Chapter 6: Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading

How can we teach reading and never give them time to do it?  Independent reading and time with texts is the most critical part of a reading program and yet way too often it is either absent or minimally implemented.  When an independent reading component is added, test scores go up.  There is much research to support this claim from leading experts such as Richard Allington, Jim Trelease, and Stephen Krashen among others.

Independent reading is NOT simply "everyone get a book out and let's read now!"  Routman cautions teachers to remember that students need to be reading books at their independent level, not books that are too difficult or too easy.  Students also need to be monitored throughout--just staring at the books is a waste of time.  BUT, if you want to become a better reader, you have to read more!!

So what is independent reading?  Routman defines independent reading with the following characteristics:

• The student chooses any book to read
• Teacher may guide selection
• Daily time to read, 30 minutes or more
• Excellent classroom library, essential
• Student reads mostly "just right" books
• Teacher monitors comprehension
• Student keeps a reading record
• Teaching occurs during a conference
• Teacher and student set reading goals

Monitoring the independent reading is vital to success.  This involves matching a book to the reader's abilities and interests; giving the reader opportunity to practice reading strategies being taught; monitoring, assessing, and evaluating the reading; and setting and working on goals for the student.

As a teacher begins the year with independent reading, conduct interviews and reading conferences to get to know your students as readers.  Our school district uses a DRA reading assessment with provides opportunity to gain much of this information.  It is a good one-on-one assessment that gives a lot of data about the student's reading abilities, interests, and gives an opportunity to talk about reading.

Routman lists the components of independent reading.

• A well-designed, well-stocked classroom library
• Sustained time each day in which to read
• "Just right" books
• An array of genres
• Time for sharing and book talks
• One-to-one student-teacher conferences
• Well-maintained reading records
• Established procedures

As you establish for independent reading with your class, you will want to discuss and agree upon procedures and guidelines for handling books, deciding what to read next when you can't find a book, and transporting books between home and school.

Think about using partner reading as part of independent reading.  Research shows that taking turns reading increases reader involvement, attention, and collaboration.  The teacher must teach the students what partner reading "looks like" and "sounds like."  Another important point to remember about establishing independent reading is to teach the students how to choose "just right" books.  They need to understand that these books they should be able to read confidently.  The books should be interesting and comprehensible.

Routman ends this chapter with these words, "Reading competence is closely tied to the amount of time children spend reading on their own, and students read more when they can choose their reading materials.  Reading satisfaction, too, begins with personal choice." (p.97)  I feel this sums it up completely.  Most teachers love to read and would thoroughly enjoy more time to do it, especially reading books we want to read.  Our students deserve no less consideration.  Remember, if you want them to be better readers, give them time and let them read.

Chapter 5: Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

Routman begins the chapter telling about the seemingly absence of classroom libraries.  And when they are present, the teachers have controlled the organization, the students don't know how to chose the books, and there is too little time set aside for reading.  A complete classroom library is vital to a strong independent reading program.  Routman acknowledges that when there is a classroom library present, the teachers have usually  spent large sums of their own money.  I can attest to this myself.  I appreciated his thought that books do more good in reading achievement that any computer software program...(who do I email this statement to?).

As you create a classroom library, think about your students' interests.  What kind of books would they like to read?  What authors, series, or subjects would they enjoy reading more of?  Think about including "light reading" - comic books, magazines, picture books, etc.  Routman commented that an adequate classroom library should include at least two hundred books, but an excellent classroom library would have 1000 books.

So where do I get all these books?  Routman gave several suggestions such as:

• asking the PTC to help raise money
• have students bring favorite books from home "on loan"
• Discount sales at book outlets and bookstores
• borrow from school library or public library
• take advantage of classroom book clubs like Scholastic and Troll
• seek donations from families
• check out a "book swap" with another classroom

How do I set the classroom library up?  As you begin thinking about the organization of your classroom library, try not to do too much reading leveling.  You don't want the students to identify themselves with their level.  Organize by genre, author, series, subject.  Include lots of nonfiction---the students may enjoy the nonfiction more.  Also think about how the books will be displayed.  Try to display books with the cover out like in a bookstore...the kids will be more attracted to them.  Think about where the students will read.  Should they be at their desks, or can they find their own spot for independent reading?  Where do you like to read...at your desk?  A very important point to be remembered as you begin organizing your classroom library is to let the students have a big voice in how it is put together.  When they create it, they will use it more!

