Our reading comprehension skill has been questioning. For this project, students worked in heterogeneous groups of 5-6 as they read a social studies passage. Students placed the ipod and microphone in the center of their group. They took turns reading a portion of the passage. When students thought of a question, they took the "talking stick" and asked their question. The reader stopped and they continued. The students liked reading into the ipod. However, some students were more interested in the status of the ipod. As they became more comfortable, the questions began to come more frequently. Some students are strong readers, and use this skill independently. They became the models for those students who don't think of questions as they read. As a class we discussed the results of this activity and the strengths and weaknesses. The next time, I will put one student in charge of the ipod's operation. Each student will have their own copy of the reading selection, instead of sharing. Students now understand that the microphone will pick up all of their voices, and they don't necessarily need to hold it. Students need to be spread out so that the other groups' voices aren't picked up. Students felt this was successful and look forward to doing it again.
