In the Being a Reader program, you will display poems and articles, record ideas, and show content for the students to see. The program utilizes both paper charts (that you create on sheets of chart paper) and digital resources that you print and then project. The latter are referred to in the lessons as projectables (P) and are accessed via the Learning Portal.
The following tips provide information on how to manage the development of paper charts in the Being a Reader program:
- Preview which charts are required for instruction across the week. The weekly Do Ahead section and daily Materials lists make clear how the information will be displayed or recorded for specific tasks.
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Identify which charts students will need access to across the year as well as which charts will only be used during a given week/unit.
- If you are instructed to “post” the chart, you/your students will refer to this chart throughout the year.
- If you are instructed to “save” the chart, you/your students will refer to this chart during specific weeks or units.
- Scan the lessons to see how the charts are used.
- Use the “Chart Development Across the Year in Grades 3–5” sheet to see when certain charts are introduced, completed, and referred back to.
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Determine how to organize the content on your charts before you begin to develop them. There are some examples of in progress and completed charts in the Teacher’s Manuals you can refer to (see the “Chart Completed” column in the “Chart Development Across the Year in Grades 3–5” sheet.
- Note: For some charts, there is only an example when you start the chart. For other charts, the examples display only the new piece being added; they are not always cumulative.
- Use a paper chart when the content needs to be displayed throughout the week or year.
- Consider alternatives to paper charts when the content does not need to be displayed throughout the week or year. In some lessons, you create charts to record the students’ thinking. Rather than recording the students’ thinking on chart paper, you might consider typing the students’ responses into a word-processing document or using online collaboration tools such as Padlet, Flip, or Pear Deck to have students type their own responses to questions. You can then access the students’ responses digitally and refer to them during subsequent lessons, as needed.
- Pictures of charts can be saved in a shared drive for students or printed and put in sleeve protectors to provide students with easy access.