Graphic Organizers for EPIC app

There is almost nothing more rewarding than taking a step back and watching your independent reading time running smoothly! At the same time, there is almost nothing as nerve wracking. My students are quiet, but are they "really" reading? Now that they are on their own, are they using the strategies we talking about in small groups? These stressful questions are a normal part of letting go, and letting our students soar!

EPIC! for educators is a FREE app (compared to Netflix, for books) that is motivating and easy to use for even our young readers. It is an online library which can be customized for each of your students.

When I started using EPIC! with my intervention students, I noticed they were just flipping through the texts. I know something had to chance. I needed something that would hold my students accountable during independent reading time.

→ What is included in this resource?
Fourteen, half-page, graphic organizers in PDF form for easy printing
The same fourteen graphic organizers in Google Slides, for digital use. Students can type right on the embedded graphic organizers.

Graphic Organizers available:
Facts and Details
Main idea and details
Inferencing
Ask and Answer questions
3-2-1
Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then
Vocabulary
Story Elements (Characters/Setting)
Story Elements (Problem/Solution)
Text Features
Compare and Contrast
Sequence
Cause and Effect
Character Traits

→ How can you use this resource to support your students?
These graphic organizers can be used in your teacher guided center. With your guidance, you can introduce students to the many different types of graphic organizers available to them, and demonstrate how they can help organize their thinking while reading. Under your supervision, you can discuss how to pick graphic organizers appropriate for different books.
These graphic organizers can also be used during independent reading time with a traditional print book, or an eBook from an app like EPIC! My student have the freedom to pick the graphic organizer that best fits their understanding of a text. This resource has helped to increase the accountability of my students by ensuring they respond to their reading. These graphic organizers are unlike any other reading response, because they work with ANY text, no customization necessary (which means a low prep/low manage center).
Additionally, you can use students' responses to guide individual conferences. Is a student drawn to one type of book? Are they drawn to one type of graphic organizer? Are they using a graphic organizer effectively? These are just some of the talking points you could use to discuss with students.
Lastly, these graphic organizers are a great piece of data for you, even beyond student conferences. I have brought these graphic organizers as samples of student work, to data meetings to show progress.

If you are looking for more information about using EPIC, I wrote a blog post outlining how they have changed my intervention classroom and how I use these graphic organizers to increase student engagement and accountability. Check out the blog post HERE


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This resource was created by Megan Christensen - Thyme to Read. If you have any questions about this resource, please email me at megan.thymetoread@gmail.com