An Inclusive Approach to the Curriculum
My latest discovery (inspiring me to create a supporting unit) is the Strong Readers: Metis Series written by Leah Marie Dorion and published by Strong Nations. This set of non-fiction books, is leveled between 2-14 (DRA) beginning to emergent readers, focusing on Metis customs. They are Ideal for grades 1-2 but could extend to kindergarten and up to lower grade three using critical thinking activities.
Books included in this series are:
This series is perfect for reading groups!
In small groups, we begin with prereading activities. The prereading activities vary depending on the reading group level. Prereading activities include (but are not limited to) examining the title and cover of the book, accessing prior knowledge and making experiential or emotional connections. We ask questions about the book and guess what the story may be about. We focus on sight words, or new words, punctuation, or a specific reading strategy of the week. We may initially flip through the book looking for specific words, letter combinations, or sentence patterns, and then finally we read the book.
Reading the book could be all together, one reader - one page at a time, or buddy reading. I may stop to highlight a reading strategy such as a connection, visualization, or question. Finally, I finish the reading session with a supporting activity. I explain the activity to the small group (small groups ensure higher success for struggling students) and then depending on the activity, I may have them work with a buddy or independently. The activity may be a critical thinking cut and paste sort, Venn diagram, create a mini-book, or describe a connection. Ideally, this whole process should take between 40-60 mins. (15- 20 mins for reading and 20-30 mins for the activity.)
An excellent pairing to this unit is the Scholastic graphic novel set:
Perfect for Grade 2 – 4 as a guided reading lesson or for independent reading with activity extensions. They can also be used as read alouds for Grade 1.
Follow this link to my blog, ...And Along Came Trickster Tales, which describes how I use the Scholastic graphic novel sets.
A final thought… I continually immerse my students with Indigenous content. To raise a society based on inclusion and equality, we need to start with a foundation of knowledge and respect.
For more information on guided reading, Scholastic has an article, 4 Tips for Guided Reading Success, providing an effective overview