About Message Time Plus®

Message Time Plus is a modeled writing and shared reading instructional program for pre-kindergarten through second grade.

	This teacher in Newark, NJ is scaffolding. She used a word from the message and built a mini-lesson in which the students make new words from the -ake word family.

• respond to print at their own developmental level
• increase their knowledge of print convention and of concepts about print
• learn how and why to think before they write
• see the spoken word written down
• increase high-frequency word recognition and rich vocabulary by learning these words in a meaningful context
• see reading strategies modeled
• see written language in a meaningful context
• work at their independent level while making predictions
• work at their instructional level when working with the teacher in mini-lessons

During the Message Time Plus process, teachers model the mechanics of writing — print directionality and sweep, capitalization, punctuation, and format. They also model vital elements of the writer's craft - word choice, genre, planning what to write about, how much detail to use, and using prior knowledge to create new work. The process also models phonemic awareness and phonics skills within a focused and meaningful context.

Planning the message in advance allows teachers to include phonics and grammar mini-lessons. This second grade teacher in Philadelphia, PA reviews the use of "ed" in writing in the past tense.

Message Time Plus has a profound influence on student learning because it goes beyond modeling writing by also modeling reading skills and strategies. When a child makes a prediction based on a good reading strategy, the teacher pauses to draw attention to this and make explicit to everyone the strategies good readers use.

If students are stuck, the teacher may also pause and "think aloud" about which strategies (such as stretching out the word or using clues from context) could be used to figure out the problem word, again making explicit how good readers read. During the process, the message is also read aloud by the entire group three times, creating more important opportunities for fluency practice - always important in days with many demands and too little time!

Message Time Plus has become the favorite tool of the teachers who use it because it can do so much in such a short time period. As demands for meeting content and strategy standards, conducting assessments, and creating direct instructional time increase, while other demands on teachers' time are not decreased, highly effective and classroom-proven tools are vital. Message Time Plus is this kind of tool, and can easily become the most effective 30 minutes of your day.

	A student in a Newark, NJ kindergarten finds the word "splendid". Rich vocabulary for Message Time Plus should be drawn from the day's read aloud.

• a large, white, dry erase board which is wider than it is tall, so the written message looks more like normal print and to allow space for mini-lessons beneath the message. A 4ft. by 3ft. board works best; a smaller board will do, especially for younger children using shorter messages.
• a black marker for writing the message
• one other marker in a contrasting color for outlining identified elements
• a pointer for children to indicate what they are identifying

(If a dry erase board is not available, a large chalkboard can be used, although the contrast between the print and the background is not as sharp on a chalkboard. If neither of these is available, large easel paper may also be used, if it is also wider than it is tall.)