Paula Ross: August Blog Post-Miller Section 1

Miller Section 1: Not This: Is there Enough Time?  And is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?

     I taught 7^th grade Language Arts in the 90’s.  This was a time when D.E.A.R. or SSR was brand new and seemed like an excellent idea to improve student achievement in reading.  I vividly recall how I had a love hate relationship with this required 20 minutes in my schedule.  On the one hand, it was a valuable time for me (as a teacher I also had to drop everything and read, which I loved) and for those of my students who enjoyed reading.  However, as the author suggested in this section, it was a time when I knew my weaker readers were left with “fake reading and ultimately disengagement.”  There is no denying that to improve upon anything, one must spend time at it.  Daily reading is essential. Nevertheless, without instructional support, as Miller points out, this time in practice will not pay off in productivity.

     The question was posed, “How can you find the minutes?”  As a kindergarten teacher I wanted to stand and applaud the unessential pauses in the day that Miller shared which rob our precious minutes.  I agreed with each one, especially the “Calendar Activities.”  From my research I find no reason to support this mundane and tiresome activity that eats up a huge chunk of the morning.  Why spend a whole lesson on what day it is when we can address that in our daily writing? Frankly, who cares what the day was yesterday or will be tomorrow?  Will knowing these truly benefit them in reading or math?  To me it is about the most unessential part of the day, and worse, it is done first thing when the children are most alert.  Transitions are another area where we lose the minutes.  Good management is not just how effectively we are to keep students engaged in a lesson, it is about how we “train” students to move from place to place with purpose and rapidity.  The “reading block” section was something I know I must address.  I too find error in the way I at times do activities “about reading” instead of actual reading.

      The most effective way I have found that allows me to confer with individual students while they are engaged in reading is through the Daily Five model for balanced literacy.  Without this both strategic and differentiated approach to my ELA block, critical and fundamental teaching time is lost.  It allows me to meet one on one with students where I can give feedback, offer support on how to make meaning of texts, and encourage them to develop needed behaviors as they read.  I am anxious to read the next section to see if this type of approach is addressed.