Be mindful of the opportunities you allow for home reading support. Routman suggested ideas such as:

• home-school literacy book packs
• reproducible books
• book clubs (Scholastic, Troll, Lucky)
• library cards
• suggested titles and resources for parents to purchase

As the classroom library progresses, teachers should use "book talks" as a way to get the kids enthused about certain books.  Talk about new additions and change the books in the displays and the library periodically.  Keep it fresh.

It is critical that the classroom library help create a sense of respect and caring for all books.  It is part of creating the love of reading.

Chapter 4: Teach With a Sense of Urgency

The next section of Reading Essentials is titled "The Essential Reading Day" and includes four chapter, the next of which (Ch. 4) I am writing about today.  As Routman discusses this topic, he clarifies that he is not talking about urgency as associated with speed and anxiety, but more about making every moment in the classroom count.  He mentions the importance of engaging the students and using daily evaluations and reflections.  Teachers must also keep expectations high by introducing student to complex and relevant texts and curriculum through high-level tinking, problem solving, and questioning (p. 42). 

Routman lists the top five things he does to ensure students become excellent readers:

1. Demonstrate that I am a reader.
2. Provide an excellent classroom library
3. Let students chose books they want to read and give them time to read them.
4. Teach strategies students need to know to process and understand text.
5. Evaluate student regularly, giving them feedback and helping them set goals.

Routman introduces the Optimal Learning Model which he uses to help understand and determine the levels of support students need in learning a new skill, strategy, or task. He points out that we need to base our instruction on what kids need rather than on the components of a literacy program.  I have seen this thinking in other books referred to as the Gradual Release of Responsibility.

Routman separates this model into 4 Phases of Learning.
     1. Demonstration:  In this phase the teacher shows explicitly and intentionally "how to do it" by initiating, modeling, explaining, and thinking aloud.
     2. Shared Demonstration:  The teacher is still in charge of the lesson but students are encouraged to participate and collaborate in the activity and discussion.  The teacher scaffolds the skills.  Students work with partners, small groups, or whole group.
     3. Guided Practice:  Students practice thinking and acting like a read or writer.  The teacher validates, supports, encourages, helps, and feedback.
     4.  Independent Practice:  In this phase the student has developed the level of competence and confidence to work on their own.  They have learned to problem solve on their own.

As a teacher uses this Optimal Learning Model in their practice it is important to remember:

• Students do best when the skills they need are explicitly taught in meaningful contexts.
• Students need language play, hearing lots of stories, opportunities for reading and writing stories to become readers.

Another aspect Routman discusses is the use of Interactive Reading.  This is conducted during the reading, not before or after.  It is very beneficial because it allows the teacher's thinking to be visible. The use of partner peers gives the students more time with the text and joint thinking and talking aides in reading understanding.

The most important point of this chapter was to teach all of our students with no time to waste efficiency and with joy as we challenge them in meaningful ways.

Chapter 3: Share Your Reading Life

Chapter 3 of the Reading Essentials text is all about sharing your reading life as a model for your students.  Routman explains how at the beginning of the school year you should introduce yourself as a reader and share your enthusiasm of reading with your class. There should be a class brainstorming session and discussion of why we read.  Try to guide the students to understand how important reading is in a person's life both professionally and personally.

Then share your own reading life.  You need to make it visible to the students, let them see the actual reading materials you are currently reading.  Talk about what you are reading, what the book is about, how the reading is going, what I am learning, and what I hope to learn.  Include reading you are currently doing as well as reading you are planning to do next.  I have actually have done this activity with a previous class.  I bring in a tote or box with examples of all the types of reading I do.  This includes books I'm reading for pleasure, for my UNM classes, for my own professional inquiry, magazines I read through, newspapers, children's books I'm reading for my classroom, and anything else that I can bring.  I point out that I am reading more than one book at a time for different reasons.  The students really response to this demonstration of my reading and it gets them thinking about what reading they are or could be doing.

