Heather McCraw: Blog Post #6: Routman Chapter 5 Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

I read the chapter on classroom libraries; how enlightening it was!! When I first started teaching 11 years ago, I never pushed independent reading the way we do today.  I had students keep a reading log for homework each week documenting a set number of weekly minutes spent on at-home reading. I also tried to have a daily drop everything and read time, but this was never a huge success. Independent reading sadly felt like somewhat a waste of my instructional time. L I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to independent reading.

When our classroom libraries recently got enhanced by district allocated funds, I sorted my books into categories and levels. Now after reading this chapter, conviction sets in. I must have it all wrong!!! Last year as I was talking to Melissa Wells about my classroom library, I told her I don’t really like for students to use it. She held her face together in a neutral pose although I’m sure her insides were screaming, “YOU DON’T LIKE STUDENTS TO USE YOUR LIBRARY?!?” My response, “They mess it up.” I had spent my time sorting all the books into exactly the right spots where I wanted them to be and apparently the students didn’t understand this categorization. Routman’s suggestion: let students help you decide how to sort books, and have a “book caring” policy so students know how to take care of the library. Melissa, if you’re reading this, I DO let students use my library now! Thank you for labeling my books so I could release some of that control I had about the classroom library!

Another moment of conviction for me was in reading about forcing kids into levels. We are very strict about keeping kids in their ZPD so they’re growing the most as readers. But according to Routman, this is not really what makes kids grow as readers. Reading books develops comprehension; emphasis on levels probably turns many kids off to reading. Conferences between students and teachers can lead to selecting more appropriate books. Interesting!

Last thing that spoke to me was about having book recommendations so that kids get interested in what to read next. I used to love watching “Reading Rainbow” to see what cool books were recommended each week. Unfortunately I rarely went to the library to check out these recommended titles, however, if my teacher would have had them on hand in her classroom library with the title facing out, those recommended books would have likely been my next selection!

Elizabeth Graham Post 6: Routman's Chapter 6 & 7

As I read Chapters 6 and 7 in Routman's Reading Essentials, I was struck by the concept of "just right" books. As a teacher librarian I am all in favor of student choice for independent reading, but I recognize the reality that many students need help identifying what a "just-right" book is. This is something we talk about during our library classes. For example, our third grade students are reading chapter books and many of them take pride in walking around with the largest chapter book they can find on the shelves. Harry Potter #7 anyone? If the student is ready for this reading challenge, I am all for it. However, if they are not ready and are just imitating the look of a reader, they are wasting their time and giving us never opened books to reshelve. I have worked with our third graders to identify some accessible, high-interest book series, compared text sizes, discussed how some series and books have pictures and cartoons while others are text-heavy, all with the goal of making the students self-sufficient book selectors.

As far as making assessments part of reading, I like the idea of "teaching intentionally". Many times when I am reading a book to a class, I will let them know that at the end of the story I will be asking them a question and that they should pay attention and prepare their answer. For example, with the book, Churchill's Tale of Tails, Churchill the pig has lost his tail and tries on other animal tails to see how he likes them. The question for my students was, "If you could have an animal tail, what kind would you pick and why?" At the end of the story, students shared their choice. This kind of question or prompt helps students pay more attention to the details of the story. It also serves as a mini-assessment and lets me know if students followed the plot line and can make connections and meaning from what they heard.

Blair Wright Blog #6: Emphasize Shared Reading

   According to Routman, shared reading is an under used component in the teaching of reading. Shared reading is mainly used in kindergarten and first grade classrooms and casually fades away about 2nd grade. Routman however, says that it is needed through high school to help promote and demonstrate what good readers do when they read. Shared reading is a way to promote many aspects all at the same time.
   I remember as a child that my teacher used big books. My teacher would read the story to the class, the class would read a long, she would ask questions, introduce new words, etc. All of these are skills that good readers use when they read and she was teaching them to us all at the same time. As students are learning to read for the first time in kindergarten or 1st grade, this is terrific. I can see why it has faded as students get older. However, after reading this chapter I can see the benefits of using shared reading in the upper grades. Shared reading to me is almost as if you are experiencing the book together as a class, so at any age this would be beneficial to their learning.  It also gives many students who do not read on the same level an opportunity to be on an even playing field with the rest of their classmates. It can also help students to make connections with each other as they talk about the text. The chapter also indicated verbiage students and teachers can use when they are thinking out loud or turning and talking which encourages students to focus on the topic at hand and learn from one another. One of the best parts of shared reading is that it can be done with various types of texts, like poems, chapter books, and even nonfiction books. I agree that shared reading is an important component in reading that we cannot leave out.

