Rachel Johnson, Blog #3, October, routman ch. 3

Readers are leaders.  For my students to be strong adults they must have a firm reading foundation.    I have found that in order to inspire my students to read they have to know that I read too.  Why do something if the person who tells you to do it doesn’t?  By creating a reading environment in my classroom where the students and I as the teacher talk about what we read I am instilling the love of reading in my students. 

                I LOVE to read.  I read for pleasure every night at home after my kids are in bed.  While my personal children see that I read, the children in my classroom may not have parents who read.  In their minds adults may not read for pleasure.  When I talk to my kids in the classroom, at lunch, before school about what they are reading I can also tell them what I read.  One day I had a child say, “Wait!  You read too?”  Yes, I do.  When a child reads for pleasure, and sees that adults also read for pleasure, they will grow as readers.  Reading follows you even as you grow.  I am not trying to teach my students to be readers for the 10 months they are in my classroom, but readers for life.  

Patricia Graham Blog #1 August Routman Chapter 3

              

  This article is the perfect article to read in the beginning of the year as we are setting the basis for Literacy in our classrooms.  Routman states that  at the beginning of the year, you want to “examine your own reading life, make it visible to your students, and connect world reading with school reading.”  I believe that it is so important to have these discussions with my students about my own reading life.  I can’t expect my students to develop a love for reading if I myself do not model what it looks like.  I plan on taking the time to have these discussions with my students- sharing what I am reading, about my personal library, favorite books, authors, and the different genres that I enjoy reading.  My hope is that my love for reading will have an impact on my students and that they too will develop a ‘reading life.’

           

          My goal this year is not only to help my students become better readers but to also help my students develop a love for reading in and outside of the classroom.  I want this love to be something that is instilled in them for life.  I want the students excited about the books they are reading and eager to read/ find new books.  I want the students to read a variety of genres, authors, and to enjoy engaging in discussions of their books.  Routman’s article is full of useful ideas I look forward to using this year. 

Dawn Mitchell's Blog Post 3 – Debbie Miller’s Section II of No More Independent Reading Without Support and Regie Routman's Chapter 7 – Make Assessment Instruction’s Working Partner

Dawn Mitchell's Blog Post 3 – Debbie Miller’s Section II of No More Independent Reading Without Support and Regie Routman's Chapter 7 – Make Assessment Instruction’s Working Partner

During the month of October our literacy professional development focuses on formative assessment, specifically the benefits of using Running Records and Miscue Analysis to determine not only what reading level a student is on, but more importantly who the student is as a reader, and how the student reads.  This provides us with an opportunity to use this information as a formative assessment tool and also as an instructional tool.

In October’s blendspace you will find a variety of resources including examples of informal reading inventories, videos of students reading to use for miscue analysis, excerpts of articles, and relevant activities to help you to apply authentic reading assessments with your students.

This month I read Section II of Debbie Miller’s No More Independent Reading Without Support and every part in this section spoke to the importance of providing support through instruction and through formative assessment for our students’ independent reading.  In the table provided on page 16, Miller says to grow as independent readers students not only need classroom time to read and choice of what they read, but they also need explicit instruction about what, why, and how readers read.  They need to read a large number of books and a variety of texts, and they need teacher monitoring, assessment, and support, as well as opportunities to engage with others to talk about what they’ve read.

Later in this same section, Miller specifically outlines specific actions such as individual schema-based learning, conceptual learning, and transactional learning as effective support structures for supporting student growth.  Miller also listed successful teacher intervention behaviors including teacher responding to student questions, teacher-led discussions, and teacher monitoring and modeling of comprehension strategies as effective as well.  It was no surprise to me that the authors found that, “It is the specific actions that teachers take to support students during silent reading periods that produce significant growth in students’ comprehension.” 

In my own experience as a reading teacher I have seen first-hand how in a reading workshop where the independent reading time is supported with a mini-lesson that provides students a goal or invitation for them to try out a new reading strategy the students have a purpose and a direction for their reading and it is targeted toward their growth.  I’ve also seen when the students during their try it out time during independent reading are supported with formative assessment strategies such as miscue-analysis and conferencing that provide differentiated support work to build a relationship with the student and help them to form their identity as a reader and a writer within a wider collective classroom community of readers and writers.

 I’ve also seen how these formative assessment strategies are also instructional in nature.  The students when they are reading to you and to their peers and/or are discussing what they’ve read benefit tremendously from the experience and we as teachers are able to use that meaningful experience to gauge student understanding and can build on that with the next mini-lesson.

Our reading assessments do not have to be limited by what is criterion or norm referenced or standardized.  In fact, the teacher’s assessments are the ones that provide our students with the most support.  In chapter 7 of Routman’s Reading Essentials, she says “As much as possible, we teachers need to do our own ongoing assessments with our students using materials that students are already reading or are likely to read.  Our own assessments are the ones that really drive instruction.  Someone else’s materials and notes rarely give the full documentation we obtain through first-hand observations of students we know well.” (page 99).

