Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Stop and Jot

Stop! Jot....and ROLL! Okay, not so much rolling, but we have been practicing a reading strategy in class called, "Stop and Jot" this  week.  Strong Readers "stop and jot" to think and interact with the book they are reading. They learned to write down their thinking after every few pages to ensure they are comprehending the story. Students learned what qualifies as a worthy "jot":
*You learn something new about a character
*The character acts unusual or does something surprising
* You or the character feel a strong emotion
*You notice a pattern in the text or with the character
*You have a prediction with evidence from the text
*When you disagree with an event or a character's choice
*When a  BIG moment or climax occurs
*When something in the text is just screaming at you to talk about
*When the story makes you wonder or you have a question



I hope students continue to use this strategy as they read from home. They can jot notes in a notebook or on post-its to monitor their thinking throughout the story. 

Remember to read yourselves awake and keep on jotting!