Lori Henke- Ch. 3- Routman--Blog #6

        Share Your Reading Life!  I really enjoyed this chapter, and it was a good reminder to do this with my students.  I remember, as a child, my 3rd grade teacher sharing with our class about her favorite books as a child.  I distinctly remember her excitement while telling us about the books! 
         I know my students respond in much the same way when I share anything personal about myself with them.  They love to hear stories about my family, my pets, my travels, my weekends, etc.  They also love to hear about books that I've read, or new books that I've heard about that I think they might like.  I started out the year doing this as I was teaching the text-to-self strategy while reading aloud to my students. 
         We have a Book Talk Padlet on our Reading It's Learning page where the students can add recommendations about books that they have read.  I also like to share the Scholastic Book orders with the kids, and let them choose books that I buy for our classroom library.  I hope my enthusiasm for reading and books is contagious, and that my students catch the reading fever!!!

Robin Wright - Routman Ch. 3 - Share Your Reading Life - Blog Post #6

     This time of year was an excellent time for me to read Routman's Chapter 3, Share Your Reading Life.  It's cold, the students are tired, the snow fall we received, or lack of, was disappointing, and spring break seems to be a very long way off.  Independent reading, although still enjoyable to most of my students, has lost a bit of its appeal.  What a great time to share my reading life with my students to jump start their interest in reading again.  Routman mentions throughout the chapter the importance of making our own thinking visible to our students and modeling the practices that we use.
     In the Try It, Apply It sections, I was encouraged to know that some of the suggestions Routman recommended were already being applied in my classroom.  Strategies such as, sharing with a partner their favorite book, or part of a book, having a bin within the classroom library labeled "Teachers Choice" and using notebooks to record their reactions to books they are currently reading.  Yet, I have noticed that my classroom library has sadly not been paid much attention lately. Routman suggests bringing in books that I am reading to share with my students. However, I don't believe that my third graders would be very interested in Reading Essentials or any of the other professional texts I am currently reading.  He did spark an idea that I believe will help bring enthusiasm back to my classroom.  My plan is to bring in my favorite book when I was a child and my favorite books that I read to my own children and loaning these to our classroom library.  I also want to encourage my students to "shop" in our classroom library and create a bulletin board with books that the children would recommend to others.  I am hoping to create book clubs and conduct author studies within my classroom.
     I did find this chapter to be helpful with sparking some ideas to encourage my students to keep reading. I most related with Routman's belief that requiring reading logs, counting pages or updating reading records are not effective.  When these things are required of our students, reading often becomes a chore that causes children to dislike reading.  If we want children to become life long readers, then the act of reading should be a pleasure, not a chore.

Rebecca Welch, Routman Ch 4: Teach with a Sense of Urgency

When reading this chapter, I was really taken with some things. Routman says teaching with a sense of urgency means, "making every moment in the classroom count." I know this is something that I still struggle with. I try to prep everything and be ready to go, but I don't think I am ever totally prepared, and it wastes time. I also have so many management problems that I don't know how to handle well, and that wastes time too. I am trying to find ways to handle the management and have that not waste time.

As I continued reading, I saw the top 5 things to do to ensure students become readers on page 43. I thought that would be a great tool to use with students. To have them tell me the top 5 things they want to improve on, or things they need from me. I thought it would be great for goal setting for them and for me.

While going through the chapter and the explanation of how to use the Optimal Learning Model, I had a light bulb moment. The demonstration portion is the mini-lesson, the shared demonstration is where we begin working through the problems, the guided practice is when they work on problems with me and I just check with them, and then they go do independent work. I feel like I would be more comfortable using this type of structure in my room. Routman says we need to "...base instruction on what kids need rather than on their components of a literacy program (pg. 43)." So if I try this, I think it would help me be a better reading teacher and that would make my students better readers.

