Independent reading is valuable in the classroom. As stated in the article, studies prove this. When students read independently in school, they are enabled to increase fluency, reading rate, boost vocabulary, and go beyond their reading level. I personally believe independent reading can also "hook" a student, and in return create a love of reading.
Again, time is a reality. It seems to me that time is the number one problem that keeps us from diving into independent reading. Other tools need to be implemented such as monitoring, a vast amount of books to choose from, and conferencing with students. I am more than willing to provide these tools. I cannot control the time factor. If time were not an issue, I believe we would see a dramatic increase in independent reading in our classrooms.
I do agree that classroom libraries need to be stocked with a variety of genres and levels. I agree that we as the teacher should talk up the genres. I am sure there are genres that some children have not heard of. I think that by introducing each genre and spending time getting to know them, children will develop an interest in other areas. Maybe the girl who loves fairy tales will develop and interest in mysteries. Maybe the boy who only wants to read joke books will learn to enjoy biographies.
Growing up, I read a lot, but it was usually fiction. It was a classroom "read-aloud" that introduced me to biographies. I would have never chosen to read one myself until it was modeled for me - and I enjoyed it! I agree that introducing your students to different genres is important - even in k5!
ReplyDeleteI know that time is an issue. It always is. Maybe spend this week really paying attention to how time is spent in your classroom each day. When I was first thinking through "do I have enough time?" as a classroom teacher, I wrote down how we spent every minute of every day for a whole week. I realized that we spent a lot of time in transition that was unnecessary. I also realized that we spent too much time on some lessons because I liked them . . . not because it was best for the student. So, I began to make some changes in my classroom, and as a result, we had time for IR and conferencing. I threw out morning work and made sure my lessons were mini-lessons and not long, drawn out whole group lessons. I changed some of my management strategies so we moved more quickly and efficiently. Try it out and see what you discover. Self-reflection is so important - even though it is also painful at times. :)