The "Braidy" Bunch

On Thursday I visited Devon Carothers and her students during a Reading Workshop block.  I entered the classroom to find pairs of students animatedly discussing their independent reading books.  I sat down with two students and asked what they were doing.

"We are discussing whether our books follow Braidy, kind of follow Braidy, or don't follow Braidy."

I was intrigued.  I continued to listen to the students' discussions.

"It was a ho hum day until Frog wouldn't get out from under the covers!"
"My book has a character with feelings and a setting.  I'm not sure if there is a plan yet."
"My kick-off came at the end of the story!"

Devon gathered her students at the carpet for the share part of the lesson.  One student shared her book, Grapes for Dinner.   "I don't think this book followed Braidy." Devon asked her why, and she explained that there was no "kick-off" in the book.  She read a few pages and proudly announced, "I think this is a repeating book! It keeps on saying grapes for dinner."

Another boy shared his story, "My book followed Braidy.  There were tons of little kick-offs in the story, but it still had a setting, a character, and a plan."  Another girl exclaimed, "That's called an episode!"

I asked the class if they wouldn't mind explaining "Braidy" in more detail.  They were happy to oblige.  Braidy is doll that Mrs. Carothers' students use to help them retell a story.  Below is a picture of Braidy:

Devon Carothers and Braidy

The Braidy doll has many removable parts.  Students add parts to the doll to represent each part of a story that they are retelling. The class decided to explain Braidy to me using the read aloud that had launched their lesson.  One student began by explaining the character.  "Alphie is a little alligator who loves cookies." The star on the right leg represented the setting.  "The setting is inside and outside."  Next came the cleat, which represented the kick-off.  "It was a ho hum day until Alphie couldn't get a cookie."  The heart was a symbol for the character's feelings towards the kick-off.  "Alphie felt mad."  Devon asked for some other words to describe his feelings. "Angry, frustrated, worried, sad, disappointed," answered the students.  

The student moved on to the hand, which represented the plan.  "Alphie needed an idea to get a cookie."  Look at the left leg and you will see green rings.  Each ring is for a different part of the story is sequential order.  "First, Alphie pretended to be a cookie inspector.  Second, he went outside and tried to fish for cookies!  Then he tried to make his own cookies and he cried."  The last student came up to add his green ring. "Finally Alphie said please.  Then he got a cookie!"

It was amazing to see how easily these students were able to retell this story in chronological order using the Braidy doll.  The students clearly had an understanding of the key parts of the text structure.  

Devon closed the lesson by asking her class, "What do you think Alphie learned in the story?"  All hands went up for the students to share the author's message.

Devon and I discussed the purpose of the Braidy doll later that afternoon.  She tried using the doll last year after learning about it at a professional development conference.  She implemented it into her classroom much earlier this year and has been extremely impressed with her students and their ability to understand text structure and retell a story.  I was not only impressed with the students' understanding of text structure, but with the level of vocabulary they were using when they were discussing the books they read.  We both agreed that this was the basis for improving students' comprehension of texts they were reading.  

It is very clear that Mrs. Carothers has fostered a community of readers in her classroom.  I know she has named them the "Chicklets," but I think they could also be called the "Braidy bunch!"