Sally Gaskins' April Blog-Routman Ch. 9-Emphasize Shared Reading

I have been thinking all year that something was missing from my classroom, but I couldn't put my finger on it. The first line of this chapter gave me my answer. Regie Routman states, "Shared reading is an important missing piece in many reading programs, especially in grade 2 and above." I always used shared reading when I taught first grade, but it has not been part of my day in 2nd grade. In general, there has not been enough “balanced literacy” in my classroom this year. Shared reading, along with guided reading, independent reading, and read-alouds, are at the heart of a successful, engaging literacy program in early childhood, and 2^nd grade should be included in that group.

 

When I taught first grade, I became proficient at teaching most of those elements of balanced literacy, but I was never as comfortable teaching shared reading as I wanted to be.  This chapter is exactly what I need to understand it better and it is now my “handbook” that will not be far from reach when I plan instruction. Regie Routman expertly lays out “A Framework for Shared Reading Aloud for All Grades” on pages 134-137, and then follows it with her helpful “Teacher Talk” to help teachers know exactly what to say to students. The framework explains in detail the teacher’s job versus the students’ role during shared reading, as well as the type(s) of texts to use, the purpose, advantages, and procedures to follow during shared reading. Finally, it gives suggestions for how to evaluate student learning. What a wonderful guide! The last 10 pages of the chapter give blow-by-blow descriptions of shared reading lessons using different genres. Again, this is just what I’ve needed and I can’t wait to try the lessons out on my class.

 

I think to a certain extent there is no right or wrong way to read a book to a captive audience of 7 year olds gathered around you on the carpet. Or, better yet, to have them read it out loud with you. Just exposing them to more books is a wonderful thing, but to be able to get specific and focused with learning objectives that help the students improve comprehension skills or fluency will move them much further along in their learning. I look forward to bringing shared reading back to my classroom as soon as possible, and with this chapter as my guide, I will better understand why I’m doing it and how to do it effectively.

Sarah McClure April Blog Post :

Routman chapter 12 - You Only Have So Much Time

As I read, “The elusive balanced life remains a mirage” Routman pg. 202, I nod in agreement.  It is Friday evening, I have just had my parents arrive from out of town for a weekend visit, and I am blogging about the difficulty of avoiding burn out and keeping life in balance.  The irony does not escape me.  I along with my fellow teachers desire to serve our students with excellence in the classroom.  We desire to serve our families with excellence as well and this is what causes the constant pull on our consciences and all too often exhaustion from our efforts.  Balance is so important, yet so difficult to find.  I appreciate Routman’s attention to this in Reading Essentials.  The chapter includes a lot of realistic and helpful suggestions.  I especially enjoyed the section, Keep Work Meaningful, this is music to my ears.  School should not be boring!  Work should not just fill time!  Everything that I expect my students to complete should have a very meaningful purpose.  My time is valuable and theirs is too.  It is time to trim away the excess busy work and focus on authentic learning.  Meaningful assignments foster engaged students and a meaningful product from them.  I also like the suggestion to make ongoing evaluation a part of every literacy activity.  I agree as well that it is important to continue my own education by engaging in continued professional development and reading professional books.  Possibly my favorite part of this chapter came from the excerpt from Better Than Life by Daniel Pennac.  “If we were to consider love from the point of view of our schedule, who would bother?  Who among us has the time to fall in love?  Yet have you ever seen someone in love not take the time to love?” (Daniel  Pennac)  It is true that we make time for the things that are dear to us.  

