Practical Use of Google Docs in Reading
By Jamie Guillaume

Last week I was working with a small group of 6^th graders on the skill of inferencing.  Even in my role as an eLearning coach, I still get the opportunity to work with an intervention group once or twice a week.  Consequently, these students sometimes also serve as guinea pigs for me to try new technology tools within a lesson. 

I first began creating my inferencing lesson by finding an intriguing piece of text to use about Bethany Hamilton being attacked by a shark.  The reading was on a laminated poster so the students used dry erase markers to mark the text, and to organize our inferences, we used a shared Google Doc. 

I created the Google Doc prior to the lesson and inserted a table with three columns: Inferences, Background Knowledge, and Text Clues.  First we pre-read the text by looking at titles, headings, pictures, captions and so forth.  Then we all made an inference.  I modeled this process and thought aloud making my inference, identifying a text clue to support my inference, and explained my background knowledge that led me to my inference. The students logged into the document prior to the start of the lesson, were assigned a row in the table and instructed to follow the same procedure I modeled to form and support their inference. 

I quickly noticed that the students that grasped the concept making and supporting inferences, automatically began typing in their row.  I as a teacher was able to see who was typing and give them instant feedback to help them make any needed changes.  Students who were still a little unsure would watch, read and listen to what was taking place and then they jumped in when they were ready!

It was a great intervention lesson because the students were engaged and loved typing on the Google Doc simultaneously!  I loved it because I was able to give each of them individual feedback while they were working and could see everyone processing as they typed!

If you are ever interested in using Google Docs in your classroom, do not hesitate to contact one of your eLearning Coaches.  This Google app is great for any interactive lesson!