Stepping Into the Story

Photo attributed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/liboni/254282987/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Today I asked my readers to step into the story of City Dog, Country Frog.  The concept of stepping into story came from the Reading Recovery conference a few weeks ago in Columbus.  I had the opportunity to see Debbie Miller and she talked about how she has been asking the students to step into the stories. 

What I noticed as I asked my readers to step into the story is that their inferences were better. I had asked them to read the book as a writer and notice the visual images in the book and images the words created.  Their responses were well thought as they stepped into the story and responded in the small group setting.

As we finished the book I asked students to draw the image that stuck with them. Whether it was an image the illustrator provided or an image in their own mind as the book was read. On the back I asked them to write about what stuck with them in their mind after reading the book.  A few had questions, a few made predictions, but all responded on their level and shared it with a peer. 

Reader's Workshop lends itself easily to differentation...all readers accepted where they are at so all can participate.