Stacy Crump-Routman Chapter 4 --"A Sense of Urgency"

     This chapter, " Teach With a Sense of Urgency," speaks to our calling. Teachers enter this profession with an urgent fervor to create wonderful lessons and move their students to the top of the class. The author speaks directly to the teaching of reading. Teachers create readers by providing opportunities, guidance, and an exposure to a literate world. Teachers base lessons on what kids need instead of a purchased learning curriculum. In the optimal learning model, the teacher, first, models and demonstrates how to perform the given task. In the shared demonstration phase, the teacher is still the leader but encourages the students to participate and respond. In the Guided Practice phase, students begin to take charge of their own learning. The teacher is near with support and encouragement. During the independent practice phase, the learners have developed a sense of confidence and are ready to apply the skill on their own. I like this strategy for all subject areas. I feel like this is how I introduce skills in my math class. We start with teacher modeling, explaining, and discussion. We then move to small group practice. Then to partner practice. Finally, to individual practice. I try to be nearby for feedback and encouragement while at the same time trying to foster independence. I really think this is a good teaching model for all subjects.

Dawn Mitchell's March/April Blog Post "Examine Guided Reading" Routman Chapter 10

Dawn Mitchell's Examine Guided Reading Chapter 10

During the month of February we are learning about Literacy Development.   In both our choice and our required readings this month educational researchers explain the different ways our students grow and develop as readers and writers and their articles provide us with insight and suggestions in how we can best support and foster the literacy growth of our students. 

In March’s blendspace you will find a variety of resources we’ve included for you including the Notes/Thinking chart from Jennifer Serravallo’s Reading Strategies professional development text to use as you navigate through making connections with the four readings from this month.  Also included is the ATLAS Looking at Data protocol that we introduced to you to help analyze authentic student assessment data that can help you determine where students are as readers and writers and what support they need to grow next.   You will also find in our blendspace this month’s tech tool to take called storybird (www.storybird.com) which is a great web 2.0 resource for student publishing of their own books as well as poems. 

This month for my blog post, I have chosen to read chapter 10 “Examine Guided Reading” from Routman’s Reading Essentials for many reasons.  First, this is a classroom structure that many teachers I have the honor of working with utilize in various grade levels in multiple ways and for multiple purposes so I wanted to find out some basic criteria for effective guided reading that could provide a foundational basis for us as a whole for guided reading. 

Second, this is a classroom structure that I have had experience with as a fourth grade teacher and appreciated the structure it provided to work with a small group of students around a shared text to provide support that scaffolded students towards independence, and I wanted to expand my knowledge base.  Second

To fulfill my first purpose for reading I discovered that Atwell’s holistic definition of guided reading is, “…most often defined as meeting with a small group of students and guiding and supporting them through a manageable text.  Students are grouped with others at a similar reading level and supported to use effective reading strategies.  Often, there are “before, during, and after” activities and discussion in which students talk about, think about, and read through the text.” (page 150) Routman goes on to explain that her view of guided reading is broader and can be any context in which the teacher guides one or more students through some aspect of the reading process. 

To fulfill my first purpose for reading to grow myself as an educator I decided to use Seravallo’s Notes/Thinking Chart to hold what I learned from Routman and what it compelled me to think about.

