Miller Ch. 1 Post: Crissy Harris

I read the first chapter Not This: Is there Enough Time?  And is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading? for my October blog post.  I have to say I agreed with the majority of what the author wrote because I do see the importance of using independent reading time within tine classroom, however, I didn't see a lot of suggestions for where to find this precious extra time during the day.  The suggestions the author provided included a lot of classroom management strategies and activities that we don't use in the upper grades such as calendar math.
I do see the importance of giving students a focus during independent reading so they can see the importance of it.  In my classroom students often have a focus skill they should be identifying in their books during independent reading time.  Usually this works well, however, it can be difficult finding a skill that all books contain.
I also see conferencing as a valuable tool to use the classroom.  Conferencing allows a teacher to know the level of the students and to identify their individual needs.  I enjoy conferencing with my students because it not only shows me their academic needs, but it also gives me a chance to get to know my students personally.  I find that students are more likely to communicate their needs and concerns when they feel as though they have a close relationship with the teacher.  It is a great strategy in the classroom but still is difficult to use because of time constraints.