It is wonderful that this book outlines just how to get ScSR
started: mini-lesson, practice, then relevant sharing. I find that my students most often have
trouble identifying the main idea of given text. The sharing time that is to follow the independent
reading is a great tool in building and reinforcing this important skill.
For the follow-up section to the MD teachers’ assignment to
“find” time: I the minutes really did add up.
I never thought about the appropriateness of asking students to think
about lining up in authentic situations.
Many of the suggestions were procedure-based: musical transitions,
lining up, and calendar.
I could imagine the thought of a visitor to a classroom of
students engaged in SSR. Why are the
kids just reading? Can’t they do that at
home? As I think about that large chunk
of time to be devoted to reading, I worry about students maintaining attention
for that long of a period. Few things
that kids engage in for enjoyment require that much sustained effort. Even video games break for load time at
shorter intervals! ScSR offers all the
good stuff: direct instruction, practice time, time for interest-based reading,
breaks to allow refocusing. The goal of authenticity in reading goes right
along with college and career (and life!) readiness. Asking the question, “How does this look in
the ‘real world’?” can often steer teachers in a completely different direction
by giving a completely different perspective.
The skill of choosing an appropriate book is something I
never quite thought of. We have cute rules regarding choice, but I wonder about
offering direct guidance. The
information offered in the 3rd section is explicit and well-organized, as is
the whole book.
This book is a great resource that will be such a beneficial
reference in the future!
I agree with what you said about the requirement of sustained effort. I truly believe that we must engage our students in reading material that is engaging and relevant so that it will come with ease and feel effortless to them. I think it is a good idea to get with fellow teachers and talk about great children's books that relate to the real world and come up with a list of books that we can all share! I don't really know what is out there because I only know about my favorite authors as a child. I rely heavily on Mrs. Claire to guide me on choosing books for my students, which really isn't fair. I think I need to share some of the effort in finding out which books are most appropriate for certain standards I want the students to master.
ReplyDeleteHi Robin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said in your blog post. I need you to tell me what book and what section/chapters you read and some specific suggestions or quotes from the book that you found beneficial. Thanks, Dawn
This post references Section 3 of "No More Independent Reading Without Support." The recommended outline of a reading block on page 42 really makes me re-evaluate my reading instruction time. True, I serve as a remedial instruction source, but there are elements that easily lend themselves to inclusion in our classroom, such as reflection and sharing portion. I will make an effort to include this effectively in my lessons. Part of this will be spent teaching how to reflect as opposed to offering a related story, I realize. Perhaps we could learn some lead-in phrases like "This made me think about..." or "I wonder how...". I realize that I am very guilty of discouraging sharing instead of guiding the student to "sound like" what they are quite often doing: calling upon prior knowledge and making mental connections.
ReplyDeleteThe comment on page 47 about "keeping kids busy"... how true! We are accustomed to the taking the "idle hands" mindset, and we are so used to silent reading to looking like "idle time".
The encouragement of authentic post-reading activities, too, made me think. While we do very little of the paper/pencil/project types of things referenced on page 49, I witness my students being assigned and often stressing over such assignments... but we do need a source for grading. Worksheets are quick and simple; projects are (hopefully) fun for the students.
The point made on page 57 about thoughtfully manipulating the time spent with IR to increase stamina- so true! I haven't thought about this concept before. Students really do need to develop an attention span for this.
The suggestions about conferencing with students could be so effective. Knowing that they will be provided this one-on-one or small-group time could be intrinsically reinforcing. How often do we ask a student how they felt about something they read? Unless it is a literary features lesson, probably not too often.
The reading log examples on pages 62 and 63 made me think of how review of these types of logs can yield so much information. What kinds of books does this student like? Does she prefer fiction to non-fiction? Does she like a certain author? Genre of books? How wonderful to have this kind of information to guide material choice, small groupings, and conferencing for the teacher!
This post references Section 3 of "No More Independent Reading Without Support." The recommended outline of a reading block on page 42 really makes me re-evaluate my reading instruction time. True, I serve as a remedial instruction source, but there are elements that easily lend themselves to inclusion in our classroom, such as reflection and sharing portion. I will make an effort to include this effectively in my lessons. Part of this will be spent teaching how to reflect as opposed to offering a related story, I realize. Perhaps we could learn some lead-in phrases like "This made me think about..." or "I wonder how...". I realize that I am very guilty of discouraging sharing instead of guiding the student to "sound like" what they are quite often doing: calling upon prior knowledge and making mental connections.
ReplyDeleteThe comment on page 47 about "keeping kids busy"... how true! We are accustomed to the taking the "idle hands" mindset, and we are so used to silent reading to looking like "idle time".
The encouragement of authentic post-reading activities, too, made me think. While we do very little of the paper/pencil/project types of things referenced on page 49, I witness my students being assigned and often stressing over such assignments... but we do need a source for grading. Worksheets are quick and simple; projects are (hopefully) fun for the students.
The point made on page 57 about thoughtfully manipulating the time spent with IR to increase stamina- so true! I haven't thought about this concept before. Students really do need to develop an attention span for this.
The suggestions about conferencing with students could be so effective. Knowing that they will be provided this one-on-one or small-group time could be intrinsically reinforcing. How often do we ask a student how they felt about something they read? Unless it is a literary features lesson, probably not too often.
The reading log examples on pages 62 and 63 made me think of how review of these types of logs can yield so much information. What kinds of books does this student like? Does she prefer fiction to non-fiction? Does she like a certain author? Genre of books? How wonderful to have this kind of information to guide material choice, small groupings, and conferencing for the teacher!