Lynn Flake -- Routman 6&7 -- Plan and Monitor Independent Reading

I loved this chapter! I wanted to read it because I know that I’m really good at providing independent reading time daily. However, the monitoring part is still a little tricky sometimes. That being said, I feel like I’ve made huge gains in that area this year. I believe that providing independent reading time (with support) is the most critical part of not just our ELA block, but is key for integrating other subjects as well. I felt good that many of the strategies Routman talks about are already well established routines in my classroom.

I am working on getting my students to dig deeper during reading time. I want to get past those superficial “what is the setting?” questions and really get my kids to analyze and think beyond the text. I fully believe that at this point in the year, each one of my students is capable of this kind of thinking, with a level appropriate text. However, the word “analyze” seems to make some of my kids freeze up – so we’re working on that! J

My kids (for the most part) absolutely do not care about a page number reading goal. Trying to get them to log pages, even for prizes is like pulling teeth. This was very frustrating to me in the beginning of the year. One thing I realized about my kids is how slowly some of them read (compared to myself). With page goals, many of my kids race through reading, this is where they can’t remember details, don’t pay attention to the characters, and just skip words they don’t know without ever coming back to decode. I have spent a lot of time since November working with my students on their stamina goal. We’ve talked about how people need 60-90 minutes a day of reading to grow healthy readers. My kids understand that just like their bodies need exercise, so does their brain. As a class, we’ve been keeping track of our stamina goals and the amount of time they spend reading. I’ve noticed that by making that the focus, my kids are reading better and many of them are making their page goals. Yay!

Aside from conferencing, I have the kids use sticky notes a lot to monitor independent reading time.  Another tool that we’ve started using across the grade level to monitor independent reading time is a rubric. I love this because I do think our kids should get credit/graded for something that they’re doing every day. It’s a great way to see if they’re meeting expectations and it is also something that I can send home weekly to communicate progress with parents! Out of all of our PLC’s for the year, the one that we talked about setting up those rubrics was possibly my favorite. 

Lynn Flake -- Routman Emphasize Shared Reading Chapter 9

When I first previewed this chapter, I was hesitant because it looks a little tedious. But I’m really glad that I went back and read it. I got more little take aways from this chapter than I have any other. There are a lot of examples and ideas for how to implement a deeper experience with shared reading. Some of these things I was doing with my class without even realizing that it was a shared reading strategy. I love feeling validated as a teacher J But even more so, I like learning new and simple things that I can implement. I like that at the beginning she points out that a shared reading environment helps to make an enjoyable experience and creates classroom bonds. I’ve totally seen that myself! I feel like so often we get caught up in test scores, data, and etc. that the “enjoyment” gets put on the back burner – and that is the very last thing that we should want. It can be especially difficult for those reluctant readers, but I think shared reading can be just the answer! I try to read to my students EVERY DAY. Some days, it is a challenge. However, I think it is so important to model strategies for them, and some of the most valuable conversations we have in our class are about books that I’ve read aloud to them. I liked some of the activities and lessons that Routman included. This time in my classroom has pretty much always been the same, with little variation. So I liked that she gave me some ideas to change it up and keep it fresh. I’ve done shared reading activities on Big Universe, and after reading this I realized that I could use my ELMO as well – since we don’t use transparencies J  I never really called any of these times shared reading, but I’m happy to have a label to put on this time in our classroom. 

Vicky Mclain’s Blog Post 9: Routman Chp. 6-7 Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading and Make Assessment Instruction’s Working Partner

Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading

I put off reading/blogging about independent reading because I felt like it was one of the strengths in my class.  In August, I spent time laying the foundation for a strong independent reading component.  We went over expectations and procedures as we walked through our classroom library.  We discussed choosing “just right” books.  According to Routman’s t-chart on pg. 85 my independent reading program was good to go!  My students knew that independent reading would take place every day and it has. Through my numerous conferences I found areas of concern and followed suit with mini-lessons. Students have read alone, with partners, and in groups. Students have kept records of their reading on the H drive and I’ve documented many conferences.