She gives a series of questions in this chapter that I have found helpful to guide my reading assessments: 

                *Is this a valid and useful assessment?

                *How am I using this assessment?

                *What goals am I setting?

                *Who else do I need to inform?

I also really love her Framework for an informal reading conference that she outlines on page 104.  She follows this natural routine in her work with students.

                *Bring me a book that you can read pretty well.

                *Why did you choose this book?

                *What is the reading level of this book for you?

                *Tell me what the book is about so far?

                *Read this part of the book for me.

                *Tell me what you remember about what you just read?

                *Let’s discuss your strengths and what you need to work on. (Sets Strengths and Goals)

                *How long do you think it will take you to complete this book?

Routman says, “Sitting right next to a student, observing him read, probing her thinking, is the best way I know to evaluate all aspects of a child’s reading and move the student forward.  While there are many informal reading inventories available as well as all kinds of formal tests, the most accurate information is obtained by carefully observing the child by your side, in the act of reading.” 

I want to make more opportunities in my work with students to have them engaged as readers and writers and to value the time spent listening, watching, supporting, and coaching them to be read longer, to read stronger, and to foster a love for what they read and what they learn from it. 

Sincerely,

Dawn

Jill McDougald's Sept. Blog Post 2: Reading Essentials, Ch. 5

In Chapter 5, Routman talks about how important it is to have a very organized, inviting classroom library. It's purpose is to allow for different book choices, book levels and improve reading achievement.  Routman says, “It really doesn’t matter much what kids read as long as they read and enjoy what they’re reading."

I have recently spent time reorganizing my classroom library.  My books are in book bins that are labeled by subject or author.  The labels have a picture and a word on them to help my students choose a book.  I used pictures to help those who are beginning readers and can't read the words.  I plan to add more book bins and books to my classroom library soon.

I have made AR reading log folders for each of my students so they can keep track of the books that they have read and taken test on.  I also plan to create a top 10 favorite book list to make sure I have books that interest my students.

Jill McDougald's August Blog Post 1: Reading Essentials, Ch. 3 Share Your Reading Life

In chapter 3 of Routman's Reading Essentials the author has numerous helpful tips to make me a better reading teacher.  The author expressed that it is important to tell your students why you read.  I often tell my students why we need to learn to read because we have to follow directions, read newspapers, read text messages, read magazines and read books. 

It is always disheartening when I ask my students, "Why do we have to learn to read?"  and they respond  with, "Because we have to."  I feel it is important to establish a responsibility for reading and give my students real life reasons to show the importance of reading.

The text emphasized the importance of modeling reading whether it is whole group, small group, or independent reading.  I tell my students that even though it may sound silly, they can practice reading to their favorite stuffed animal, action figure, or doll.  This helps them practice fluency, practice reading aloud, and establish a purpose to read.  I tell my students that I like to read books to Kelsey so that I can practice before I come to school and read to them.

Kelli Smith Blog Post #1 The Habit of Kidwatching

After reading the article, The Habit of Kidwatching, by Timothy O'Keefe, I have a better understanding of just how valuable this tool really is.  I find in my classroom that I am constantly keeping data on each student but it is not necessarily related to literacy specifically.  How fun  it is to actually be watching each student as they interact with a book.  I keep a nice selection of a wide variety of books that are high interest to my students.  I find it enjoyable to just sit and listen and watch them turn the pages, see the pictures and then be able to answer comprehension questions or at least tell me something from the book in their own words.  I have special needs students who are functioning on the preschool level but they can still take a picture walk on their own while I look on.  Kidwatching will allow me to get to know each individual’s strengths as well as areas that need improvement.  I will be able to use this as a form of assessment in order to help meet the individual and unique needs of all of my students.  

Carolyn Shackeflord Blog Post #1, Section, NOT THIS, Miller

In this chapter of Debbie Miller's book she goes right to the heart of argument of how important independent reading is to our students. Independent reading reading is important because that is how children learn about the world around them and in order to become proficient readers they have to practice. I agree with Miller's assessment that for years we have been teaching students stuff "about" reading, but then they never got to use that information beyond that unit or test. 

Miller also wastes no time in striking down the "there isn't enough time" argument. I loved her "guarding the bench" analogy and the suggestions for "benches" that we can remove from our day in order to gain the needed time for independent reading. I like the idea of teachers guiding and coaching students to be intentional readers, to have a set of skills that will help them make clearer meaning of a text. With students reading levels ranging from low to high, the only way to do this is through individual conferencing, providing a time for the teacher to talk to a student and help make the process visible to them.