Maybe they question it because it has not been successful for them or
they do not have a real understanding of how it should work in the
classroom. Independent reading is a lot of work. The teacher has to
really know their students - know their likes and dislikes and/or
their interests. Have an organized an exceptional classroom library,
one with different topics and genres- where you have enough RIGHT
books (at the students level) to chose from for your students. This
means your students can read more confidently and are actually excited
about their ability to read. They need to be able to read the book
without much teacher input which gives them ownership in their reading
process. Independent reading helps to improve fluency, comprehension,
vocabulary, and most importantly the love of reading. A teacher needs
to think and be creative on the ways to "hook" the students to read
books. Start by modeling good reading behavior- Students watch what
you do. If they see you read, they'll be more likely to read, your
passion for reading will be contagious. Time- time- time, oh
time.........a teacher needs to set aside long blocks of time for
independent reading, students will quickly get the idea that reading
is very important and exciting. You can use this time to conference
with the students. Listen to their reading and see how they apply the
reading strategies. You can help your students set a reading goal
based on the strategy they need to strengthen. I love to share after
reading a REALLY GREAT BOOK, and I love to give students the same
chance, they can draw a character or event in the book, write a
question to the author or character are just some ways students can
share. This may result in other students that may want to read the
books shared. My goal is to make certain that my students read
something delicious everyday and hopefully become lifelong readers and
not just readers in a classroom. I want them to fall in love with
reading and one of the best ways of achieving that goal is by
independent reading.
Hillary Marchel Reading Specialist
Elementary North
[email protected]
"Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put
yourself in his place so that you may understand that he understands and
in the way he understands it,.." -Soren Kierkegaard (1848)
Suzanne, Laura and list,
I can’t fathom the reason people question independent reading. Reading
must be practiced and absorbed. I tell my students reading is just
like
practicing anything else. . . piano, basketball, soccer, painting
etc. It
seems in education we must always prove why something is working ---
really??? BUT to say independent reading is not beneficial is just
crazy!
How else can students read if they don’t read?? I agree with Laura
we must
work to find the right book for the each student.
Rhonda
Suzanne,
You bring up an important point. The reason many of us fall into
the trap
of making activities to go with the book is to have something to
show the
kids "got it". We also want a product to put in a portfolio to
demonstrate to administrators that the children did indeed do the
work.
There isn't a trust in the fact that given the opportunity to do
so, kids
will read. I know that several teachers I have worked with have
said the
kids are not really reading during independent reading. I feel it is
because they are not engaged, or invested in the text they are
reading.
We as teachers have to trust that if we get the right books into kids
hands they will be engaged and reading. It is a great leap of faith.
Laura
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