I chose to read Chapter 4 from Reading Essentials for my October blog and this chapter was about making sure that teachers are teaching with a sense of urgency. This means that our instruction is engaging and always trying to push students to their next step all the while evaluating and reflecting daily. This is especially true in an elementary school where I try to create lifelong readers.
In the chapter the author gave a top five list to help students become excellent readers. This list included things like providing a large classroom library that provides student choice and offering students feedback about their reading. These are things I have tried to implement in my room this year and we have been focusing on independent reading time for students through out the day.
At the beginning of the year, we spent the first few weeks of school discussing why independent reading is important and what it would look like in our room. We made anchor charts of my job and student job during independent reading and discussed classroom library checkout. I spent some time modeling what was expected of my students during independent reading time.
I have found that being intentional during independent reading time has helped me learn more about the readers in my classroom. I have learned what they like to read and have been able to try to incorporate some of those types of books in my classroom library. It has also helped me meet the needs of the individual readers in my room.
I like how you discussed why independent reading is important. That is something I didn't do with my class this year. I think that is a discussion that needs to take place so that they know why it is important and how it will affect their life.
ReplyDeleteI like how you discussed why independent reading is important. That is something I didn't do with my class this year. I think that is a discussion that needs to take place so that they know why it is important and how it will affect their life.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of creating anchor charts to discuss the student role and teacher role during independent reading. Not only would this be a great reminder for students, but also for me as a teacher. This is something I would like to try with my students. I would probably have to draw or add pictures for them, but believe that it is something we could make work.
ReplyDeleteI got the idea from Caleb last year of creating anchor charts for the students role and the teachers role!
DeleteHi Caleb,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this chapter from Routman too and I appreciated how she really defined urgency in a way that was not stressful or anxiety inducing, but one that was mindful of the purpose and intent of her work and the understanding that time was limited. We do only have a short season with our students - 180 days of their lives to spend growing them as readers, writers, thinkers, problem solvers, etc. Routman encourages us to make the most of our time with our students so they leave us better, stronger, more confident, and more able to tackle the next level of tasks life has before them. That goal is beyond standards and bigger than a test. We have to bring our best every single day. Thank you for doing this! Sincerely, Dawn
Caleb, I like the way you went about implementing independent reading--taking the time needed for establishing procedures and routines, and modeling for your students. You laid the groundwork for success! It seems that you are learning more about your students as readers, also, I'm sure that helps inform your instruction. Thank you, Caleb, for the shifts in your practice.
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