Notes – What Routman Says	Thinking – My Thoughts
“Be Cautious About How You Group Children.”  Routman says “Once students are already reading, grouping students so narrowly is unnecessary…Personally, I am no longer comfortable ability grouping beyond second grade.  I worry about the message such grouping sends to students – a message that they are somehow less capable.  If you group by   ability, make sure you keep it short (ten to fifteen minutes) and provide daily opportunities for more varied groups – whole-class shared reading, heterogeneous small groups, partner reading, independent reading.	I agree with this thought 100%.  I have ethical issues with ability grouping students in the same homogenous group all year long.  I have seen how this unintentionally labels students and in doing so, limits what instruction we provide and what they can do. I do appreciate the suggestions Routman provides in her section on opportunities for flexible grouping and have tried several of her suggestions. (page 153) *literature circles *Re-reading and discussing a story with a group *Reading with a partner *Reading a small chunk or passage from a *book with a group during whole class interactive reading. *Engaging in reciprocal teaching *Rereading part of a familiar text as Readers Theatre.
“Be sure the texts you use are of the highest quality.  Your guided reading lesson will only be as good as the text you use.” (page 154) “Because the quality of books varies widely, be sure you carefully examine the ones you use for guided reading…For older students, put more emphasis on interest than on levels.  Once a student is a competent reader, you don’t have to worry so much about exact levels.”	YAASSSS!  Preach it Routman!  Too many times we provide students with mass produced “leveled readers” that are boring, have poorly done illustrations, and are not interesting enough to provoke discussions and extended thinking.  I loved the checklist Routman provides on page 155 to identify qualities of an excellent test for guided reading.
“…you don’t need to meet with every group every day…Once students are independent readers at their grade level, you will not need to see them every day in guided reading group:  two or three days a week is sufficient, especially if you have a strong shared reading program and a well-monitored independent reading program.	This is reassuring to here because I have found that many times I need to adjust my structures depending on my students’ needs and what the data tells me they need.  For example, there have been times students’ needed an extended independent reading block because they were “into” their books and we’d extended stamina and I was conferencing with students.  There’ve also been times when we were in a really in the zone with writing workshop and I needed to spend longer one or two days a week to maximize student motivation for the task and to make progress with their student driven products.  Knowing that consistency that you meet with students takes priority over consistency when you meet with students matches what works for me in my practice.
“Make Time for Independent Reading Your First Priority…Be consistent about reading aloud, maintain a daily (monitored) independent reading program, and implement shared reading and guided reading flexibly as contexts for demonstrations, strategies, and practice.” (page 158)	Yes!  I definitely appreciate this clarifier in this chapter.  Everything I’ve read points to independent reading of choice texts is the number one factor in promoting reading growth.  I know firsthand when implementing a new structure it can take over and dominate your literacy block crowding out any time for other equally or even more meaningful structures.  Independent reading and writing are the priority.  Guided reading supplements this.
“Keeping your focus on learner-centered reading instead of on group-centered reading enables you to make the best teaching decisions for your students.  Once again, you teach students, not programs.  Decide first what it is you want and need to teach and then what the best contexts are for teaching to ensure students are learning and enjoying learning to read.” (Page 160)	This needs to be a bill board…A giant poster…A commercial… A required public service announcement that plays repeatedly on all airwaves…Seriously I love me some Regie Routman! #makethebestteachingdecisionsforyourstudents
“Modeling exactly what we expect students to do must start the first day they enter our classroom.  When we have established a classroom where we have bonded with our students and treat them respectfully, they return that respect… Expect students to manage their own behavior. My single best piece of advice is to ignore distracting behavior. Do not intervene unless it’s an emergency.  You are letting students know that the teaching you are about to do is critically important and that they are now in charge.”	Can anyone say Harry Wong?  I had major flashbacks to The First Days of School Text but Routman and Wong and Marsha Tate along with a host of other experts in promoting independent behaviors in students suggest that we must teach students what we expect and showing, not just telling is effective in helping to create consistency in our classroom procedures and routines.  Excellent anchor chart ideas that also reminded me of the suggestions for I-Charts from the authors of The Daily Five on page 164 and 165.
“If the first question we ask students after reading is, “What words did you have difficulty with?” we are giving them the message that reading is about getting the words right.  I always ask first – even with nonreaders – “Tell me about what you just read” so students always know we read for understanding.” (page 167)	Yes! Reading = Meaning We must not reduce our reading instruction to isolated word de-coding, skill and drill, or fact/recall questions.  We read to learn, to know, to grow.
“Don’t jump right in when a child makes an error.  Students need opportunities to problem-solve in order to learn to monitor and correct themselves.” (page 174)	I believe in this whole-heartedly but find that at times I struggle controlling my first impulse to jump in and help students.  I am not helping them when I am doing the work for them.  I am actually sending the message to them that I don’t think they can do it themselves.  I want to build capacity not limit it.
“Underlying all purposes for reading is the question, “How is what I am doing today going to help students become more independent readers?” (page 168)	Yep!  That is the ultimate driving essential question for us as reading teachers.  How are we growing readers into leaders?
*Excerpts From Guided Reading Groups from page 175-182	Must Keep for Future Reference – These transcripts of actual guided reading lessons are a great resource for any teacher, myself included when planning to implement guided reading with their grade level.

