Olivia McNorrill - Post #4, Miller, Section 2

Olivia McNorrill – Miller, Section 2: Why Not? What Works?

Section 2 of “No More Independent Reading without Support” by Miller and Moss provides further insight and supporting research as to why scaffolded independent reading at school is important. Scaffolded Silent Reading (ScSR) is far more than Silent Sustained Reading (SSR), Independent Reading (IR), Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) or any other similar program. A commonality shared by all of these is time. Meaning, that time is allotted during the school day for reading. However, key differences that stand out are explicit instructions on how, what, why readers read; teacher support, monitoring, and assessment; and students sharing what they have read.

There are a great many aspects to being a reader than just reading words. Readers make a variety of choices, read based on current interests or moods, and sometimes even choose what they will read by a cover design. Modeling book selection strategies is key to developing productive readers. Readers need to understand how to make informed decisions about themselves as a reader. As the various research mentioned by Miller supported, readers need to know how to select books that are interesting and challenging yet not too difficult to read in a variety of genres. Not only that, students need to also be taught how to read books from those different genres, understand the text, “think more deeply about a text” (Miller, 23), and how to discuss these with others.

While reading this section, I was reminded of an experience I had that transformed how I approached reading. As a college student taking an American Literature course, I was required to read across genres about life in Colonial America. Doing so made my understanding of that time period transform from a “2-dimensional” knowledge to a “3-dimensional” understanding. How was that transforming? My instructor taught me how to make choices on various genres through sound advice and guidance. After I read the text, the professor modeled and guided us through how to understand what we had read. But what really furthered my ability as a reader was discussing texts with fellow classmates and learning from their perspectives. What may have been difficult for me to grasp in one genre, was enlightening in another or through another reader. My understanding as a reader began to grow further and connections across texts deepened. The more genres I read and discussed, the more my mental imaging developed and my understanding grew. Hence, my transforming as a reader!

As an Early Childhood educator, modeling how to be a productive reader is critical. These young learners need to build a strong reading foundation from the very beginning.  It is a real challenge to develop these skills due to a variety of previous reading experiences but it is one that can be achieved through modeling, persistence, variety, and support. Had I personally received those reading strategies sooner, I can only imagine how I would have developed and succeeded as a reader sooner regardless of the subject. My desire has always been to build and foster strong reading skills in my students. While I strive for this as an educator, I have a stronger urgency of instilling that in my students. Miller has encouraged, reinforced, and inspired me to push my students further.