Watching Predicting Come to Life...

Last week we did a super activity that really made the process of predicting come to life for my 3rd graders.

I love Robert Munsch and all things comprehension... so when this favorite comprehension skill book suggested using a Robert Munsch book to teach about predicting, I was so excited!

The book has prediction cards for the book David's Father by Robert Munsch.  The cards have pictures on them of many things in the book- milkshakes, tires, cars, fork, snails, boy, girl, etc... and you are to pass out the picture cards to the students, have them make and share their prediction about how their cards fit into the story, and then you read the story to check and confirm predictions.

So, I passed out the cards and we sat in a circle while each student told what was on their card and what they thought the significance was to the story... it was so stinkin' cool.  As we went around the circle, students were using other students' predictions to make their own predictions about their cards and we got to talk about how, as you read a text and learn more information about what's happening, your predictions are constantly changing based on new things you learn and you are constantly re-evaluating your predictions to match what you've uncovered as you read.

It was seriously so cool and a clear way for students to see the process and thoughts we have as we make predictions about things as we read.

I'm such a dork when it comes to reading comprehension.  I love it.  Teaching it is my passion and I just LOVE how good readers are accessing all of these strategies all the time on such a subconscious level... but someone had to teach us all how to do those things so we could do them!  This lesson was the ultimate in showing how predicting works... how good readers make and confirm predictions in a text.

Then we read the book.  Well, we would have if the ghost that lives in my classroom hadn't borrowed the book from me and not returned it.  Of course, no student had ever borrowed the book... it was that ghost.  Not that I really care, but it would have been nice if someone could have just said, "Oh yeah, I borrowed that book and left it at home/lost it/fed it to my dog...".  So, my colleague found a the book on Youtube and we watched/listened to that.

I heard murmings all through it from students who were excited that their predictions were similar to what was happening... and also lots of "Oooohh!  So THAT's what that was for!" or "Oh.... so now I think that....".

So, that's my great prediction lesson from the past week!  Do you have a favorite book for teaching predictions?  Feel free to share below!