'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?
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
Richard Allington is my favorite reading researcher (along with Reggie Routman). He says "practice makes perfect... just reading - is a powerful contributor to the development of accurate, fluent and high comprehension reading." He goes on to say that his number one intervention for struggling readers is to build a structure in which they are reading volumes of books, at their level, every single day.
ReplyDeleteI have been really excited with what I have seen during Read to Self. Students who were not interested in reading at the beginning of the year, are now unable to put their books down. I agree with the statement about giving students a choice when it comes to reading. Not only have I seen reading interest rise, but students are all engaged when it comes to Read to Self. They come to me on a daily basis sharing books that they have either read or are currently reading. I am many times finding that students are so excited about reading now...even those who had no interest at the beginning of the year. Read to Self often ranges between 20-30 minutes daily and students are tracking themselves (responsible for their own learning) successfully!
ReplyDeleteRead to self lasts about 5 minutes with my kindergarten students right now. They take three books with them to a spot where they believe they 1. Will be comfortable 2. Where they won't be distracted by other students. They are getting very good at choosing these spots. Before we begin I always review the three ways to read a book and remind them that if they finish the three good fit books of their choice they can reread them with one of the other reading methods. Earlier in the year they kept wanting to read with a friend instead. So, now I have it structured so that after the 5 minutes of read to self, they may choose to switch and read with a friend or they may switch books and continue reading to self. This has worked wonderfully! The majority of the students want to read with a partner after the chime, but some are choosing to continue on with read to self :).
ReplyDeleteI feel I am in a comfortable groove when it comes to Daily 5. With the new schedule change, I ended up losing 40 minutes of my ELA block, which has effected choices made by my students. We only have one session a day for Daily 5. This choice time lasts for about 30 minutes. I meet with small groups while students are working on Daily 5. I will be splitting up Daily 5 choices into two 15 minute sessions coming after break to help build back stamina. Read to Self is my students' favorite choice out of all the choices. I am more struggling with Work on Words and having my students do those choices. I need to have a better accountability system. I have them fill out their charts, but they do not turn it in. I will mull it over on the break :)
ReplyDeleteI am working with the 3rd Grade "Emergent Readers" during walk to read. I try to pair Read to Self and Writing during our rotations so that students can choose which option to start with. We revisit IPICK and Read to Self Expectations frequently and the kids have started taking on the responsibility of helping each other remember what independent work time looks and sounds like. They have gotten very good about solving problems and letting small group instruction continue without interruption. We have also really worked on making good decisions about where to work. Some choose to remain at their desks, some sit on the rug, one student stands at his desk and reads and writes while rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. We have been doing a lot of talking about what we need to do our best work while letting others work too.
ReplyDeleteThe result of this collaborative efforts seems to be paying off. I am seeing my struggling readers spend a lot more time engaged in reading books suited for them a lot less time avoiding reading and aimlessly shopping for books.
My afternoon challenge group students are able to read to self for 3-4 minutes. Read with someone is still a little rocky. We have reviewed "The Three Ways to Read a Book", they are able to repeat back the reasons and how it should be done :) after read to self, they are given the option to continue on with read to self or read with a partner. Some of them are still struggling to be responsible and stay on task but that's expected at kindergarten.
ReplyDelete