Why I Love Read Aloud Response Pages

My incredible kiddos did it again! I am often surprised by their creative minds, whether it be a way they solve a math problem, the moral they come up with while reading folktales, or simplying responding to a chapter we read together in class.

This week we read chapter 3 of Superfudge by Judy Blume. (Sidenote: I recently blogged about the resource I use and have available in my TpT store. You can view it here.) In this chapter, Peter is upset about having to move to Princeton. He recalls visiting Millie and George's house that they will be staying in and calls it an "old dump." When I originally made the response sheet for this chapter I pictured all of my students illustrating a broken-down and tattered house like the examples two students made below.

 

Leave it to my students to prove me wrong! (Do they do that to you too? haha!) I had a few of my students share their point of view ~Common Core 3.SL.1~ with the class. The first student proudly came up with a nice picture of a house, and I thought, wow... he certainly wasn't listening to this chapter.

That is until he proceeded to tell the class, "I think Peter will be wrong. I think the house is going to be really nice and he's just upset about moving." The best part? He wasn't the only one who drew a nice house! I had two other critical thinkers who thought that Peter was wrong.

I absolutely love it when my students think outside of the box and don't just take what they hear for face value. Third graders rock!!

Happy Teaching!
Amber