Article Share: The Power of Reading Aloud

I recently came across this article through a weekly Marshal Memo that I subscribe to that talked about The Power of the Read Aloud:

'In this article in The Reading Teacher, Illinois teacher JeanaLe Ann Marshall describes how her fourth graders react when she wraps up her daily 10-minute readaloud: “Nooooo! Read more! Don’t stop! Why do you always do this to us?” Among their favorite books:

-   Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis (2013)

-   The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2012)

-   A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2011)

“I’m confident that my students know the power of a story,” says Marshall. “They’ve listened all year long. They know the feeling of getting hooked, and they realize that within the pages of each book lies a lesson – one that someday just might change them or, even better, cause them to create change in the world.”

            Reading well-chosen books aloud has also spurred independent reading. “Little by little, they search for books without my guidance,” says Marshall. “They become ready to orchestrate their own journeys. They take the helm. Now it’s up to them whether or not to read one more chapter or softly let the pages fall closed.”'

“When Whining Is Wanted” by JeanaLe Ann Marshall in The Reading Teacher, February 2015 (Vol. 68, # 5, p. 393), http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.1306/epdf

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I'm always delighted when I walk into classrooms and observe teachers reading aloud to students. For me, it has been my favorite part of the day the teaching day. Students in my classroom have fallen in love with some of the same characters that I have fallen in love with. We've laughed together and cried together through the read aloud. I see it as an integral piece of building and fostering community. Donalyn Miller recently said on the #ReadAloud chat on Twitter, "Great read alouds feel like a special secret between the reader and the listeners. A magic circl around the book and us." Another built in, academic benefit is that it is a natural way to model the "flow of language" for our students with limited English proficient students - whether English is the second language or children have limited access to books or being read to. 

One professional book that will likely be part of my summer reading stack is Steven L. Layne's, In Defense of Read-Aloud - Sustaining Best Practice. The book has had a lot of buzz on Twitter, has been the focus of the a blog book tour, and was the topic of the #ReadAloud Twitter chat. Of course, I would love to have others join me...maybe this is something that we can turn into a summer professional book club. 

What is your classroom read aloud?

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You may use your participation in the PLC as evidence of professional practice as defined by Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching. This week's participation is evidence of 

Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities -

• 4a: Reflecting on Teaching - Use in future teaching
• 4d: Participating in a Professional Community - Relationships with colleagues & Involvement in culture of professional inquiry
• 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally - Enhancement of content knowledge and pedagogical skill

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PLC Session 4: Getting Back on Track with Chapter 5

Greetings fellow PLCers!

'Tis true that we took a bit of a hiatus. Upon our return to action following winter break, Taft Elementary embarked on significant changes to their reading schedule and Oceanlake Elementary shifted structures for grade level reading data discussions. Both changes were enough for me to sense that my colleagues were maxed out so I made the executive decision to step away from the PLC activity for a time. I've been trying to gauge a return to the blog posts by comments and questions from participants - "have I missed a meeting?" or "when are we supposed to post to the blog?" have been questions I've been fielding lately so I took that as a sign to ease back into the blog version of our PLC.

During our School Improvement Day, where a great deal of time was spent looking at 8 of the books that we picked up for the Teacher As Reader branch of this PLC, we touched briefly on Chapter 5 of The Daily 5, "Launching Read to Self - The First Daily 5".

Chapter 5 was a meaty chapter, in my opinion. Not only do The Sisters describe the process for launching Read to Self, they share the research behind why they do what they do. As they repeatedly state that supporting students through trust and specific lessons about expected behaviors, Read to Self is the foundation for and sets the stage for the rest of Daily 5. 

For me, one of the important pieces of the Daily 5 structure, whether you call it Daily 5 or not, is the fact that students have choice. On page 75, it is said, "...children, like adults, need to be interested in what they are reading. Interest is critical if we are to get students to read the volume of material that will help them move from being 'survival' readers to lifelong readers who choose to read for knowledge and pleasure." It is not that we never have teacher selected materials for students to read; however, contrary to the way I taught reading in the past, students have a voice and choice in what they read. It's up to us to help them find books that are "good fits" - books that they can read AND interest them.

