Oh! Finding the time! That is the biggest hurdle I have as a
teacher…fitting everything in. As I read
“Not This!” by Debbie Miller I was thinking about my daily routine with my
first graders. The everyday routines of
taking lunch counts, collecting papers and transitioning from one activity to
the next can take up so much time. And I wonder where the time goes! I find myself saying “If only I could have a
couple more hours, maybe then I could get everything accomplished that I set to
teach my students today.” Incorporating the 7 Habits in our school has brought
around the discussion of “the big rocks” in our life and also our school
day. Big Rocks in my classroom are the
most important things that my class and I are trying to accomplish. So when I
think about making time in the school day for reading workshop, I think to
myself..that is a big rock. Miller states “The more opportunities we can give
children to read, the better.”
As I plan my day in my classroom, I realize that teaching
weather for the day and counting how many days in school is taking some of the time
away that we could be utilizing for reading workshop. In addition to making time for independent reading
and conferencing, I realize that it is important for me to model reading practices
to my students. This could be done
through mini lessons at the beginning of reading workshop or during
conferencing with students individually. When reading this chapter, I am
brought to the realization that I am not the only teacher who feels the
pressure of time in the classroom. However, I will begin to manage the time in
my classroom more wisely so I can utilize reading workshop to reach all of my
students’ needs.
I just love this book. If you choose to read on, you will find many helpful ways to implement a quality independent reading time with your students.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Rhiannon. Finding time is the biggest challenge. It has been interesting trying to get everything in. The kids really enjoy that independent reading time though!
ReplyDeleteHI Rhiannon,
ReplyDeleteI love how you shared that reading workshop for you is a "big rock." I agree! I also appreciate how you took Miller up on her challenge to closely evaluate your schedule and your structures and practices to determine which areas could be revised/tweaked/or eliminated in order to make time for meaningful opportunities for our students to independently read and write. You mentioned how you wanted to work to maximize your students' time during reading workshop so that there was independent reading and conferencing. Sincerely, Dawn