How do you become and Independent Reader? How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice! Click the arrow to enjoy jazz and an old muppet skit.

How do you get to be a proficient (even prolific) reader? Practice, practice, practice!  As all musicians and athletes know, practice takes time.  

     That’s why time should be set aside to practice reading as well.  Also, by dedicating long blocks of time to independent reading, students quickly get the idea that reading is important.  Teachers need to show the importance and commitment to independent reading.  This is done through a clear and specific student work display.  An excellent example can be found in the 6th grade hallway created by two math teachers.  You can clearly see the correlation to our ownership look for:  

• Students are able to make the right choices and can take responsibility to communicate their choices.  Students show accountability for their own learning.
• Student work display in classroom or hallway includes rubrics and feedback from teacher/student
• Student uses display to help self-regulate or as a tool to help in their learning

6th Grade Student Work Display

     Children and young adults learn to read and write by having meaningful, authentic reading and writing experiences and by getting support from more experienced individuals. In order for students to become expert readers and writers, they must have time to practice and apply what they are learning - reading and writing. Therefore, it is essential that the literacy-centered classroom provide time for students to read independently in self-selected books and to engage in self-initiated writing.  Read through this response.  Ask yourself is this the level of rigor I'm asking of my students regularly?  Students can communicate in meaningful ways that incorporate critical thinking skills with the process and product in a variety of groupings. Use this type of response to work with kids to develop critical thinking skills with your students.

8th grade independent reading reponse

     Independent reading builds background knowledge, or schema. Another extremely well-established research finding is that students' reading ability is dramatically influenced by the amount of interrelated information (schema) they have about the topic about which they are reading (Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Ausubel & Robinson, 1969; Bartlett, 1932). By reading widely, students are exposed to diverse topics and information which they can then use in future reading.  If we are to make the difference we expect to realize in February it will take the 100% commitment by all of you.  Independent reading will make a difference.  Check the number of students making minimal competency at this point in the school year and work with your team to improve the percentage.  All must realize that our commitment to this initiative will make a difference in the achievement of children at Wilson.

     Aside from higher test scores and ensuring that students read something everyday, there is an overarching benefit of independent reading.  And that is the fact that independent reading lays the foundation for becoming enthusiastic lifelong readers, not simply school time readers. 

In your response this week to the blog; ask yourself are you 100% committed to independent reading?  

What will you do?

"Unmasking" the Teaching and Learning Process

In the spirit of the political season, take a moment to watch this short video on Big Bird:)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/mCpQW-k9sdw

Planning. Implementation. Formative Assessment. Results. Student Work. Self-Reflection.

Each of these is critical. How do we as educators begin to "unmask" the complex world of teaching and learning?

As you know we have spent the last week or so focusing on three of these --- planning, student work and self-reflection. We will continue to work on each of these. Quality Plans lead to better results. Results can be measured through Student Work. And each of the first five can be improved through Self-Reflection.

As you plan consider using the "Backward Planning Tool" that has been created and provided to you. By examining your students' work, you will be better able to judge the effectiveness of your teaching. And remember: through analysis and self-reflection you can improve your practice. In addition, as we did during our PLC's on Friday, when self-reflecting it will be important to analyze your plans and student results against the four componenets of our Engagement Look Fors --- On-task, Authentic, Ownership, and Rigor.

By using the Backward Planning Tool and our Look Fors, we can consistently improve our instruction and our results. This work is what we continue to do at our Monday PD and during our PLC's. Please, bring your current lesson plans to this Mondays PD as we will be providing time to engage in this process.

What part of the process have you found to be the most effective so far?