Great Product Alert!

Hi All,

A while back, Stephanie from Principal Principles offered me one her Rainbow Guided Comprehension packets. I was so excited to take a look at this great product that I planned on introducing it with my kiddos that week. Well, as we know all too well, life got in the way. With Thanksgiving, December break, and new students, I didn't have a chance to give it my full attention. Well, last week, my opportunity came!

This product is for K-2 students (perfect for me!) who are learning how to find text evidence. Finding evidence in a text is a challenging task, even for older students. I have seen many products with similar content catering to older students, but none this detailed for the Littles.

First off - it's color-coded, which I LOVE! If you know me, you know how often I use highlighters with my students to help them identify important information in poems, math word problems, nonfiction texts, fantasy stories, etc. So of course, I loved this already! Second, I love how straightforward this packet is. A teacher could tailor this easily to fit his or her lessons. Perhaps you have a group of more advanced students who, once instructed on how to complete, could do these tasks independently. You may also have a group that needs a bit more instruction, which you could easily do with this activity. And finally, you may have a group like my classroom, that require a step-by-step approach. This product gives you the tools you need to instruct your students and allow opportunities for practice on these concepts. This product also includes graphic organizers that correlate to the types of passages included in the product - perfect for follow-up lessons, early finishers, or lesson extension! How great is that?

Both color and black-and-white pages are included, however, don't think it's still not color-coded! The "highlighting" is a crucial piece of this product. While it is not explicitly something that is taught (nor something I particularly advise teaching with this age group), this prepares students for more advanced note-taking and finding text evidence as the demands increase in the older grades (think standardized testing and higher-level homework/classwork). Students learning the strategies needed for success in the older grades, at a young age, I can only image, will be better prepared and have a higher success rate in test- and note-taking skills.  Who doesn't love that?

Here are some pictures of my Littles working on the All About Bears prompt:

At first, I projected the text on the screen. This way, I could read it aloud with a visual while my students had their own text in front of them. I could also highlight on the computer as an additional visual for my students after we decide on the evidence that answered each question.

This student is "highlighting" the evidence to the first question about bears.

My Littles required additional time and scaffolding, so we had to wait to do our graphic organizers. And of course, I didn't take any pictures of our follow-up lesson in which we used the included organizers. But rest assured, the next day my kiddos were able to recall lots of facts from the text, especially those that we highlighted as evidence from the day before. I absolutely believe that our close reading of the text helped my Littles retain more information, even onto the next day! Amazing!

I highly recommend this product for all K-2 educators looking to enhance their informational text instruction. The other texts in the product are high-interest and informational, and I can't wait to utilize the rest of this packet throughout this half of the year. Make sure to check out Stephanie's other Rainbow Comprehension products as well!

Enjoy! I know you will :)