Spiller Gregory's December Post

 Miller's Section 2 " Why Not? What Works?"

The argument for Independent Reading (IR) seems to center around limited instructional time and management of IR with different reading levels in the same classroom.  However, the author states that studies prove the theory that time spent reading independently in school translates to positive academic performance.  Miller then shows us  that the Common Core State Standards explicitly call for students to "read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently". Whereas the standards do not state that IR must occur during the school day, it does make Ir a requirement at all grad levels.  So, that leads us into best practices for effective IR.  Students need to be able to choose material of their own interests, have classroom time to read, have access to a variety of texts, to be able to talk about what they are reading, to have an environment in which they are able to spend much time daily reading, and to have teacher monitoring, support, instruction about the reading process, and assessment.  I found this article to be very beneficial  as it focused on IR activities, such as small-group instruction.  This was found to be particularly beneficial for striving readers as they do need more support than above average and average readers.  I also think that having students to respond/reflect in the small groups about what they are reading really positively affects student comprehension.