M. Holland - Blog Post #2: Miller (2013), Section 2: Why Not? What Works? Why Independent Reading Matters and the Best Practices to Support It

For years, I have been sending home a paper that shows families how much independent reading influences test performance.  As a classroom teacher, this makes sense to me.  I tell my students that your ability to read is like your ability to play a sport or a musical instrument.  If you practice, you will improve.  Reading is the same.

            On pages 17-18, the authors talk about just right amounts of independent reading time.  Studies show that longer periods of IR are more beneficial for stronger readers, and shorter periods of IR are more beneficial for struggling readers.  This shorter time frame, 15 minutes, is mostly likely due to the struggles with stamina.  This has me thinking about possibly shifting the time frames during my ELA block.

            The next section of the chapter discusses student choice in reading.  I agree that this is very important.  Everyone, regardless of age, is more likely to read, enjoy, and understand a text if it is something chosen instead of dictated.  In my classroom, this translates into a large percentage of my boys wanting Ninjago books and a large number of my girls wanting Pinkalicious books.

            My classroom library is currently being revamped.  Simply put, the levels of the majority of the books in my classroom library do not fit the levels of my students.  I am adding to it with books paid for with my personal funds, a practice that many teachers have to do.  Yes, this can become expensive, but I am very choosy with the books that I purchase.  I buy books that I know will appeal to my students.  I look for the genres and the topics that interest them.  My students also asked me to rearrange the books into reading levels instead of genres.  I was really surprised when many of them made this request, so we took a class vote.   20 of my 22 students voted to have the books arranged by level, and I promised the 2 that preferred books arranged by topic and genre that I would help them find the books they wanted if they could not.  It made sense to me to arrange it as they preferred.  After all, they are the ones that will be using it.