Miller Section 2:Why not? What
works?
I love
the statistics of the 5th graders that this chapter provides for us
to see that IR does increase test scores. In fact, I may share this information
with my students! I agree with the chapter that we need to provide TIME in the
classroom to read and allow students to choose what they are reading. I am
thankful for the new books that were donated to our classrooms because my
students were very interesting (and still are) in reading those books. As a
young, 2nd year, teacher, my classroom library could use a little
updating. I have a lot of older books and students are not interested in the same
old books. I have tried switching books out that are in my closet and “refreshing”
my library in order to get them to become more interested and motivated to
read.
Also, 5th
grade teachers assign “20 minutes of reading” for homework each night. I feel
that students may feel “forced” to read and that this is not reading for “pleasure”.
I also agree that students need explicit instruction about what, why and how to
read! If students can understand WHY they need to read, they may become more
motivated to do so.
As I
stated in my previous post (on Section 1), I try to make it a point to refer
back to the list I have from the beginning of the year. I took a reading
interest survey and I can use this to point students in the right direction
when choosing another book. I also have a list of the individual student’s
lexile levels that can help me to direct them to reading material that will not
be “too hard” or “too easy”. I try to stress to my students why their lexile
levels are good for them and that they will gain more and understand more when
reading. I do have a lot of students who choose the same types of books (such
as comic strips) and I agree that they should be reading different genres of
books and experience in reading a variety of texts. In fact, this is one of the
5th grade standards. Recently, I have gotten my students interesting
in reading not only library books but news articles, etc.
I agree
that the teacher needs to be an active participant in what the students are
reading and helping to engage the students!
Anna, you may want to use this analogy when you talk to your kids about IR and how they need time to read. My friends are teaching their daughter to drive. She passed the permit test and has been reading all the materials, however without actual driving time on the road there is no way she can put into practice anything that she has been told, shown, or read. Also great job in working hard to use their interests and levels to help guide them toward new material!
ReplyDeleteAnna, you nailed it- our students need more time to engage in independent reading and in reading and writing throughout the day for meaningful purposes and in authentic contexts. If it is just for the twenty minute assignment or to complete the worksheet or answer the questions it loses it's purpose and students' lose motivation.
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