Readers Gonna Read...Read, Read, Read, Read

You were singing weren't you?! I love some Taylor Swift (old Taylor, apparently dead Taylor??) Anyway... Today I want to discuss the need for independent reading. I think (I hope) I try to promote strong literacy instruction in every classroom I enter. BUT-I still think that students are not getting enough sufficient independent reading time throughout their day, especially now. In thinking about our current state, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, I am first worried for the well-being of our children, and then secondly worried about the lack of reading happening in homes right now. Which means we need to be ready in the fall, no matter what our schooling looks like. A few years back I read Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer. Everything she talked about had me saying YES, YES, YES! Students are not getting that time to read. I think so many teachers feel like there is not enough time due to curriculum constraints. Or maybe they think it is not a good use of time. But really it is! True, authentic reading allows students to really grow as a reader! We, as educators, just need to make sure to facilitate this time well and make it very productive. I love using reading conferences during independent reading.

So, in thinking about how teachers can manage this time well, we need to ensure that teachers have an organized, readily accessible classroom library to provide these resources to their students. Classroom libraries can be organized by genre and can allow students to read any books available. Many may think that organizing by reading level is more appropriate. A few years ago, I would have agreed. However, I am now aware that students do not only need to read books on their independent level. Have you ever muddled through a text book? Did you fully understand everything? No. But did you get something out of it? Most likely. Allowing our students to choose books and decide to discontinue reading them should be on them-we can tell them what to read during shared reading, book clubs and small-group instruction. Let them have some choice here.

I know you are thinking about how you might need to proceed with books differently in the fall. This is our time to think about how we can provide students with access to materials in a variety of ways. Online reading websites like Epic, Tumble Book Library and Storyline Online offer books to teachers and students. Public libraries also provide ebooks to students.

At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself did I teach my students to be readers today? Did I give my students opportunities to actually read? If you answered no to either of those questions, really consider how you are teaching and how you are providing students opportunities to read.

Firsties reading...when social distancing was not a term anyone knew!