Rhiannon Wyatt March/April Post: Routman Chapter 12 “You Only Have So Much Time”

Rhiannon Wyatt   March/April Post: Routman Chapter 12  “You Only Have So Much Time”

This chapter by Routman really appealed to me because it explains exactly how I feel.  Exhausted!  I spend so much time after dismissal time planning and getting ready for the next day that I feel that teaching is taking over my life! Even as I write this my daughter is waiting on me to pick her up from daycare. She asked me this morning, “Mommy, do you have a meeting today?” I responded to her by saying,  “No, I don’t have meeting so I am going to try really hard to come and get you early today”. Oh, it breaks my heart! So pertaining to this, Routman had a lot of good ideas about how to make learning more meaningful for the students which in the same time will help cut down planning time on lessons that are not needed. For example, Routman suggested that a teacher should continually ask herself when planning work for students, “How is this activity helping my students become more independent as readers, writers, and thinkers?”  If it is not, then she should set it aside.  Some ideas that Routman offered in the chapter that I found interesting were to make ongoing evaluation part of every literacy activity, create structures that maximize participation and learning and making morning work sensible and pleasurable. As for ongoing evaluation, I found interest in ideas that the author shared such as taking a few minutes to observe partner reading as well as having a student lead the class in rereading a text during shared reading so I can stand back and observe how students are following along and redirect those that need help. The latter idea sounds very beneficial and I am most sure that I will try that this week.  When Routman wrote about creating structures that maximize participation and learning she referred to simultaneous student led groups, literature conversations, partner reading and shared reading, etc. I have begun to use this structure in my classroom where I demonstrate to the whole class, then have students work in groups while I guide one group.  I am enjoying this structure however I am still working on the tasks that my students are completing independently.  Right now, the tasks change from week to week which adds more planning time for me.  I am hoping to devise a more consistent plan as I learn more.  All of the ideas that Routman shared prove that “authentic reading and writing where the students have some challenge, choice, control and opportunity to collaborate motivates students most”. From what I have observed in my classroom this year with guided reading groups and partner reading, I totally agree with Routman!

Sarah McClure's February Blog Post Routman chapter 8: Teach Comprehension

I loved this chapter.  So often we get lost in the lists and details of strategy, strategy, strategy, but neglect to explain the reason for the strategies in authentic reading.  Students learn all of these strategies but don’t understand why and how to use them.  . “Students don’t automatically comprehend just because they can read the words.” (Routman pg. 121) Reading should be a constant internal conversation between the reader and the text they are reading.  Even in the early years of elementary education it is important to connect reading with comprehension as opposed to just learning sight words.  In fourth grade, as Routman suggests, we teach comprehension through texts the students are reading independently.  We also teach comprehension in conjunction with novel studies.  It is important to not just teach strategies, but to help students understand that proficient readers use them while reading not just to get an answer right on an upcoming assessment, but to better understand and interact with what they are reading.  I agree that it is important to model strategies with students and to share ways that I use strategies in my own free time reading.  I use rereading as a strategy all of the time.  Sharing this with students gives credibility to the strategy.  An integral part of all reading instruction must be ample time to apply the learned strategies in a meaningful way.

Laura Brown's April Blog Post: Routman Chapter 5- Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

       In Chapter 5 of Reading Essentials, Routman states that "classroom libraries are a literacy necessity: they are integral to successful teaching and learning and must become a top priority if our students are to become thriving, engaged readers." Routman discusses how if if a teacher's classroom library is where it should be, that reading achievement will be better. If students have a classroom library that is well organized, well designed, and the students have easy access to the books, the children will read more. It is important to find out what the children are interested in to create the best classroom library. If there are books on topics they enjoy reading about, there will be much more time spent on meaningful reading. 
       The following are specific suggestions Routman has for teachers to create the best classroom library. One suggestion is to have series books available to your students. Similar settings, characters, and content can make books easier to understand. Another suggestion is to find out students' favorite series, authors, or book titles. Teachers should want to create a library their students will actually use. A big classroom library concept that Routman emphasizes is not to focus on leveled books. Even though levels can be a good guide for instructing students, teachers need to make sure they are focus on the students' likes and interests when organizing the library. Another organizational tool that Routman suggests is making sure to have a lot of nonfiction books. Routman states "in truth, students often prefer non fiction." Many teachers assume that students would rather read stories when in reality, students enjoy nonfiction just as much as fiction. Students crave knowledge about real life topics and having many choices of nonfiction books will spark many reading opportunities in your classroom.