When you encounter those reluctant readers purposefully search for their interests to help them find books that they will more likely want to read.  Look for sports, hobbies, animals, whatever the student has a passion for.  I have let student read their video game instructions, hunting magazines, whatever it takes to get them started and help them realize that they can read.

Talk about your books at home, your home library.  Bring in pictures if you can to share how many books you have and how they are organized.  Ask students about the books they have at their homes.  Try to get a sense of how many books they may have.  Research tells us the more books a child has in their home, the better he/she will do in school.  Talk about the school library then lead the discussion to the classroom library.  This can be an opportunity to let the students organize the classroom library which allows them the chance to have ownership in the classroom and familiarize themselves with the variety of books found there. 

Let the class discussion move toward favorite authors and books they have read.  Sometimes this can be eye-opening as you discover the limited reading experiences some students may have.  I like to have the students bring in a favorite book they have recently read.  I think I will add an activity to allow them to do some research about the author of this book...not a complete author study, but an opportunity to find out interesting facts and other books this author has written.

Talk about how we choose books through recommendations, browsing, favorite authors or series, etc.  Discuss the variety of genres available.  Don't forget to talk about how to abandon books that are too easy, too difficult, or not interesting.   

The purpose of sharing your reading life with your students is to help create a passion for reading and show your students how you think about what you read.  When you have a book you love, let your students know it and give them the opportunity to do the same.

Chapter 2: Bond With Your Students

Routman begins this chapter recalling a conversation with another teacher who mentions the words, "You must bond with her if she's to learn anything at all" (p. 12).  A teacher must create a genuine friendship with his/her students to actually be able to fulfill his/her teaching responsibility. Otherwise, there probably no learning going on with the students. Bonding is a "human essential." If we don't feel that someone (the teacher) knows us, cares about us, or connects with us, we will resist any efforts on the part of that someone to actually teach us. 

Bonding for a teacher means giving to rather than demanding from children (p. 13).  Routman talks about how the teacher must be liked by her students versus liking her students.  She can and should do this in many ways such as modeling strong read alouds, sharing writing that surprises the students, sharing a love for words in expression and voice, and showing facial expressions and body language that demonstrates enthusiasm.  In other words, the teacher must be inviting to the students.  They should want to be with her and be excited that she is their teacher and they are a part of her classroom.

Important points to remember when looking to bond with all the students are to look for successes for each child.  Find a interesting statement they wrote  or comment they made and praise them for it.  Make the curriculum you are using relevant to your students' lives.  Also be sure you are challenging all the students, extending their learning through activities and discussion.  It is vital that a teacher be respectful to her students and their families.  Respect, tolerance, compassion, and courtesy are behaviors that we are constantly modeling and practicing as we get to know our students and bond with them.

We need to strive to make our classrooms a safe haven where students feel welcome, included, and unafraid to share their lives.  Part of creating this environment involves shared decision making.  Students should be part of deciding the classroom rules, procedures, and arrangement.  Let them help figure out how their classroom should be...it is their home too!

Another very important point that Routman discusses is the importance of stories.  A teacher needs to tell her story of herself, her family, her life.  I think if the teacher makes the stories more personal rather than general, the students will gain perspective of their teacher and see the teacher as a real person.  Stories need to be about successes and failures.  Also let the students share their stories.  Value every story a child tells...this is vital to bonding with that child.  And remember that the Read Aloud stories are one of the most critical parts of the child's day.  They allow the child to hear rich language, learn vocabulary and new information, and helps create the love for reading we, as teachers, are desperately trying to create.

I love the way Routman ends this chapter.  He tells us to enjoy our students and to celebrate our lives.  "If we want our students to be excited about learning, they need to have teachers who relish learning, who are passionate about reading and other interests, and who find the classroom an inspiring and thrilling place to be."
I think that says it all!