According to Routman, “Independent reading provides the indispensable practice that literacy learners require to become successful, self-regulating, self-monitoring readers.   This independent practice includes response.”  Using this quote as an introspective looked into my independent reading practice.  The weak area seems to be self-monitoring.  My students have been more focused on reading a certain number of pages (since that is their goal).  They monitor how many pages they are reading.  I’m not very thrilled that this is mainly the extent of their self-monitoring.

Another area of improvement: In regards to responses, the responses from the students has been mediocre at times.  There are short slips of paper where student can write their responses to books.  The reading log that my students to weekly to document reading at home rarely has meaningful responses.  The turn and talk dialogue between students is often short and shallow. My responses to them have sometimes been a dialogue about their book and at other times it was just a simple pat on the back “good job” feedback.

Another area of improvement:  “Just right books” My students were consumed with finding “just right books” that they rarely challenged themselves.  I had discussions with individual students about finding more challenging books because like Routman said on pg. 93 “once students are competent readers, reading only easy books is not enough for continued growth.”

Overall, I feel like the independent reading portion of our reading instruction is on target.  I don’t want to over analyze independent reading.  I just want to make sure that my students enjoy reading and they are growing in comprehension.

Make Assessment Instruction’s Working Partner

Hmm…timely blog to have as we are staring eye ball to eye ball with standardized testing. However, this chapter is about meaningful assessment that informs instruction and benefits our students.

“Whenever I am with students, I am evaluating them and noticing what they need to move ahead.” – Routman pg. 100

This is true of me.  This type of assessment and evaluation is often undocumented though it might be found on a sticky note or slip of paper on my desk.  I’m working on it!

“We can’t just follow the directions of a manual and hope for the best.” Routman pg. 100

Amen!  Students are not household appliances.  They unique.  We know them.  We monitor and adjust based on what we observe.

STAR data, DRAs, informal reading inventories and conferences were the driving forces for most of my instruction.  I feel like I had a good balance of formal and informal assessments. However, it is challenging to get grades for the gradebook.  Routman addresses this same issue on page 112.  Our grade level has a rubric that is very similar to the one on pg. 113.  However, that is just two or three grades per nine weeks.  We don’t do that weekly.  The need for more informal reading assessment that computes to a grade for gradebook is still very real.

Vicky McLain’s Blog Post 8: Routman Chp. 10 Examine Guided Reading

Guided Reading is often the last thing to be squeezed into my tight schedule.  Guided reading was first introduced to me in Greenville County when we focused on Dr. Pat Cunningham’s and Dorothy Hall’s Four Block model. 

“In Guided Reading, teachers choose material for children to read and a purpose for reading, and then guide them to use reading strategies needed for that material and that purpose. Teachers provide guidance in a variety of whole class, small group, and partner formats. Guided Reading is always focused on comprehension. Children learn to predict what might happen or what they might learn. They learn about the story elements of characters, setting, and plot, and they learn how to organize and compare information learned from informational text.” (http://www.nevada.k12.mo.us/Bryan_School/Homepage/Four%20Block%20%20Method.htm)

Though Cunningham and  Routman are similar, I appreciate Routman’s broad view of Guided Reading…”any learning context in which the teacher guides one or more students through some aspect of the reading process…”  As I said in a previous post.  Sometimes we over “teacherize” our pedagogy making our teaching complicated, dreaded, and overly challenging. 

Guided reading comes after the teacher has modeled through mini-lessons and/or shared reading the strategies to be practiced during guided reading.  Guided reading puts students in the driver’s seat with the same goal as before “supporting students in becoming more accomplished readers” (pg. 152).

When it comes to grouping, Routman suggest heterogenous leveled groups past 2^nd grade.  I see the value in that.  However, I seem to be able to meet the needs of the lower 40% when I have small homogenous groups.  I agree with Routman that those grouping sessions do not need to be long.  I don’t want my students to feel like they are stuck in those groups either.

Routman highlights the real struggle we have to find quality books for guided reading.  I teach fifth grade, so interest and content should be considered more into the book selection rather than levels.  However, for those in the urgent intervention or intervention realm I need to choose books that allow them to feel competent and confident.  The checklist on pg. 155 is a great resource in helping us choose excellent books for guided reading. 

