Sarah McClure - October Blog - Miller (2013), Section I-Not This But That: No More Independent Reading Without Support
The title of the first section of this chapter is the story of a teacher's life, "Finding the Time". Our days are packed full with a myriad of activities. I am very grateful however, to be employed by a school and district that recognizes the importance of protecting a reading block within the school day. On our grade level we have spent the last few years teaching reading class with a reading workshop model. Almost every day my students have at least 30 minutes of time to read during our block. During this time they read books that they have chosen. Some days the students are free to just read. Other days they have a task to complete that is related to the mini lesson of the day. This is a work in progress and our team is always sharing ideas of what is working well and what could have gone better. This however, is one of the aspects of teaching that I love. I love collaborating with my team all of whom I respect very much. I love that each day I get another chance to build on what I did the day before. I love that every day is different. I love that each day is a new opportunity to improve on my methods of reaching my students. I know that I can learn a lot more about how to use the reading block more effectively. The last section of the chapter, "More Than Just DEAR or Sustained Silent Reading", struck a chord with me. Just finding the time is not enough. "For students to do more than race through lots of books, they need a teacher to show them what behaviors they need to practice as they read, and the teacher needs opportunities to monitor and give feedback on how students are using those behaviors." pg. 8 I look forward to learning more about the best and most effective ways to have the most purposeful silent reading time possible.
Sarah, I know that you and your coworkers took the lead a few years ago as you incorporated more voice and choice into your classrooms. As you continue to reflect and analyse I know your students will reap many benefits.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate so much the ways that you and your colleagues not only work together, but work together to provide your students with an effective model of reading workshop that provides them with consistent time every day to read independently books of their choice. I also appreciate how you are doing more than just giving them time to read but you are also providing them with support for their reading through your instruction and your conferencing. Sincerely, Dawn