off
to do as I meet with another group), and silent reading.
On Thursday, I pair the students up and they read the
paired selection. I have created response sheets to go with each of the paired
reads. Again, I try to structure the questions like they appear on the tests.
They work through this with partners while I am pulling groups. During our
writing time, we do the analytical writing from the blue pages. I have created
sentence stems to go along with this to use at the beginning of the year. I
will have those to share soon!
And of
course, Fridays are our big TESTS days, which usually takes
up the entire reading block :(.
Spelling,
grammar, writing, and more vocabulary (those green pages) get taught and
practiced during the second half of our reading block. This part of the day includes
mini lessons and small activities to practice. We utilized the games that come
with the curriculum a lot.
If you would like
to take a look at the Paired Reading Pages I’ve created, you can look below!
The Anthology
Note-taking pages I use during Units 1-5 are below! These are still a work-in-progress....
I thought about posting these on TPT, but I love sharing and I know it sucks to spend your own money! BUT if you would like to donate to my "Help Me, I'm a Poor Teacher!" fund, please feel free to venmo me some coffee money @Danielle-Jones-77 HEHE!
Hope some of this
helps and if you have any questions, please leave me a comment!
Thanks for sharing! Our school has adopted Wonders. This will be our first year using it. I piloted the program and know there's a lot there. This will help me get started on the right foot. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome!
DeleteAre the paired passages for 5th grade or another grade level?
ReplyDeleteThese are for 3rd. The questions are all from the TE. I tried doing all of these questions during discussion but it was just not engaging and it took forever. I love the fact that when we do have our discussion circle, they all come prepared and ready to talk.
DeleteThanks so much for sharing how a typical day/week goes in your classroom using Wonders. I teach 5th & 6th grades, but have each for only 90 minutes daily. My school just adopted it and will begin using it this fall. I've been plodding through it this summer trying to figure out how to fit it all in (it's impossible). What I've really been searching for is a schedule that I can follow each week to get into a routine. Your blog has helped me so much with that! A few questions: do you print off the leveled readers for your students each week or do they read them on some sort of device? Each of my students has a chromebook, so I'm thinking that they can read them using those. Do you have students do any work from the Close Reading Companion workbook at all, or is that included as part of their practice packet? Thanks again for your wonderful help!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy this has helped!! We have iPads, so I am able to assign the leveled text through my dashboard each week. We do not have the close reading companion. I was able to thumb through the close read companion with a temporary login and it looks really similar to the close read pages I typed up from the TE. If I had the companion, I would just use that instead of the pages I created, for sure! I would have them do as much as they could before our discussion circle so we can move through quicker. It's usually Tuesdays when my kids read through the anthology piece once and attempt the questions. Then on Wednesdays, we are able to discuss as a class. It's nice because we are able to just reread certain parts and I know all of my kids have at least attempted the questions. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, since you have chrombooks, remember that there is a Collaboration Tool which allows the kids to "blog" so to speak. I use this a lot when I can't fit in my high kids during small group. I post a few questions and have them chat about their leveled readers.
Hope I've answered all of your questions!
Your information has been extremely helpful! Question - do you collect and grade the sheets of discussion questions? What about the Practice Packet? (I know you said you have an answer key out, but if they don't finish it, it's no big deal. Just wondering how they are held accountable and how you do grading.) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am so glad it was helpful! After the first unit, I start taking a grade for the paired read questions. I do not take a grade on the Practice Packet. When they meet with me during small group, I take a look at their practice packet and make sure they are on track. I haven't had an issue with my students not working on it, mainly because they get to work with their group mates. I also try and use approaching and ELL workbook pages so that it's not too difficult to complete without needing help. Sometimes, I will pair one of my higher students to a lower group for extra help while I am working with my small groups.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We are just beginning with Wonders and I was curious about how it would look in action. Such a great resource, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome!
DeleteHello, Danielle! I can't tell you enough how much this has helped me. I am still wondering when you fit in the grammar part of the program. Maybe I missed it in the post, but I have trouble fitting in the practice sheets that are specifically for grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc....). Any suggestions? Again, this was VERY helpful to me!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!! Carrie
Hi Carrie! I'm so glad this was helpful! I include the grammar worksheets into their practice packets. I wrote another post about the writing part of my day, which I think would answer your questions about how I fit in the grammar. Check it out here:
ReplyDeletehttp://diaryofatechsavvyteacher.blogspot.com/2017/06/wonder-ful-writing.html?m=1
Hi Danielle! Thank you so much for sharing everything! I'm in my first year of Wonders in 4th grade, starting in October for a teacher that left. You're a lifesaver for ideas and help. Hope you are able to continue sharing. Love your ideas ! (And your sweet doggie! )
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I have continued to update the paired reads and the close read pages. Soon, I will add my shared read pages. It's just extra practice with questions they will see on the test. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you so much for posting this. I cannot wait to try this in my classroom. Quick question about the small group rotations. How do you rotate the groups that are combined? For example, on Tuesday you have Group 2 and 3 combined and then on Wednesday you have group 4 and 5 combined. What do you do when it is time for those groups to rotate to the teacher? I have 24 in my class so I want to make sure my groups are of good size.
ReplyDeleteHello there! They actually aren't combined. They are just two groups that are one level. So, they might be doing the same thing, but they are rotating seperately. I have a lower class size this year, so I am down to four groups. One group works with me, another one is working on their practice packet, the third one is in a silent reading group, and the last one I now call the comprehension group. For the comprehension group, I might give them one of the RtI pages, task cards, or even a summarizing assignment to go with the shared read. I find that the more I structure the groups, the more successful they are. Hope this helps! Thanks!
DeleteWhat is the "Reader's Notebook"?
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me what grade this is for? I switched to a new school/grade (2nd), and we are implementing Wonders this year. I'm struggling with fitting it all in and REALLY want to try groups like you have here. (Coming from a Lucy Calkins school)
ReplyDelete