While reading Miller’s Section 1 “Not
This”, I found myself thinking about all of the times that my class could “drop
everything and read”. As an ELA teacher and Science teacher, I try to tie in
reading materials for most of my lessons, but I can be guilty of not giving
much time for “independent reading” for pleasure only. I have made a point to
try to find out what my students like to read and I have written down not only
their lexile levels, but their reading interests. I took a reading interest
survey for my students at the beginning of the year and I have that ready to
pull.
I try
to allow time at the beginning of the day and at the very end of the day
SPECIFICALLY for independent reading. Sadly, most of my students would rather
play on the laptops instead of read and continuously ask me. For this reason, I
have made it a point to conference with my students again about what they are
reading. I help my students pick out books and if they do not see one they
like, I allow them to write down their interests so that they may take that to
the library.
I think
that our reading/language arts standards have become overwhelming for teachers
and I agree that we spend a lot of time teaching our students the skills but
not actually allowing them to read. One thing that is challenging for teachers,
however, is getting our students to WANT to read. They need the extra push and
motivation to read. It’s almost as if you have to hold students accountable for
what they read in order to actually get them to read. Sadly, I know that most
of my students will not read when they are at home. In that case, it can be a
lot of pressure to get the students to read at school.
While I
am not a worksheet or workbook fan, I do plan engaging ELA and Science
activities that are hands on. It is challenging to get students to just sit and
read sometimes. I do think it is possible, but I agree with Miller that
sometimes you just have to find the time AND support/motivate your students.
Ah fifth grade! The grade where yes laptops are waaaaayyy cooler than most other things! You may want to try putting in a social aspect to your independent reading. They might be more apt to read if they knew they would be sharing with a peer or participating in a book talk.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna,
ReplyDeleteI am thankful that you agree with the importance of independent reading and work to prioritize that in your classroom. I also appreciate the focus you have on integrating ELA into science and social studies. While the ELA standards (especially the way they have changed so often recently) can be overwhelming, when we think about the context of implementing them in authentic structures such as independent reading and in integrated learning in science and social studies we see how reading and writing opportunities exist throughout the day - not just in one section of the schedule.