Blog Post 2: Olivia Boykin’s Moss Ch. 2

“IR refers to time students spend reading self-selected texts” (p. 11 – adapted from Gambrell et al. 2011).  As a math/science teacher, I miss having DEAR time each day and would like to figure out a way (sometime in the next year or two) to incorporate it into my science block.  I have so many books that directly relate to my science standards (except in the area of physical science) but have yet to devise a way for my students to effectively learn what they are supposed to learn (according to the standards) through what they read independently.  I do have a plan in my head but it will take more time than what we currently have available each day.  I do encourage my students to read my science content books any time we have even five minutes to “spare.”  I structure it now as I used to structure DEAR time years ago but I have added the Post-It notes aspect.  The students now write notes about things they: learned through their reading, found interesting, can relate to in some way, have questions about, etc.  We then share our notes in different ways – small group discussions, large group discussions, chart paper with different headings, etc.

Also, I feel that limiting a child’s book selection based on difficulty level is not the “right way” for my classroom library to be structured, as stated in the table on p. 14 under the ScSR column.  I believe there should be a compromise and students should be allowed to choose at least one book they want to read even if it isn’t on their reading level.  I’ve seen students who are unable to read thoroughly enjoy a book just by looking at the pictures.  Those students have learned something or just laughed because they were allowed to take a picture walk through a book in which the level was well beyond their reading capability.  I’ve had other students who were capable of reading at a very high level but occasionally enjoyed reading books at a lower level, as well.  “…IR is most effective when students choose their own reading materials” (p. 18 Moss).  “Letting kids choose what to read motivates them to read even when it is not required” (Ainley, Hidi, and Berndoff 2002).  I want my own children and my students to read for the love of reading.  I’ve seen students who loved reading become completely disinterested in it because they have been told what to read or have been given a goal to achieve that is tied to their reading.  Do I think we should challenge children by asking them to read some books at the top of their reading capability?  Yes.  Do I think we should allow all children to choose all of their reading selections freely with no help from a teacher?  No.  Do I believe there is a happy medium somewhere if we can just find it?  Absolutely.   

I do agree that students need to be exposed to and taught how to read different genres.  I like the idea of a Genre Wheel (p. 20) but did giggle a bit at the redundancy of “Historical History.”  J  Even if some students balk at reading certain genres, a feeling which I understand very well, they still need to read a little bit of everything in order to make a fully-informed decision about what they truly enjoy and what they honestly dislike.  They also need to realize that sometimes we need to read certain types of writing based on the reason we are reading that genre.  Is it for fun/pleasure, homework, personal research, school-based research, etc?  They may surprise themselves at what they found interesting and enjoyed.