Here's the link from The Sisters' website that includes the Quick Start guide, videos, and a section called "refine" all related to Read to Self:
https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/quick-start-guide-1read-to-self 
Note: you will need your DailyCafe log-in to access the link. 

Reggie Routman said, "When an independent reading component is added, test scores go up." No, I am not advocating for us to gear everything toward "the test" but no one can argue with the fact that the more students read then the results naturally show up in higher scores on required assessments.

• How are things going for you? What have you adjusted with Read to Self as you launched or relaunched Daily 5?
• What texts or books did you use to teach and review "The Three Ways to Read a Book"?
• How long are your rounds? What has your goal for stamina been? 
• What questions do you have about Read to Self? 

Share in the comments section below. Feel free to respond to each other's comments.  

Note: I'm working on door prizes for our next face-to-face PLC meeting. Your comments and interactions with one will be added as "tickets" into the door prize drawings. 

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You may use your participation in the PLC as evidence of professional practice as defined byCharlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching. This week's participation is evidence of 

Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities -

• 4a: Reflecting on Teaching - Use in future teaching
• 4d: Participating in a Professional Community - Relationships with colleagues & Involvement in culture of professional inquiry
• 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally - Enhancement of content knowledge and pedagogical skill

PLC Session 2: The Daily 5, Chapters 3 & 4

Welcome back!

We gave everyone a bit of a breather last week instead of launching into more reading. There was a note of anxiety in the air so it seemed best to take a step back. Also, we have some folks joining in late and we welcome each of you!!! If you're just joining us and don't have the 2nd edition of The Daily 5 we have ordered them and will distribute them as soon as we get them in.

A comment was made that resonated with me..."I felt like I was in grad school, again," in reference to posting a blog response. Now, this was not meant as a complaint but instead as a colleague verbally reminding him/herself that the PLC should be fun and an opportunity for growth. I appreciate this kind of honesty - it is a reminder that we never really established any group agreements about how we would function as a virtual PLC. 

Jennifer and I plotted out dates for the study of The Daily 5 and CAFE. The purpose of the dates is that it allows for you to build in some personal accountability. We WANT everyone to engage so that we can learn an grow from each other - that's the strength of a PLC. I certainly appreciate when folks email me or stop me in the hall to check in a let me know that they plan to post but have had X, Y, or Z going on. I get it! We support you and are confident that everyone participates to their full ability. The blog format allows everyone to interact as time allows. Please know that some of the PLC involves in classroom support from Jennifer and me so we are going to try to stick to our PLC calendar as closely as we can. Just a heads up, I am in the process of adding each of you to the PLC Google Calendar. :o)

For November 17 - November 30, we are asking everyone to read chapters 3 and 4 from The Daily 5.

Chapter 3 discusses the 10 steps to teaching and learning independence. Even if you've implemented and/or read the 1st edition of Daily 5, chapter 3 is a good refresher on why The Sisters teach the procedures the way the do and what research the 10 steps comes from. 

Check out these links from The CAFE website:
Video on reason to build stamina  https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/sisters-on-the-spotim-done
Downloadable Stamina Chart  https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/building-stamina
10 Steps to Independence quick reference  https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/10-steps-to-teaching-and-learning-independence

Chapter 4 dives into what is needed to begin Daily 5. Those who have not started implementing Daily 5, you are ok. Jennifer shared a story of a teacher she coached who implemented Daily 5 for the second half of a school year, beginning in February. That particular teacher continues to implement Daily 5. It's never too late to start.

This time around for your blog responses, I would like to encourage you to build off of each other's thoughts. There is no need to start a new response string unless your thought(s) are completely different than what you are reading. I'm trying to get in there to respond as well. 

