Group Reader Response in WeWrite+

Rather than have individual students complete a reader response to a read-aloud, this week I asked small groups to work together. Groups of 3-4 students collaborated on a single WeWrite+ document. They were also offered the option of using WeKWL, but all groups chose WeWrite+. When I asked why they said they liked the open format better and also they have used it less.

I read the first few pages of The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci and then asked students to write questions they had. I instructed them not to answer their peers' questions, even if they had an answer--I wanted the time focused on questioning. I read a few more pages and again stopped for students to write additional questions.  After finishing the story I have students time to go back and answer questions on their document as well as add any additional questions they had.

 

I then opened it up to an oral whole class discussion to answer any unanswered questions and to discuss why there were some questions that the author may have specifically chosen not to answer (the square footage of the cabin, for example). This provided a great discussion about how author's choose what to include and exclude from their writing.