Miller and Moss, authors of No More Independent Reading Without Support, suggest 7 strategies to help students grow as independent readers. When I set out to have my students read more this year, I thought, "this will be easy." Pick out a book, give them time to read, and have them complete a reading log. Simple. Or is it? According to the text, students will not benefit from just simply independent reading. The first two strategies, classroom time to read and choosing what they read, was simple. This blog will look at two more strategies that may prove to be a little more difficult.
Strategy 3 - Explicit instruction about what, why, and how readers read
According to the text, "productive student IR experiences depend on teachers who help students identify appropriate, interesting materials, incorporating a range of genres and difficulty levels." As I thought back about taking my students to the library to select books for independent reading time, I realized I had not quite used this strategy. I did assist my students in selecting books, however, I was more concerned with selecting books that would interest them versus books that were on their instructional level. This will prove to be a difficult task because I am dealing with 18 year-old boys who read on about a 2nd grade level searching for books in a high school library. Instead of just selecting books that these students can relate to or would be interested in, I need to find books that are not too difficult for their low instructional level. We do have a small selection of lower level texts from American Reading Company that may interest my students. Even thought the selection is going to be smaller, this may be a better route to go for 2nd 9 weeks. Purchasing more appropriate books is certainly something I want to consider the next time I am asked what I need in the classroom.
Strategy 4 - To read a lot: a large number of books and variety of texts
According to the text, "By increasing reading volume, students can improve reading achievement." Easier said than done. For students who struggle in reading, getting them to read is a chore, much less read more. I doubt that my students are doing much, if any, reading outside of school (other than reading texts or emails), so this makes the time set aside for reading in the classroom even more important. The book suggests one way to increase reading is to use informational texts because these "comprise the majority of adult professional reading." My students watch CNN Student News everyday, so one way to encourage more reading may be to find articles that give them more information about topics discussed on the daily news show.
Stay tuned for more strategies for IR in my next blog.....
As an exemplary teacher, you are ever reflective, willing to evaluate your work to gain constructive criticism in order to improve your practice. This is evident in your statement "I did assist my students in selecting books, however, I was more concerned with selecting books that would interest them versus books that were on their instructional level." Your struggles are shared by many. I think your ideas will help move you towards more true, productive independent reading. Also, I will try to email you some other sources. High Noon is one that comes to mind, and Shell Oil has articles at different levels that look the same. Keep reflecting and improving, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with getting students who struggle to read, to read more. There are some of my students that if they finished ONE book all year, I would be pleased!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI think you should meet with the librarian and principal at your school to discuss the possibility of purchasing books to help struggling readers have a better variety of books to choose from. You may be told that money is not available to purchase new books, but you may get your request.
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DeleteElizabeth, I love how you focus this blog on two strategies that might prove more challenging. With regards to choosing texts at instructional levels, I wonder if some news article resources like NewsELA would be helpful for your high schoolers. These are free online articles that you can adjust for different readability levels! I just sent some of my teachers information on free online nonfiction texts, so shoot me an email if you'd like more ideas for resources. :-)
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