I decided to choose the passage, "Not This: Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?" from the book, No More Independent Reading Without Support, as my first blog post EVER. Upon choosing what to read and skimming the other suggestions, I thought..."Okay, really...I've done this independent reading thing before in my previous 18 years of regular classroom teaching. I got this, yep...I know I did it right. This passage will be a breeze and I'll feel validated as a teacher.Time? I always made the required 20 minutes available to my students. I must say, after reading the passage, I didn't have it right. It was a wake up call. I never conferenced with my students during SSR, we just read and they took AR tests. I spent my time conferencing during our writer's workshop and it never had to do with their SSR reading materials. So, for me, finding the time had never been an issue, it was the execution of the time or lack of the proper execution during SSR. For for the past three years, I have been working as the ESOL teacher between three schools and now is where I truly struggle with finding the time to SSR with my students. I think the best option is to be a source of support for the students and the classroom teachers, I need to work more closely with each teacher, know the books the students are selecting and use that to my advantage in the ESOL classroom. I can follow up by asking them about the book. I can incorporate this into the ESOL standards of Listening and Speaking while reinforcing what they are doing in class. I can also use it to my advantage since my goal, this year, with my students is to improve their writing communication skills. Instead of hunting for a topic, I can use what they are reading from their choice selection in class. This will benefit them and help me stick with the ESOL standards for Writing because it will be related to a topic they are interested in learning about or a genre they just enjoy.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Lisa Brooks Summey: Blog #1: Not This: Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?
I decided to choose the passage, "Not This: Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?" from the book, No More Independent Reading Without Support, as my first blog post EVER. Upon choosing what to read and skimming the other suggestions, I thought..."Okay, really...I've done this independent reading thing before in my previous 18 years of regular classroom teaching. I got this, yep...I know I did it right. This passage will be a breeze and I'll feel validated as a teacher.Time? I always made the required 20 minutes available to my students. I must say, after reading the passage, I didn't have it right. It was a wake up call. I never conferenced with my students during SSR, we just read and they took AR tests. I spent my time conferencing during our writer's workshop and it never had to do with their SSR reading materials. So, for me, finding the time had never been an issue, it was the execution of the time or lack of the proper execution during SSR. For for the past three years, I have been working as the ESOL teacher between three schools and now is where I truly struggle with finding the time to SSR with my students. I think the best option is to be a source of support for the students and the classroom teachers, I need to work more closely with each teacher, know the books the students are selecting and use that to my advantage in the ESOL classroom. I can follow up by asking them about the book. I can incorporate this into the ESOL standards of Listening and Speaking while reinforcing what they are doing in class. I can also use it to my advantage since my goal, this year, with my students is to improve their writing communication skills. Instead of hunting for a topic, I can use what they are reading from their choice selection in class. This will benefit them and help me stick with the ESOL standards for Writing because it will be related to a topic they are interested in learning about or a genre they just enjoy.
I decided to choose the passage, "Not This: Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?" from the book, No More Independent Reading Without Support, as my first blog post EVER. Upon choosing what to read and skimming the other suggestions, I thought..."Okay, really...I've done this independent reading thing before in my previous 18 years of regular classroom teaching. I got this, yep...I know I did it right. This passage will be a breeze and I'll feel validated as a teacher.Time? I always made the required 20 minutes available to my students. I must say, after reading the passage, I didn't have it right. It was a wake up call. I never conferenced with my students during SSR, we just read and they took AR tests. I spent my time conferencing during our writer's workshop and it never had to do with their SSR reading materials. So, for me, finding the time had never been an issue, it was the execution of the time or lack of the proper execution during SSR. For for the past three years, I have been working as the ESOL teacher between three schools and now is where I truly struggle with finding the time to SSR with my students. I think the best option is to be a source of support for the students and the classroom teachers, I need to work more closely with each teacher, know the books the students are selecting and use that to my advantage in the ESOL classroom. I can follow up by asking them about the book. I can incorporate this into the ESOL standards of Listening and Speaking while reinforcing what they are doing in class. I can also use it to my advantage since my goal, this year, with my students is to improve their writing communication skills. Instead of hunting for a topic, I can use what they are reading from their choice selection in class. This will benefit them and help me stick with the ESOL standards for Writing because it will be related to a topic they are interested in learning about or a genre they just enjoy.
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This is great, Lisa! I love how you immediately applied what you read to how you can use it today with your ESOL students! I, too, thought I had it going on in my classroom until several years ago when I read The Sisters' CAFE book. I realized that I needed to be conferencing with students. It created a HUGE shift in what I was doing in my classroom. My students began to enjoy the Reading Block and would ask every day if they were going to get to read. :) I LOVED THAT! I think it will be the same with the students you work with. Because you are going to allow them to write about something they have chosen, they will look forward to it!
ReplyDeleteLisa I felt the same way you did until a few years ago. Thank you for helping me see I am not the only one. I thought I was doing everything I was suppose to do by allowing the children to have time to read and reading with them. It was not until I started to listen and take notes and conference with my students that I realized how much more I could learn as a teacher during their IR time.
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