The Best Gradual Release Lesson for Wonders 4th Grade

Have you ever wondered if your students are comprehending the text in your Wonders 4th Grade series? Helping 4th-grade readers learn how to respond to reading comprehension questions for the Reading Wonders Anthology stories can be daunting. Most of the passages are complex, and your readers may have difficulty comprehending the text. On top of that, they need to be able to respond to standards-based comprehension questions by providing text evidence. That’s why I think the best gradual release lesson for Wonders 4th grade is the one that I’m going to share with you.

Before the Lesson

In my school, we work on the Anthology text on the 3rd and 4th day of the week. On days one and two I introduce vocabulary and teach the comprehension skill of the week with the Reader-Writer Workshop book.

In this post, How to Use This Reading Wonders 4th Grade Activities Bundle, I detail how I teach the Reader-Writer Workshop text using the I Do, We Do, You Do sequence.

This lesson prepares students to assume more responsibility when they read the Anthology passage.

Reading the Anthology Passage

Ideally, all students will be able to read the Anthology passage before the lesson. This is tricky because some students can read it independently, some need assistance, and some read very slowly. The best way I have found is to give students options:

• Read independently
• Read with a partner during Literacy Centers
• Read with me in small group

Completing a Graphic Organizer

I love to have my students use graphic organizers immediately after reading the passage. Everything is fresh in their memory, and they can apply the reading skill or strategy right away.

Gradual Release Lesson Sequence for Wonders 4th Grade

Using this reading comprehension resource, I set up my gradual release lesson this way:

We Do (Teacher and Students)

I like to do this question with my students to make sure that they understand what to do and what the expectations are for answering reading comprehension and vocabulary questions like these below.

The reason I want to do the first two questions with my students is that I am creating a habit by expecting:

• Cite text evidence
• The use of complete sentences with proper punctuation and capitalization.

You Do Together (Partners)

Using collaborative pairs is a great way to build successful readers. If you pair them up strategically – you can strengthen both readers through this collaboration. This is also a great time to encourage accountable talk strategies in order to have a productive work session.

Learn more about accountable talk strategies here.

For the second set of reading comprehension and vocabulary questions, students will work with this partner to respond to the text. This is a great time for you to listen in on the conversations – you can gain so much insight into how your readers respond to the text!

You Do (Independently)

At this point, you have modeled and coached your students on the first set of questions. They have worked with a partner on the second set. Now, they can work on the final set on their own, and you can use this as a formative assessment!

That is one of the biggest benefits of this set of Wonders 4th-grade comprehension questions. Having a quick and easy way to assess my student’s understanding of the standard and the passage is invaluable.

I can quickly see whether Jaci answered the question correctly or whether she needs additional help with it. If I have several students who don’t answer question 3 correctly, I can pull them for a small group.

Why is this the “Best” Lesson for Wonders 4th Grade?

To me, the best lesson is one that:

• Where students are engaged in the process
• Support is gradually released to the students
• Accountable Talk with a partner is encouraged
• Students are given a choice in how they work
• Results can be measured

That’s my definition of the best lesson – what is yours?

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If you use the McGraw-Hill Wonders series for your reading curriculum, I think you will love either of these year-long bundles!

Whether you need printable or digital options – these bundles include both!

>>> Want to try this resource first? Grab this Unit 1, Week 4 lesson packet and try it out!