I tell my students that just like practicing math facts, sports, dance, etc. to become a better reader you have to "practice" read! Students don't improve on merely teaching them strategies. They must have time to practice those strategies in an authentic way. I have always made time for students to read independently. Reading conferencing and journaling help me to monitor progress. Although I always allow time for reading, I find my conferencing is focused on struggling readers the most.
I completely agree with the emphasis this chapter places on student choice. During independent reading students must choose what interest them. As adults we want to read books that appeal to us in some way and students should get that opportunity too. I do think it is important to guide students to different genres and authors, but ultimately it should be their choice. Monitoring independent reading can be as simple as just talking to students. More formal observations can come from reading conferences. Reading logs are sometimes effective. In my experience, reading logs work and don't work. Many times students and parents are not always truthful in filling out the log. For some students though it helps them to keep track of their progress.
Choosing just right books is essential to any independent reading program. If the books are to easy students to grow and if they are to difficult students are not really reading. Our librarian does a great job of teaching how to choose books as well as helping student to select books. What I learned from this chapter is how important independent reading is but accountability and choice are crucial elements in reading instruction. I loved the results from the middle school students. They said choice and teacher read aloud is the factors that encouraged them to read.
Good words, Karen! I appreciate that you let students choose books that they WANT to read during IR . . . even if they are not necessarily on a student's level. And, I understand what you are saying about Reading Logs. They can be full of information if they are filled out honestly. I used them in the classroom, too, so I could tell if a student was lying about what they were reading. I could also tell from a conference whether a student was being truthful or not.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would caution against is focusing mostly on the struggling readers. Even if a child is reading above grade level, they have areas of growth that could occur if they were given the opportunity. Don't forget about them! Where politics and Science and finance is concerned . . . these kids will be our world changers. We want them to be ALL they can be! :)
Conferences and journals are great ways to monitor progress in meaningful, authentic ways! I like how you say that reading logs "work and don't work." That is so true, exactly for the reasons you mentioned!
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