I appreciated the discussion of current research in this chapter. I am thankful for people who conduct studies that help make teaching even better, and after reading this I am reminded that I need to make sure to take the time to stay current on what's happening in the educational research world.
There were many parts of this chapter that stood out to me, but Moss's discussion of how students "need explicit instruction about what, why and how readers read" really stood out. My first year (maybe 2) I don't think I understood that my students needed help knowing how to choose a book or how a reader should look when reading. I took for granted that they knew those things before 4th grade, but I learned that was not the case. I found that my students chose books that they were unable to read and they desperately needed help to become better at knowing what they enjoyed reading before they could become better readers. I think it is important for teachers to "model book selection strategies that include picking books of appropriate difficulty, ... , and selecting books from different genres" (p. 19-20). I now know that I will always need to begin my year with mini-lessons about choice. I love Moss's suggestion of using a genre wheel to help students who cannot seem to decide what they enjoy reading. I think I may try that out this year with a few kids! It could be very helpful!
As a teacher of students who are mostly ELLs I found the end of the chapter to be highly applicable to my classroom. I think independent reading time (used correctly) is just good teaching and will be beneficial for ALL students; however, research has shown that ELLs "need more: help in selecting books, time for reading in and out of school, during reading support, instruction focused on reading strategies, opportunities for small group discussions" (p. 38). I need to make sure that I am providing all of those things in my classroom in order to help my students reach their reading potential!
I agree! It is important to stay updated with educational research, but sometimes it is daunting. I am finding that accessing professional journals (like NCTE's Language Arts publication) has been a helpful resource. Even if I don't have time to read every article, skimming the titles gives me a hint about what's going on in research right now! Your recognition that we still need to teach reading in upper elementary is so important. When I was in third grade my first year teaching, I mistakenly thought that "we read to learn, we don't learn to read." Now I know what a disservice that was to my kids my first year!!
ReplyDeleteKeri, I appreciate so much how you take what you are reading and work to implement the strategies and structures within your classroom. I, too loved Miller and Moss's call to action to all of us as educators in remembering to make time to teach students' how to choose books that are good fits for them, and what we expect during independent reading time, while also exposing them to a wide variety of genres. Her genre wheel idea is a great one. I'd love to see how that works for you and your stud I love your last sentence, "I need to make sure that I am providing all of those things in my classroom in order to help my students reach their reading potential." Thank you for all you do for our students! Sincerely, Dawn
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