Chapter 1: Simplify Your Teaching Life

I am reading the text Reading Essentials: the Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well by Regie Routman. I really don't think I can ever read enough about how to teach reading.  I've read many books on this subject, but I always discover a new way of thinking about it from every author.  I suppose there are as many perspectives on this subject as there are ways that children learn to read.  It kind of becomes an individual approach for the child and the teacher as each has to learn what works best for each other.

Chapter 1 is titled "Simplify Your Teaching Life." It discusses the realities of teaching and what teachers need to consider as they determine what is vital for reading instruction for their students and for them as teachers.  Routman states his purpose for writing this book was, "...to make your life easier, to put some fun back into your teaching, to clarify difficult issues, and to rethink what's truly essential for students to become lifelong readers and thinkers." (p. 4).  Sounds like he has the answers...I sure hope so!

He mentions all the issues that we hear every time teachers gather such as there is too much curriculum to cover, too many students in the classroom, too many extra duties beyond the classroom, less resources to work with, and so on.  It's no wonder we can feel exhausted and burned out!  And then, teachers get the blame many times for the low test scores.  With all this negativity, it is easy to let that filter into the classroom.  But we can't let that happen!!  We desperately need to find the joy in teaching and let that be the focus in our classroom.  Remember our attitudes reflect onto our students....we need to find reasons to smile more.

Robert Marzano states in his book, Classroom Instruction That Works, that the teacher is the single most influential factor in determining student success.  Don't think of this as more pressure, but this about why we need to critically examine what we are doing and why we are doing it.  It seems teaching has gotten more difficult and maybe it doesn't need to be.  Maybe we need to simplify as Routman suggests. I'm not sure what the answers are, but I don't think it can continue like it is.  We seem to be going nowhere fast and getting more frustrated along the way.

Routman suggests that teachers reflect on (1) being as knowledgeable as you can be, (2) remember there is no one "right" or best way, (3) question the research and the programs, and (4) teach every child as they need to be taught. The main point I took from this chapter was to strive to become that devoted teacher who loves her students and will do what it takes to help them succeed.  Not an easy task but it is a goal.

Blah Blah Blogs....

Blogs are a 21st century way of communicating.  People are putting their thoughts out there without having to show their faces.  It allows them to think more freely and say things they might not say face to face.  People get more courageous on a blog to express their opinions when they feel no immediate course of repercussion.  I'm not talking about liability issues, but more along the lines of criticisms or opposing views or the talk that might happen in the parking lot.

Blogs are interesting to explore.  It is fun to read through what other people think about a topic and the way they write.  I found blogs with shorter texts more appealing just because my time to sit and read it are limited.  But I think a topic or discussion that was more pertinent to my interests or needs would hold my attention without question. As I was exploring blogs, I found it somewhat overwhelming.  If you aren't very familiar with blogs or blogging you can get lost in the numbers and kinds of blogs there are.  It is kind of like when you are searching the internet not knowing what you are looking for.  When you discover a purpose or reason for a blog, it seems almost natural to use it.  I like how we are being pushed into using this technology tool to overcome our fears and bring us into a new way of communicating.

In setting up this blog, I had few problems or questions.  But then I have a teenager in the house for backup if any issues arise. As I think about how this may work in schools, I can see possibilities for responses to reading or class discussions about a topic.  But I'm somewhat cautious about the ability to monitor what is said or seen by others.  I think I just need to learn more about it.  My classroom has individual student netbooks and I think this could be a great idea for them to use in reading and writing activities.  We have access to a links through Moodle for chats (although I haven't used it yet!)

I think a quality blog would create conversation.  The entries would provoke questions and responses for a written dialogue.  I wouldn't look at blogs that were simply a personal venting space because they would seem to one sided or only look for other "victims" like themselves.  A blog that suggested ideas that were applicable to my life, on the other hand, would be interesting to explore.

 A couple of blogs I found interesting for teachers were:

Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog

Regurgitated Alpha Bits