As I continue to read Reading Essentials by Routman I am amazed at the spot on great ideas she is presenting. Many of the ideas that she is offering in her Try It Apply It sections are very helpful and I have either seen them work or use them myself. There are some that I am considering trying that are new to me. Make books and book talk "Hot" is one of them. I love that she gives the students so much say so in the books they read and love. The students can decide which books they like best (or think are HOT) from the classroom library using a chosen criteria and create the best seller wall. "Vote on names and books of winners" is such a great idea. This gives the student a say instead of the teacher always having her favorites shoved into the hands of the student reader.
The attractiveness of the places to read for a student is also mentioned. I cannot agree with Routman more about this. There is nothing better than a comfy and cozy place to read. Even as adults we tend to find that just right reading spot. “Involve your students in library design and organization" Letting the students help create this spot as well as the classroom library can increase their joy of reading. A student based classroom with guidance from the teacher can keep the reader more involved and excited about being in class.
“Make assessments work for you and your students” is crucial. As I read the bullets Routman had broken down in this section I found myself shaking my head yes and agreeing out loud. So often we collect data and observe our students but the information isn’t used. The information collected has to be useful and helpful to the student or else why do it? Set a goal for the student and assess that goal. Analyze and adjust to meet the needs of each student.
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteYour title really caught my eyes because I immediately reflected back to my first year of teaching. When I was in the process of planning how to set up my room, I found an article that talked about teachers should display a book that he or she is reading. Beside the book, the teacher should display a sign that says, "Hot Read." This goes back to what we talked about in previous chapters, teachers should let students know that they read and enjoy reading.
I also agree, I feel the more say a student has in what they read the more likely they are to enjoy and find a love in reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree too. When they are allowed to read things that interest them, the more likely they are to read. So much of what we have seen throughout this course is about students reading more AND reading things that they enjoy...it just makes sense!
ReplyDeleteI agree too. When they are allowed to read things that interest them, the more likely they are to read. So much of what we have seen throughout this course is about students reading more AND reading things that they enjoy...it just makes sense!
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you are finding Routman's points and her practical suggestions for improving our instruction and environment in order to improve students' independent reading helpful. Like you, I loved her suggestions for helping us to make books "hot" for our students. I really liked her suggestion of sharing our Now stack of books we are reading and our Next stack of books we want to read. I am working with a class of fourth graders to share our "shelfies" (pictures of our now and next stack of books) through a digital reading log on padlet. They are loving it! I agree with you and Routman that our classroom environments both physical and also in social/emotional ways are safe and inviting for our students and promote choice and ownership over their text and open sharing of what they read and what they thought. Thanks!