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
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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.
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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?
When I started creating Student Displays of Work, I have to be honest that I did not see their value. I thought they were just glorified bulletin boards, but I decided to suspend my belief and give them a try. I ended up learning from the experience. A quality Display of Student Work can have multiple purposes and can have a positive effect on your classroom and student learning. Give them a try... I was glad when I did... so were my students.
ReplyDeleteIndepent Reading will be encouraged in my classroom by providing opportunities for students to read and journal about what a they are reading. When possible I will be using novels to enrich the curriculm. Student recognition for their efforts towards reaching their reading goal will continue to be a team priority.
ReplyDeleteIndependent reading truly encompasses and embodies the ideal of lifelong learning. There is no way of life that reading does not inform, intrigue, nor enrich. It is our priority as educators, in all content areas, to encourage the process of Independent Reading.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded last week when Dr. Dorn visited us about the importance of volume in reading. Volume matters-- all students have to read everyday. According to Allington kids who struggle need to double and triple the amount of time they read. Having all hands on deck to tackle independent reading will make a huge difference at Wilson.
ReplyDeleteIndependent reading is one of the most valuable skills that students can acquire. It is part of the foundation of skills that they will use for the rest of their lives and is vital to their continuing educational success.
ReplyDeleteSetting aside the same time everyday for reading is very important...and I think students even miss not having this opportunity on Mondays during independent reading! I encourage independent reading in my classroom when students have extra time (when assignments or quizzes are completed). I have even been approached several times by students just to ask me if it's okay that they read when they're done. Students are definitely 'buying in' and it's important that we continue to encourage them to not only reach their goals, but surpass them, if possible.
ReplyDeleteIt is so exciting to see how big of a jump our students have made in their reading volume this year! Many of mine are starting to pass their books around to friends in Homeroom. This is great since it adds that social component to reading that can be missing but that is so important at this age.
ReplyDeleteThis really is exciting! Kids have such a huge impact on one another. They should be commended for being the change at Wilson. Hopefully it will continue to be contagious!
DeleteI agree with the comments about volume. I have seen a couple of students who at the start of the year were having trouble keeping pace with the homeroom guidelines, but they are now meeting/exceeding them. I have a few students who feel overwhelmed by the deficit of pages they have accrued, but I think that the start of new trimester will give all students a chance to start fresh on their page counts, which will hopefully mean an uptick in reading. Practice practice practice!
ReplyDeleteThe change in independent reading was a concern of mine this year. I was worried that they would not be able to handle the huge jump in the numbers or meet the expectations. I have been so surprised with how successful the kids have been with reading a large amount of pages and journaling. They have been challenging themselves and recommending books to other students in the room. They understand the expectations and I feel the next two trimesters they will continue to set high goals that are attainable. As for me, I will continue challenging them and their goals, asking questions, listening to their recommendations, and encouraging them to continue what they are already doing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, Mandy. I have had a few students that struggled with the goal and seemed overwhelmed with it at first. It is interesting to see how they have pushed themselves throughout the trimester. What has motivated them the most is seeing and hearing other students talking about their books and reaching those high goals. Students are really seeing our school-wide message that reading is important!
DeleteI once had a coach tell me that practice makes permanent, not perfect. If you don't practice, you will never get better.
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised at how little resistance we got from most students as a whole when we implemented our new goals. Of course, there were a few that grumbled but overall we have had them actually meeting the goal too. It was time to implement a new goal and I am I really like how most students have read a bunch!
ReplyDeleteLike Dr. Plourde, I was at first skeptical and basically uneducated about student displays of work. However, I've really noticed the impact they can have in my classroom. Whenever I put up new displays of work, I always notice my students looking at them and commenting on them. I want to strive to continue to make my student displays of work better, especially by making them informative so my students can learn from them. I'm making a conscious effort to point them out and to refer to them in order to help with this. I also want to help my students become better at responding to their reading. I hope to create a student display of responses to independent reading in my classroom in order to up students' pride in their work and to encourage everyone to do better.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Julie, I want to improve the work displays I currently have in my classroom! With a purposeful independent reading section in my classroom, students can refer to book talk forms in which students have incorporated deep thinking and mindful reflection or find ways to monitor their own reading.
DeleteI find that when I offer students the choice of independent reading or something else, I am very impressed with the number of students that will pull a book out of their bag and silently read. I think the culture we have established at Wilson will help in our strive to make the cliche I use in my class "practice does not make perfect; practice makes improvement!" The more practice we have with our reading, the bigger our improvement will be!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jason, that at first the value of this practice escaped me. I looked at it as one more thing to do. Once I gave it chance,it helped me not only lift kids, but stay accountable to what I needed to make sure I was teaching. I could see direct outcomes of my teaching and the connection to GLE's/CCSS.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Wendy. Student work displays hold me accountable as well as the students. I am constantly referring to my display as I work with small groups of students and in conferences. I encourage students to walk up to the display and use it as a resource and recognize a student publicly if they walk up and use it.
DeleteI agree with Jason, student work being displayed does have a positive impact on classroom environment. An example of this being a powerful tool, I had a very tough class of students who had no interest in my class and/or school; after I displayed their work in the classroom the dynamics of classroom changed in very positive way. Students started to feel a since of ownership and pride to be part of my class.
ReplyDeleteIndependent reading will ensure that our students have the tools to educate themselves throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Mandy! Even some of my 6th graders knew at the start of the year that in previous years..."a book was a book." I was worried about them meeting the expectation, but they aren't having trouble at all. It is awesome to see these kiddos reading so much!
ReplyDeleteIndependent reading during homeroom from beginning to end of class has become the expectation and norm that all students in my homeroom have jumped on board with this year. I've noticed that for some of my students who struggle with reading tests or finishing books, that doing book summaries/talks at the end of homeroom(or at least on Fridays) has increased their success and progress towards reading goals.
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