Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [Before the Read]
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [Before the Read]
During reading workshop, readers come together to
have thoughtful conversations in order to share
thinking and grow ideas. We have been talking in
partnerships and whole-class conversations, working
on the basic protocol for conversation.
As I am reading, there will be times when I ask you to
stop-and-jot about a particular part of the text or an
idea you have that’s related to the text. Otherwise, I
want you to feel free to jot down your thinking when it
strikes you. If you make a connection, have a question,
or have an idea, stop-and-jot your thought on a sticky
note. That way, we are all paying attention to what
matters most to each of us in preparation for our
conversation.
Today we are going to think about how we get
ourselves ready as readers for powerful and rich
conversations. We are going to read another story,
“Fred and Pig,” from Gary Paulsen’s memoir, “My Life
in Dog Years.”
Have students set up a page in their Reader’s Notebook with the
title and author of the book at the top of the page, followed by
some sticky notes.
Let’s go ahead and meet another one of Gary’s dogs!
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [During the Read]
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [During the Read]
Begin to read section “Fred and Pig” (pp. 90-100)
aloud, modeling your thinking as you do so. First,
read aloud until the bottom of p. 91.
I think the author doesn’t know what to make of this
dog! He is trying to buy a dog he can’t see and does
not know anything about. The only thing he knows is
that the dog has bitten him! I think we need to keep
reading to figure out what this kid is all about-and
what this little dog is about, too.
Wow! This kid makes me laugh. He does not seem to
know what this dog is mixed with. I think that the
author doesn’t even see this dog in the box since he is
so small!
Continue reading through the first two full
paragraphs on p. 92.
Read through p. 93, pausing before the last paragraph.
I think it’s great that the puppy, Fred, is going home
now.
Continue reading aloud, pausing before the last paragraph
on p. 96.
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [During the Read]
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [After the Read]
So that is how the author came up with the title for this
story-Fred and Pig are best friends! I was wondering
about that. It seems like an unlikely pair to me. Let’s see
what adventures Fred and Pig have together.
Yesterday we wrote a response to a poem to clarify our
thinking and help us get ready for conversation. Today
we will do the same thing in response to this story.
Turn to a clean page in your notebooks and write the
title and author of this text. Now you are going to
spend a few minutes writing about how this story
makes you think and feel. You will try to write for ___
minutes without stopping.
Continue reading aloud, pausing to model your
thinking. Allow time for students to turn and talk
with partners and stop-and-jot, particularly when
they seem to laugh or appear engaged in the text.
Watch their body language and look for cues to
comment on the text as a way to model thinking for
them.
You might say 2 or 3 minutes or more, depending on
your results from yesterday. Allow time for students
to write.
Lesson 6 :: The Power of Conversation
My Life in Dog Years [After the Read]
Before beginning our conversation, let’s discuss some
“Guidelines for Conversation.”
Elicit student responses and use the Appendix as a
reference. Create a class chart with students.
Now let’s have a conversation about our thinking after
reading the text. Look over your writing and underline
a thought that could start the conversation. Turn and
talk to your partners to share this idea.
Listen in on partnerships and ask one student to
start a class conversation. Coach students as needed,
using the Appendix guidelines as a reference.