Thanks Regie Routman for the wonderful suggestions and advice.  Thanks to Jenniffer Serravallo or the great structure that helped me hold my thinking.

Sincerely,

Dawn

Sharon Doyle Blog #7 - February: Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

     As we complete the coaching template, it seems that one of my challenges is not securing books for my classroom, but to attempt to organize, store and actually make usable the extensive library that 30 years of teaching as a book lover. Literally, 1/4 of my storage room is housing books from all disciplines that vary in level providing a treasure trove of materials as a basis of building integrated lessons for all grade levels.  Many are read alouds I have collected with multiple copies of those that tended to disappear when they were on my classroom shelves.  There are also 3 bookshelves in my room and some of those familiar red buckets scattered throughout the room. As Kelli has agreed to help me take on the project, I am looking to Routman for words of advice.
     I agree with Routman that availability of reading materials definitely impact children't literacy development.  They must have access with ease to books of interest.  I often have students ask me if a book I read aloud in class can be found in the library. They want to reread a book I used in class or examine the pictures more closely, etc.  Also, students do perceive from us that which we consider important and of value to us personally.  When students ask where my books came from and I tell them I purchased them at a book store or online, they perceive that I consider books important in my life.  While we can say this, students do recognize the fact that even their parents spend money on things they perceive to be of value to them.  Also, my books are books for reading, not taking tests and somehow I hope students understand that reading for pleasure is not only a learning experience, but also does not always have to be measured by a test.  My books live in a test-free zone, hopefully sparking interest for reading's sake alone.  I also use my books as a basis for building my music lessons supporting the idea of book talks or purpose for reading helps to develop positive attitudes about reading.
     After reading Chapter 5, I find that perhaps my approach will be to build a book nook in the music room that rotates the books periodically in and out of the area.  While my issue right now is getting the numerous books organized, I have also discovered many additions lately due to the discovery of penny books.  Amazon offers used books that start at .01 cents with a 3.99 shipping.  While the shipping is high, at least the book was essentially free rather than the bookstore prices.
     I am not interested in leveling my books, as I believe when given choice and taught how to select books, students do select what they can read.  Also, I don't feel that I have a right to limit a child's reading to only what is considered their level- this is too limiting and again, my books are for interest and pleasure, not teaching reading explicitly, but supporting reading as a way of life.  Once the organization part is completed, I love the ideas put forth by Routman that includes the "Top Ten List" and the idea of book talks.Initially, I do think I will adopt the book basket idea although the rain gutters and some of the other ideas put forth in the chapter are appealing.
     Another idea that comes to mind is the need for bookmarks.  I have many of these, but plan to make some out of cardstock that allow the students to place their name and page number and house them in the 'current reading' classroom basket.  This will allow more than one student to read the same book while in class and avoid students losing the place of a classmate.

Kelly Schachner Blog #7: Routman Chapter 7

How I wish that I would have read this chapter sooner! I already use informal reading conferences to monitor and guide my readers, but after reading this chapter I have a new perspective for how to approach these and the types of questions to be asking. This chapter, and the presentation that Kelli Wolfe shared with me about conferencing, have provided me with the tools I need to have successful conferences. The probing questions for understanding (Fiction and Nonfiction) will help me with discussions during conferences. My problem is that I am not good enough yet at this skill. I ask some questions, but at times I am finding myself asking the same questions to the same students. Varying the conferences according to their strengths and weaknesses will help me and them to gain a clearer understanding of where each student is with their comprehension. Goal setting needs to be done at each conference to hold students and myself accountable for accomplishing the next skill. I think having them keep their current goal on a sticky note and in their book (as a bookmark) will help them to remember what strategy they are using and to continuously apply it.

I love the phrase "Teach/Learn Intentionally". I think I need a poster of this on my wall as a reminder of the talking and explaining that is required to teach students how to be better readers. Below the words "Teach/Learn Intentionally", I would list various topics like: "Reread when something doesn't make sense.", "Think about what you are reading and what is happening.", "Think about why characters act and behave the way they do.", "Make connections to your life and what you already know to help you understand the story.", Read in your mind. Don't move your lips.", and "Make a picture in your mind to help you understand.", etc. This would keep both the students and myself focused on our immediate goals. I would list those skills on a reading rubric and use that as yet another evaluation tool.

Asking myself important questions about what and how I teach, and examining those answers carefully, will lead me to the next phase of learning and improving my teaching.

