"Independent Reading" should be description enough of what should go on at this time of day, but the author gives a nice short definition to make sure we teachers know exactly what she means. Her clear, concise definition is: " time students spend reading self-selected texts." I have always been a firm believer in giving my students IR, SSR, or "Reading Party" as I like to call it. I have done it based on personal beliefs about reading such as "reading is fun" and "you get better at reading by reading" and "early on, children learn to read by interacting with words, pictures, and pages." Moss' statement that "IR is an essential practice, one that develops background knowledge, improves fluency and comprehension, heightens motivation, increases reading achievement and helps students broaden their vocabulary" affirmed my personal beliefs.
After reading this chapter, I realize that while I offer independent reading time daily, give students choice in their reading, have a large and varied classroom library, I need to improve in providing instruction about what and why to read, giving them time to respond to and share their reading, and monitoring student progress during IR. I think I also need to work on keeping track of the genres the students are reading so that I can help them try new things. Moss points out that "when students were provided with a wide range of interesting books, effects on comprehension and motivation were substantial."
Finally, I have decided that the name Independent Reading really is not as good as I originally thought because it could imply that students do this reading time alone when in actuality, students should be receiving lots of support from the teacher. I have loved using the name "reading party" because I want students to think that reading is as much fun as a party, but for the teacher, this time is no party...it's hard work...it's a busy time...it's worth the effort.
Reading IS fun, so I like that you call IR "Reading Party," too! Don't change that! :) I was reading today about actually doing a mini-lesson on what to do during Independent Reading. You could even give students a checklist every once in a while where they ask themselves . . . Did I stay in the same spot the whole time? Did I about what I was reading? etc. Even just 3 questions that help students evaluate if they are doing what good readers do? What a great idea! I wish I had thought of it! :)
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