Reading workshop is my JAM! I love reading workshop because it works. Also, who doesn’t love to read aloud to students. Students crave being read aloud to even in the upper elementary classroom. To introduce and practice comprehension skills and strategies, I always have a collection of mentor texts. One of my favorite mentor texts to teach cause and effect is The Snow Show by Caroline Fisher. This is a nonfiction book on how snow is formed, but with a fiction twist. It’s informational, yet entertaining. A win-win!
Introducing Cause and Effect
With all of my reading workshop units, I always introduce the skill or strategy using an anchor chart.
Prepare for the Interactive Read Aloud
Being prepared for the interactive read-aloud is crucial. To set the stage, activate students’ background knowledge by posing a question before you begin. A picture walk is always a good option as well. Then, throughout the book, stop 3-5 times to pose questions to get students thinking and talking about the skill or strategy. I like to write or print my stop and interact questions on sticky notes and place them on the corresponding pages.
Interactive Read Aloud Activity
After introducing the skill or strategy, in this case, cause and effect, decide on how you want students to respond to what you are reading. I have three go-to activities: turn and talk, interactive notebooks, and graphic organizers.
Independent Reading
After the read aloud, explain to students that you want them to look for cause and effect relationships in what they are reading and to record their findings. Periodically, I vary the way students respond to their reading. My students either respond using the choice board or an exit slip.
You can download the interactive read-aloud resources for The Snow Show here:
Giveaway
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