Blog Post #5

Blog Post #5

            The last part of the book No More Independent Reading Without Support is about ways to keep things going during the Independent Reading time.  I really like all the tactics for teachers to use during IR.  In a world where we as educators hear that we need to differentiate our classrooms, I never even thought about conferencing being a way to differentiate my instruction.  According to the authors, “Conferring is differentiation at its fines!  When we confer with children one-to-one, we’re working hard to personalize our instruction and support children as they apply what we’ve taught them in large and small group settings.”  The next time someone asks me about how I am differentiating instruction in my classroom, I will definitely be able to include conferencing during Independent Reading.  Conferencing is a powerful tool, and if used as it should be we will be able to catch children that are not using the skills taught and reteach them in a one on one setting.

            The last part of the book that I really like was Tactic 8.   According to the text, “Tactic 8:  Use partner reading and book clubs to get students talking and reading independently.”  I also think that we need to start small and do a lot of modeling how to talk to each other about what they are reading and what they need to talk about.  When I ask my middle school students to turn and talk, they still look at me like I’m crazy.  I guess it goes with the territory.  I asked them to do an activity where they were moving around the room and they complained.  If I ask them to sit, they would rather stand, just like if I ask them to not talk they want to talk.  I guess I can try reverse psychology next time to see if it helps.  

            I have really enjoyed having a refresher on Independent Reading and I will recommend this book to anyone that needs to know what do during Independent Reading and how to keep your kids involved and engaged.