Blog response:
For chapter 3, what appeals to you about the procedures laid out in the 10 steps? 
For those who are already implementing, what changes would you like to make mid-stream? What words of support do you have for those just beginning the journey?

In chapter 4, keep a record for yourself about materials you will need to begin Daily 5. When we return from Thanksgiving break, Jennifer and I will be asking folks about their needs so that we can go to the principals and share the needs at one time. 

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You may use your participation in the PLC as evidence of professional practice as defined byCharlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching. This week's participation is evidence of 

Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities -

• 4a: Reflecting on Teaching - Use in future teaching
• 4d: Participating in a Professional Community - Relationships with colleagues & Involvement in culture of professional inquiry
• 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally - Enhancement of content knowledge and pedagogical skill

Implementation of the 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence could be observable evidence of Domain 2: The Classroom Environmnet -

• 2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
• 2b: Establishing a Culture for Learning
• 2c: Managing Classroom Procedures
• 2d: Managing Student Behavior
• 2e: Organizing Physical Space

PLC Session 1: The Daily 5, Chapters 1 & 2

Greetings PLC!!!

Now that fall parent/teacher/student conferences are over, we are ready to launch into Daily 5. Jennifer and I are beyond excited that we have so many fellow educators eager to be part of a learning community that focuses on literacy. Those that introduced themselves in the first blog post all shared the desire to implement Daily 5 in a way that is effective and meets the unique needs of students.

We honor the fact that each of you is teaching part or full time and that you have lives outside of your school. As such, we have tried to make the book study and Daily 5/CAFE implementation manageable. As a participant, we ask that you read (or re-read) the chapter for the week. As we progress in our PLC, there will be times that Jennifer and/or I may observe, provide feedback, model, and co-teach portions of Daily 5/CAFE. The goal is to provide support for you as you implement or refine your implementation of Daily 5.

For Monday, October 27th through Friday, November 7, we ask that you read chapters 1 & 2 of The Daily 5, Our Core Beliefs: The Foundations of the Daily 5.
For those of you with access to The Daily CAFE website, here are links from the website to deepen your understanding and reflection.
The Power of Choice  https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/the-power-of-choice 
Brain and Body Breaks https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/brain-and-body-breaks

Respond to the prompts in the comment section of the blog post. Feel free to start your own string or you may build upon another member's response. Remember that you need to log into your district Google account in order to post a comment. Please post comments by November 7, 2014.

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You may use your participation in the PLC as evidence of professional practice as defined by Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching. This week's participation is evidence of 

Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities -

• 4a: Reflecting on Teaching - Use in future teaching
• 4d: Participating in a Professional Community - Relationships with colleagues & Involvement in culture of professional inquiry
• 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally - Enhancement of content knowledge and pedagogical skill

Welcome to our professional learning community!!!

Jennifer Napoleon and I are excited to have an opportunity to learn and grow with you. 

This blog is our first step toward bringing teachers from the Lincoln County School District together to talk about sometime we are all passionate about: literacy. 

The focus for this Professional Learning Community is The Daily 5 (second edition) and The CAFE Book, both by "The Sisters", Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. We will also reference the website, http://www.thedailycafe.com/, for those with individual website memberships. 
 

We have developed a plan for the remainder of the school year that we believe will allow us to read (or reread) the books and begin implementing what we learn in a way that also honors the fact that we are teaching full time. At Oceanlake and Taft Elementary schools, part of the school improvement plan will include ongoing observations and support related to our readings. The link to the Google calendar will be posted on this blog soon so that you can see our proposed plan for reading and implementing Daily 5 and CAFE.

This blog is meant to be interactive. We will have regular posts that we ask encourage everyone to respond to - that's how we learn together and how we remain connected.

To begin, we ask everyone to reply to this post. Share with us your name, your school, your grade level, and why you've joined the PLC. You will need to log into your LCSD Google account to post. 

We look forward to learning with you.