TIME – That little four letter word seems to haunt me in all aspects of my life. I find myself complaining about time more than anything. Before school starts I start thinking about time. Will I have enough time to teach this? What time am I going to be able to teach that? Will I be able to stay on time if I do this? I can feel the anxiety bubbling up just writing about it. Section 1 of No More Independent Reading Without Support really opened my eyes about the importance of finding the time for independent reading and making sure that I am conferencing with my students during this time.
Last year someone suggested to Kindergarten that we have silent sustained reading. I know the first thing that popped into my head was, “when will I have time to do that?”. I have to admit I also wondered why I would want to implement that in my class. I teach kindergarten, they cannot read many words by themselves, especially for a long time. I had always allowed my students to go to the reading area after they finished their work. I also had DEAR time every Friday. That seemed like enough time to have kindergarteners reading by themselves. I decided I needed to look into independent reading. After reading all the benefits to independent reading I decided to try to find the time. I cut a little of the activities, that were mentioned in section 1, to allow my students independent reading. During this time I was able to see my students as readers. Like Miller and Moss stated, I learned more about them in that ten minutes than I did all year long. It was amazing!
This year kindergarten decided to start using Reader’s Workshop, which has helped us implement more independent reading time. This time is set in the schedule, so I do not have to worry about making time. I have had to cut some of the time I spent in other areas again, but I can already see the improvement in my students reading. In kindergarten we have started off slow. We have taught them how to be a “book lover” and how to read the pictures. It has been amazing to see them reading the pictures during their independent reading time. This time has also allowed me to conference with my students. I love hearing what they are reading and what they think the books are about just from the pictures.
Miller and Moss state, “it’s our job to do everything we can to equip children with the tools they need to stay engaged and motivated when we are not there, when they don’t have a grown-up giving them the command to “drop everything and read.” This statement is exactly what I believe as a teacher. We need to make sure we give them the information and motivation to become lifelong learners. Independent reading is one way we can have them become a lover of reading. Finding the time is extremely important to properly implementing independent reading.
You are right, finding the time to do anything nowadays is a struggle, and the struggle is real! So many times there are these great ideas that I was to put into place in my class and often I don't even attempt because I know finding the time will be a stressful event. I am excited to get back into the classroom and see what you guys have been doing with reading workshop. I felt a little weary with writing before we started doing the mini lessons with those so I am really looking forward to seeing it impact their reading, especially if they are already showing it. Our biggest concern has been what do they do when they can't really read and it sounds like that has not been a problem with the workshop's.
ReplyDeleteI also find that I am always worrying about the amount of time I have to teach a unit and how much time it would take for my students to truly understand the topic. I worry that if I began the unit in reading that I may not have enough "Time" to finish or that the students will each need more time to understand. This year has been both challenging and adventurous because we have implemented more independent reading. I have found that it is difficult to fit a huge idea into 5 minutes of teaching. However, have noticed that the students are learning more through all of the conferences and 5 minute mini lesson then through reading the basal. I love the new curriculum, but do become weary when planning for the topics due to the small amount of time I have to teach and the developmental level of my students.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love your opening sentence--time sure is a 4-letter word in the world of education! I love how you have taken this fleeting enemy and made it work for you, though. We make time for what we value, and it is clear you value your students' identities as readers. I completely agree with you--independent reading lets us see deeper into our students than any other instructional structure. I'm so proud you are trying reading workshop with your kindergarteners!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I have loved growing with you these last several years. You have always been willing to grow and to learn with your students and with our school community. I agree that there is never enough time, but I appreciate how Debbie Miller encourages us to really examine how we use our time during our literacy block and to consider which strategies and structures can be tweaked/revised/restructured to really maximize what is most important to foster student growth - time for independent reading. While I know that independent reading correlates to student growth I also believe that how we support that independent reader is very important to determine that their time is spent purposefully. In a reading workshop model where there is a mini-lesson that provides a purpose and an invitation to try out a strategy that is targeted to our students' needs and follow up through feedback provided in conferencing, in share time, in guided reading, etc. can help reinforce and motivate our students to read widely and deeply. I loved your quote, "Miller and Moss state, “it’s our job to do everything we can to equip children with the tools they need to stay engaged and motivated when we are not there, when they don’t have a grown-up giving them the command to “drop everything and read.” Thank you! Dawn
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