Angelica Guevara September Blog #1 Miller and Moss Section 1

Miller and Moss Section 1

“Reading together creates community” (Miller and Moss). When I read to my students we engage in conversation in order for the students to dig deeper into the meaning of the text. It allows dialogue for the students and increases language ability. The children sometimes make connections about the literature and their life experiences which makes the story relatable to them. They like that.

I have learned so much from my students during reading time. The learning process can go anywhere from a few minutes to a whole reading time session.  In the beginning of the school year teachers need to set standards of what is expected during reading time.  Their role as readers, their expected behavior and their goals have to be very clear. Miller and Moss suggest “For students to do more than just race through lots of books, they need a teacher to show them what behaviors they need to practice as they read, and the teacher needs opportunities to monitor and give feedback on how students are using those behaviors.” This year I have learned to allow the children to predict where a chapter book story is going because it excites them. I tell them to give me an explanation not just a guess as to why they feel their prediction might be correct by using fact they have discussed in their group. Children who do not know how to read and those who do not like it need to be guided into realizing that reading is much more than just reading “words.” These students need to really understand that a successful reader reads for meaning. Reading in a community allows for conferencing, discussions, predictions, and deeper understanding. No More Independence Reading Without Support has so many good points as to how we as educators need to allow the students to read independently while we the teachers help them by guiding them into a deeper literacy engaged experience.