"No More Independent Reading Without Support," Section 1: NOT THIS. Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough To Support Independent Reading? Miller, Debbie.
I found this section particularly enlightening, I know that I am not as supportive as I should be while my students are reading independently. A lot of times I OVERESTIMATE what my students are capable of and may give them too much responsibility with reading responsibly. I know that is good when students are reading on their own, but as their teacher I have to be more conscious of if students are taking advantage of reading opportunities,or just appearing to be actively engaged. I have to be more involved in what my students are reading to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. I found the DEAR strategy interesting, it's something that I have never heard of before, but I think that it is something that would be worth a try. Although Miller wasn't on board with this strategy, I think there are ways that it could work. If the class is reading a novel study together, students could read the same chapter independently and then have a quiz at the end to test comprehension. I think the real problem would occur with the students who have a hard time concentrating, and not pay attention to what they are reading. In a perfect world, there would be time in the day for me to add in more independent reading with me actually being able to go around and check in and conference with each student as they read to make sure they are staying on task and comprehending. However, as Miller pointed out there is a lot of time wasted throughout the day that usually makes this an impossible task to accomplish. I have realized a few things I could do to help my students become better readers throughout the year. I need to be more aware of the books they are reading so that I can ask them questions about what they are reading so I can see more of what their strengths and weaknesses are. I also need to be more actively involved and be sure to model for them better ways to read independently. Hopefully by the end of the year, I will be able to see positive changes in my students reading and comprehension skills from what I have learned through this section.
Bennie, I really like the reflection you have on your teaching practices. I too believe that you will see positive changes in your students in their reading and comprehension skills. Most of that will come from the fact that you are reflecting on your instructional practice. Once we take the time to look from the outside in, we can start to figure out what our students really need from us. One way to know more about the books they are reading is to take some time when you sit and conference with them to have them summarize, retell parts, and discuss their favorite portions of a book to the best of their ability.
ReplyDeleteHi Bennie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the author up on her challenge to critically reflect on our schedules to see how we are spending our time with our students and what areas we can tweak/adjust/restructure in order to provide students with meaningful time to read, write, and think. While I agree with you and Miller that the purpose behind DEAR and SSR are good, they are not enough in providing our students with support and feedback for what and how they are reading. You mentioned how if we added support through guided reading and follow up with conferencing we could improve the effectiveness of student independent reading. I agree! Thank you! Dawn