Maggie Delaney Jan/Feb Blog 6

In Routmans book, Reading Essentials, Chapter 6 is all about Independent Reading...yay!!!  Students need to do more reading...bottom line!  Interestingly, when an independent reading component is added, test scores go up.  The evidence is clear, students need to spend much of their time actually reading!  However, this chapter does a great job helping us teachers understand that not all students will automatically improve their reading just because we give them time to read.  We, as teachers, have to make sure their books are not too difficult, that they are understanding what they are reading, and we have to provide progress monitoring.

I liked how Routman showed the difference between Independent Reading and Sustained Silent Reading in a chart form.

One aspect of Independent Reading that Routman focuses on is Partner Reading.  This is hard for me to instill in my classroom due to the high level of socialization among my students.  This is definitely an area that I tend to "cut out" because of all the fake reading that can come along with it.  However, I now see the importance of it and will definitely implement some of the guidelines listed into my Independent Reading time.

And lastly, I really connected with the part about book choice.  "Don't underestimate the importance of choice."  Choice has to be real and when it is, it can be so powerful in turning students onto reading.  I found it interesting that in the study of middle school students, the students preferred independent reading and teacher read-alouds above most other activities.  Middle school students and read-alouds??!!  Wow!!  That just goes to show how powerful good reading (and the right reading and set up) can be!!

Angelica Guevara Jan./Feb. Blog #6 CHAPTER 8: TEACH COMPREHENSION

Routman Chapter 8

In this Chapter Routman talks about how important it is to teach comprehension as early as preschool/kindergarten. She expresses her concern about teaching reading and emphasizing on fluency, automaticity, and word recall and not giving comprehension the same importance during the early school years. She says that has lead the children to focus on word recall not comprehension. That reflects their summarized form of retelling a story instead of teaching children to become critical thinkers which can allow the children to dig deeper into the meaning of the character’s behaviors and plots of the literature they read. 

I look at all these chapters and look at them from two points of views, the mom and the teacher in me. My two boys are 3 and 5 years old. I have been reading to them since before they were born. We have reading time every night and they love to have books read to them and love to discuss them during and after story time. The more the years go by the more detailed their questions, discussions and retelling skills become. As a mom, I can vouch for the importance of early literature comprehension.

Now, as a teacher I can tell who is read to and likes to read at home. I get so much out of my shared reading time. I can tell who is paying attention, who is really listening, who can sit still for 5 to 15 minutes etc. 50% of my shared reading time is used to read, but the other 50% I use to discuss and teach the children how to become critical thinkers in order to increase their reading comprehension. I ask a lot of questions while I read to them. I ask simple “right-there-in-the-text questions, prediction questions, and in depth comprehension questions. Routman says we need to ask and demonstrate how to ask questions that encourage in-depth reading. This year I have seen how much my students have learned from this strategy. Their questions and answers are now more significant in comparison to the first months of school.  Their confidence in answering is shown in their faces and their verbal responses. They compete to answer questions and give details to their answers by stating facts previously read or discussed.

I personally feel that the stronger the children’s literature comprehension is, the more they will enjoy reading.  I loved this chapter. One of my favorite parts of this chapter is when Routman advices us to “Use texts that are easy enough and meaningful enough to support comprehension.” It is our responsibility as educators to guide children to choose a book they will enjoy, a book that will allow them to grow as readers, critical thinkers, and maybe even future authors.

Jennifer Novak Jan/Feb Blog Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of Reading Essentials¸ the author explains the importance of independent reading time in the classroom.  The chapter explains how student need to do more reading in order to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. Increasing the amount of reading will impact their achievement.   However, the author cautions that just because the student is allotted more time to reading independently, the student may not be comprehending what they are reading. 

          I enjoyed reading the part about struggling readers because I do teach many readers who have IEP in Reading and several that struggle in reading.  It is often hard to implement independent reading because many of my students still need help decoding words.  However, we still do practice independent reading whether it be a self-selected book or our Basal reading textbook.  The author explains that struggling readers need more time to read with lower level books and practice and have the opportunity to read authentic texts.

When the author suggested that there is a problem with computerized reading-incentive programs, I could completely relate.  Though technology is the new way of life, how well does the technology assess the children’s reading? 

          The part of this chapter I will take with me is “Just-Right” Book for Grade 1.  I loved how it only gave 3 bullets.  Those 3 bullets are very easy for a 1^st grader to understand.  I will make a poster of this in my reading center for students to see.