I choose to read No More Independent Reading Without Support by Debbie Miller and Barbara Moss because at the school I am currently teaching in we don't actually do independent reading. We have an SSR time and I wanted a refresher on the difference.
One idea that stuck with me was that if students don't read at home and they are not given and time to read at school, when will they read? It is really a difficult task to allow students to have ample time to read since my focus is on science. I have to get out of the mindset that they will still need to read in science class too. In my classroom, not SSR as we have our reading time, students will be reading to learn. During our SSR time the student are learning to read for enjoyment. Students need to be given a lot of time to read to become proficient readers.
In my science classroom we read articles, charts, diagrams, and even the dreaded textbook. Unfortunately sometimes what we have to read in class is not the most entertaining for the students. Students need to make most of the time they are given during independent reading and make this time productive. Teachers need to equip the students with the tools necessary in order for them know what to do when they are reading on their own. If we don't equip them, then the students just sit around and don't have a handle on what to do during unstructured time.
I'm reading the same text and completely agree that a big thing that stuck with me was when the book discussed if they do not read at home and we don't allow them to read at school... when will they read?! We focus so much other the "fluff" in school that we forget the main part. Reading is a part of EVERYTHING!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, you said "Teachers need to equip the students with the tools necessary in order for them know what to do when they are reading on their own. If we don't equip them, then the students just sit around and don't have a handle on what to do during unstructured time." How true! Planning and explicit modeling make all the difference in the world. :)
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the statement, "if students don't read at home and they are not given time to read at school, when will they read? Coming from a first grade classroom, I have seen over the MANY years that so many students don't have ANY books at home to even read. Reading is not valued in their homes, so we have to teach the love of reading in our classrooms. My students are young and I love the opportunity to teach this love. We read a lot in class. If you ever come to my classroom you will see that each table of children have a basket of books with them at all times. They read throughout the day for every reason possible. READING, not skill sheets, is the heart of my classroom. I need to read this book as well! It sounds interesting.
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ReplyDeleteJennifer, I love how you chose this book to dig deeper into the SSR/independent reading structures and their differences. As a science teacher, you might not have as much flexibility as an ELA teacher. I wonder if you can still find ways to give students choice, kind of like we have given you all choice readings on certain themes/topics. What if you opened class with a reading inquiry time related to content you were studying? You have really gotten me thinking about this! Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement, "if students don't read at home and they are not given time to read at school, when will they read?" So many times we see that reading is not a priority at home. Even when we send books home with the students, they may not even read them because the lack of parental support. That's why it's so important for teachers to model the love of reading so the student will be inspired to open that book at home too.
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