Section 2 of
not this but that by Miller and Moss is full of studies and research,
most of it in support of IR time both in school and out of school. One approach to IR mentioned in the section
is Scaffolded Silent Reading-ScSR (pg. 13).
This approach gives the student lots of support, adding an extra level
of benefit from the time spent in IR. A
section on page 17 addresses the question “how much IR time is optimal?” The authors feel more research is needed on
this topic but one study suggests that different time allocations should be
provided for students at different stages of development within a classroom. I
thought this was interesting since most of what I’ve read leans toward a
standard time for IR in the daily schedule with the students working toward a
common goal for stamina. I was thrilled
to see one paragraph address how to “Provide supports for early readers”. The first sentence says “Early readers need
more than teacher scaffolding for successful IR experiences.” The paragraph contains suggestions for those
of us who teach beginning readers. I
found that paragraph affirming since I often wonder how children who haven’t
yet begun to read can be held accountable for Independent Reading time. I feel I must-and should-first TEACH the
children how to read, then implement IR as their ability to read develops.
Great insight, Martha! I too believe that teachers need to use scaffolding for successful IR experiences. Taking it slow and building stamina is a process that, thankfully, is valued and begun in kindergarten! I believe that IR is spending time interacting with a book, whether it is reading the text or the pictures, or at it's beginning stages learning to hold a book properly, turn the pages, etc. IR in the fall of kindergarten would certainly look a lot different than it does at the end of the year, especially when their engagement is a little more sustained, and they do possess more reading skills to be able to read the text on the page. Although the class can work towards a stamina goal, setting individual stamina goals is certainly appropriate, especially when you may have one student who can only engage for 2 minutes and you have another who might be able to engage for 15 minutes! Providing support for those who need it through modeling and conferring can help scaffold even your lowest students to get the most out of their IR time!
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