RhondaCranford's December Blog Post: Routman (2003) Chapter 3: Share Your Reading Life

In Routman's section "Share Your Reading Life" he stresses the importance of letting the students know you as a reader.  Let them see why you read and that you value reading.  It is also important for young readers to know that adults read for a variety of reasons and that the genre of what they are reading changes.  I did ask my students earlier in the year why we read and some said to learn more and others said for fun.  I was impressed with  both answers.  I was very pleased though to hear first graders say reading is for fun.  Sometimes, I just seem to put off the reading for fun until a break or summer vacation.  I hope my first graders are reading for fun daily.  We discussed the different types of things they read for fun.  Several students commented they like books about dogs or cats.  Another child said she liked to read books to help her draw better.   I liked the point that Routman made about having book discussions in the classroom.  I think I will let the children share what books they are reading and why.  Would they recommend this book to others?  I am thinking about changing the way I have the students keep a reading log.  I really like the way Routman described the reading log.  It wasn't  about the number of pages but information that was useful about the book.  By keeping a log of books completed and a little information about the book the students are doing something beneficial.  I know if I kept it reading log I might not check out the same book from the library twice just to discover, "Oh yeah, I've already read this book."  By keeping a log of books completed and a statement or two about the book the student is also becoming responsible and it is removing the chore  of initialing to say, "Yes, my child read." from the parents busy routine.  We should let our students and others see us as people who read and value reading.

Sara Malone - March/April Blog - Chap.9 Emphasize Shared Reading

Shared Reading is a concept that is an absolute must in my classroom and should be across all early childhood classrooms. Shared Reading is a crucial concept that a young learner benefits from in so many ways. Not to mention, it’s one of my favorite parts of teaching literacy. I get to model correct pronunciation, fluency, and I get to add my personal touches with enthusiasm and expression. When we are emphasizing shared reading in our classrooms, it brings a little bit of comfort to those who could possibly be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the content or text.   

It is ideal for guided participation and students are encouraged to participate without any pressure or fear of failure. I think that the fear of failure in reading, especially reading aloud, can be a plague to several early learners who lack the confidence or the ability. I can always see the fear on some of my learner’s faces when I say that we are going to read our text together. It can sometimes fill them with such anxiety that I know that they are completely unwilling to participate. I never want that to be the case for any of my learners.  Shared reading almost always increases the confidence level in these anxiety ridden students. They are simply modeling what they’ve seen modeled by me. The fact that they strive to model reading the correct way, gives them confidence and me satisfaction knowing that my struggling readers are trying their best to comply and feel included.

And yes, it provides a lot of teaching and practice in a short period of time. I always feel more connected to my learners when they are sitting at my feet. Having a shared reading time with my learners so close to me, allows me to hear them, see them, and know how engaged they are with me. The multiple mini lessons that can be taught during shared reading are endless. I love how many connections to the real world can be made through shared reading. So many grammar concepts can be highlighted and it can be used effectively for teaching and learning across the curriculum.

I also love shared reading in that it sets up what is necessary for my small group literacy conversations. Because we’ve already used shared reading, my small groups can spring board off of that onto other skills and even apply certain strategies. The groups become much more efficient to manage and my expectations of them can be much higher. It boosts and supports what has already been demonstrated and practiced.

I do feel that we have somewhat moved away from using Big Books in the early childhood classrooms. I love Big Books! Yes, I am a fan of using smart boards and other means of technology and even some packaged curriculums, but there’s something intimate about using a big book, with your learners at your feet, feeling the pages, and pointing the words together. If I had my druthers, I’d use  big books every week! (maybe a possible grant in the future??)

I hope that shared reading continues to be a high priority for all early childhood classrooms. I know that I will always make it a top priority in my own classroom. Many of our learners do not have the appropriate model for reading at all. I know that I can be, and that I should be, that constant model - especially when it comes to reading.