Margaret Tiller: Blog # 2: “Section 2: Why Not? What Works? Why Independent Reading Matters and the Best Practices to Support It” (Miller, Section 2).

I chose to read Miller’s second section for my second blog post. Independent reading is a major facet in my classroom, so Miller’s commentary on the topic definitely proved to be worthwhile. As discussed in my previous blog post, I feel that independent reading is being driven out of many classrooms around the country because the lack of formal, direct instruction is scary to many; however, as noted by Miller “[…] many schools have dropped or decreased their attention to IR in favor of literacy instruction that they believe will raise test scores. Ironically, they’ve eliminated one of the most powerful ways to improve student achievement” (12). I find it interesting that many schools have replaced independent reading time with direct literacy instruction with the belief that this would increase test scores, when in actuality, research shows that independent reading time is far more valuable in terms of increasing word recognition and fluency than is literacy instruction. I was also fascinated by the section’s discussion of reading proficiency and its tie to the “just-right” amount of time spent reading independently. Before reading this section, I figured that especially for struggling readers, the more time spent reading independently, the better. However, Miller notes that the time allocated reading independently should be determined based on a student’s individual reading proficiency. The section mentions that a struggling reader will make more gains reading in 15 minute increments than they would in reading during 40 minute blocks. I will definitely use this information to better structure independent reading time in my classroom in order to foster an environment that celebrates literacy and individual reading abilities.