Ashley Skipper's Blog Post # 5: Routman's Ch. 6 Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading

Chapter 6 was a great followup to the chapter I read last month about setting up a classroom library.  I especially enjoyed reading this chapter because this is something I started to really try to implement in my classroom last year with a small group of readers.  I thought the chart that shows the difference between sustained silent reading and independent reading time was so essential in helping me understand exactly what independent reading should look like.  I have done the sustained silent reading model for many years but just really started giving independent reading a try last year.  I found that planning and monitoring it was key in helping it be successful with my students.  One point in the chapter that was good was that you need to have your classroom library organized well so that students can chose books that they want to read, that are also on their level. I also found that the amount of time you should give beginner or struggling readers to practice independent reading was more than good readers.  This an area I definitely need to spend more planning and monitoring to make this happen in my classroom.  I have always found it hard to get beginner  readers to spend time on independent reading because I didn't know how to plan or model it correctly for them because I felt that they couldn't do it since they couldn't read.  The last point in the chapter about not underestimate the importance of choice was perfect because I feel that the way I organized my classroom library last year was efficient for making sure students had books that they could read but was also very limiting to what students could chose from because I only allowed them to chose books from leveled baskets.  I saw the frustration through most of my students that wanted to read books from the other baskets.  I think that organizing your library is important but maybe organize it in a way that students have more choice over what books they can read.  I have reorganized my books based on topic and my students have really enjoyed being able to look through the whole basket and chose books that they want to read.  This chapter was really helpful to me as I start to plan some independent reading groups for my students later this year!