Marie Duncan Extra Blog #10: Routman Chapter 6 for March/April 2016

This is my last required blog according to our wonderful reading coach.  I hope you are able to see my prior bloggings since this is #10; I have included an extra blog as well to make sure I have covered all requirements.   Thank you for taking the time to read our thoughts as we learn together. Chapter 6 from Routman discusses how to plan for and monitor independent reading.  I agree making independent reading time a top priority has helped my students love reading more, build stamina, and get excited about sitting down with a great book.  However, as Routman discusses on page 83, it is easy to get caught back up in our long, to-do list as testing approaches, and "guarding" independent reading time becomes more difficult.  My struggling readers bring a higher level of concern as a teacher.  I hear Routman saying on pages 85-87 that our lower readers need MORE reading time but are also the most resistant.  Self-esteem issues including knowing they are struggling compared to their peers and wanting to show/pretend they can read the thicker books is a difficult hurdle to overcome.  I agree encouraging lower readers to read and reread easier books makes them learn basic reading skills like decoding, using context clues, and improved fluency faster. These are the students I am attempting to conference with one-on-one more frequently, asking more questions during conferences, and keeping more detailed records; this is Routman's advice on page 88.  Partner reading is a technique I haven't mastered well.  Third graders do not want to sit close enough to see each other's shared book and they fail to turn their head toward their fellow readers when sharing.  We're working on this by discussing guidelines similar to those shared by this author on pages 95-96.  Again, hearing that student choice of books is KEY continues to reverberate through my head.  I am watching and being open to student favorite book choices even though graphic novels are not my favorite choice.  An open mind is what I expect of myself and my students to grow into greater readers and lovers of knowledge.