After reading, The
Pleasure Principle, I was reminded by how we need to teach students to read
for pleasure. As a child, I liked reading, I would not say that I loved it. As I grew older, I have read
less and less for pleasure and more for a specific purpose. This article serves
as a great reminder though to just let students read for pleasure. The best
books I’ve ever read are those that I’ve gotten absorbed in; the books that
make me forget about everything else. I hope that by giving my students a large
chunk of time during the school day to read, that they may become absorbed, or
as the article says, ‘in the reading zone’.
I provide my students with independent reading time each
day. I start with a mini-lesson discussing the topic or skill we are focusing
on and model for the students how to use this skill while reading. I then have
the students try to transfer that skill to their reading by completing a sticky
note or chart while reading. Good readers don’t have a chart next to them while
they read though. Good readers simply use the skills they’ve learned and apply
them simultaneously while they read. While I believe my students must practice
these skills in order to master them, I also believe that sometimes students
should just read for the fun of it! While I know that I will not be able to do
this every single day, maybe every once in a while we can just ‘read in the
zone’.
Structuring your independent reading time by teaching a skill, practicing it with students, then allowing them to practice independently is a great idea. This workshop approach gives you a chance to provide support for the independent reading in your schedule. In my classroom, I often had them respond in some way, like you mentioned, on a sticky note or in their journals. It's one of the ways I was able to see if they were internalizing the lessons I'd taught. Another way was conferencing. Talking with students at least once a week let me get to know them as readers. It also told me whether they were struggling with a skill we'd already covered. How are you using conferencing? Would that be an option in your independent reading time?
ReplyDeleteHi Helen,
ReplyDeleteLike Heather, I want to validate what you are doing with your reading workshop where you are providing students with a mini-lesson that gives them purpose for their reading and an opportunity to apply what they are learning in their own books. I also appreciate how you want to promote reading for fun but you can do this within your mini-lessons, taking time to model a love for reading and to discuss your favorite books and theirs. Thanks, Dawn