Blog 4
Making the
Most of Independent Reading
The first directive is to provide a purpose for
reading: What, How, and Why Readers Read. At first, I was wondering how one
teacher could set an individual purpose for each reader and their books –
IMPOSSIBLE! Now, I am thinking (and hoping) the author means students reading
to practice the objective of the focus lesson.
The author tells us to teach our students how to
choose appropriate books and reminds us that the appropriate book is not always
at the independent level. It depends on what the student’s purpose for reading
is. The book could be on an instructional level if the student has extensive
knowledge of the material or is highly motivated to read it.
It is also beneficial to show students what
strategies readers use to make meaning of books by talking about your thinking
as you have read alouds. Model how to talk about books with their peers just as
you talk about books to your peers. Invite them to join in your discussion of
the book as you read aloud. The author suggests the following books to help
support independent talk: Questioning the
Author (Beck et al. 1997), Reciprocal
Teaching at Work (Oczkus 2010), Literature
Circles(Daniels 2002).
After you model thinking aloud, choose a student
to share something about the book they have read. Ask another student to expand
upon the book talk by sharing “When you said . . . it made me think about . . .”
Another strategy to use is “Turn and talk.” The author says that turn and talk " . . . prepares students for student-led small group discussions . . ." You
provide a prompt about a character in a read aloud for instance and the student
turns and talks to their partner about that character. The teacher is supposed
to move around the room and listen and guide, if necessary.
Tactics Teachers Can Use to Keep
Things Hopping During IR
Have plenty of books. The author wonders why we
should have 300 and not 1000. She says, "I'd strive for at least 1000 books and I wouldn't stop there." She says to look in book rooms whose keys have been forgotten, pick up text sets that are unused. Class libraries should have half fiction and have
informational books. Many times, our libraries have many more fiction books.
Organize the books according to subjects as well as instructional levels.
IR might only last for 10 to 15 minutes when you
first begin. Make sure the students have instructional level books in their box
as well as subject matter that they are interested in.
Monitor their IR. Look at the class as a whole to
determine who might need to be refocused and ask them, “I’m noticing your having
a hard time today. What’s going on? How can I help?” Don’t make it a punitive
issue.
Hi Sande,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post for blog four. I think the biggest thing students need to see is their teacher modeling how to use reading strategies. I think it's so easy to forget that our students need to see us modeling how to use strategies as oppose to just learning about them on the Promethean board. Also, I really like the strategy called "Turn and Talk" because I could see how beneficial the strategy was when it came to the students small group discussions.
Hi Sande! I really enjoyed your blog. Independent reading should be a fun time for students. I agree that a classroom library should be full of different genres of books. This past week during independent reading I monitored my students and noticed a few of them were not participating during independent reading. I had to find more books that interests them and with the encouragement they became more engaged. I also like your discussion on students share time during a book talk. I usually allow students to share their book after independent reading, but I did not think about having others share what they thought about during a student's share time. I think I am going to try this with my students!
ReplyDeleteHi Sande,
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate your candid honesty in your reflections because it provides all of us with the opportunity to be transparent in our thinking as well. I laughed when I read your first sentence because when we consider the time it would take to help each student set an individual purpose for reading in a one on one setting it would take forever. I agree with you that the author is explaining how to model in a focus lesson how to establish a purpose for reading and the importance of it and through the modeling and gradual release of responsibility through guided practice and then individual application our students will then learn how to set their own purposes for reading. You shared some great tips for helping our students find appropriate books and books that are interesting in a well stocked classroom library.
Sincerely,
Dawn and Melissa