Perhaps the most frustrating element of guided reading is organization of groups and scheduling. I appreciate the ease Routman gives us in that we don’t need to meet with every group every day.  Nor do we need to let guided reading dominate our schedules.  In addition, guided reading (like shared reading) doesn’t have to be limited to the reading block on our schedules.  Instead this can be practiced across the curriculum.  Truth is, that is the only way I’m able to fit it in.  The main focus in my reading instruction is independent reading.  I’m glad Routman encourages this!

The most helpful part of this chapter is on pages 163-167.  It’s very frustrating when I’m trying to meet with a group or a student and the rest of the class is distracting.  This is an area that needs improvement.  I have set expectations but some aren’t following suit.

Routman’s frameworks and examples are very helpful.  I noticed that the guided reading lessons are truly focused more on meaning than anything else.  This is consistent with Routman’s philosophy.  We read for meaning.  Our small group time should also focus on meaning.  Focusing on fluency has its place and time.  But our main focus is on cultivating comprehension through finding meaning. 

Vicky McLain's Post 7: Routman Chp. 9 Emphasize Shared Reading

This is an excellent chapter that is full of useful examples of how to successfully implement shared reading.

The opening paragraph grabs my attention because she says that utilizing shared reading makes reading enjoyable, helps us with small groups, enriches the classroom bonds, and improves reading achievement.  Shared reading makes our reading “visual” for our students as discussed in Chp.8 about teaching comprehension.

The method: Teacher models by reading a text with fluency and expression and invites the students to read along.  I can see why this method tapers off in upper elementary grades.  Students become more self-conscious to the point of inhibiting such enjoyable participation. We can reclaim this enthusiasm by modeling and encouraging. I think poetry is an excellent way to implement this “purposeful teaching, discussing activity” (pg. 133) into my schedule.

Shared reading is much more than the method listed above.  Shared reading can take on various forms…teacher: student, teacher:students, student: teacher, and I think even (with practice) student:student.  Changing it up keeps it exciting.  The framework on pgs. 134-137 is helpful.  I noticed that in the student section there is nothing about answering questions in response to the text.  Interestingly, that is how we usually evaluate understanding.  The purpose for questioning is found in the teacher section is more focused on resulting in purposeful and meaningful discussion than assessment.

Routman’s gift of detailed shared reading lessons of picture books, informational texts, and other genres provides us with a closer look at how we can make shared reading doable and enjoyable in our classrooms.  Since we don’t use transparencies we could use Big Universe or other texts online to facilitate this activity.

In the past, I’ve relied on the teacher’s manual of the basal as a helpful tool for conducting shared reading.  I didn’t call it that at the time.  But that is what was happening though it didn’t involve as much meaningful discussion as Routman’s examples.  

Rebecca Welch: Routman Ch.9 Emphasize Shared Reading

When looking at the chapter menu, this title really stuck out to me because we have begun book clubs. I was intrigued by the ideas that could be in this chapter. I am also not very familiar with how shared reading should work, so I was excited. Shared reading occurs when the readers see a text, observe an expert and then reads along. This works very well with poems and chants but can work with any text. But I think this can really be used in book clubs as well. I did not set my book clubs up totally horizontally. I set some up of my groups vertically so that there can be some peer tutoring. I think students can definitely take some time every during meetings to read together and the higher readers can help the lower readers. They can act as a teacher in this scenario. 

I did notice during the chapter though that shared reading should be "the bulk of my reading demonstrations" (pg. 132). When thinking about my classroom, I rarely do any shared reading, but I read aloud almost every day. I always have a class novel that I am reading aloud that we read every day when we come in from recess. I use this time as not only a calm-down time from recess, but as a time to get our minds back to learning and ready to read. I think I should start using this time to do some shared reading as well. I can even start making copies of some pages so students can follow along and read along. I think this will help their reading dramatically. 

I also realized that shared reading "provides a context for students to talk with one another about a text" (pg. 133). My students are so talkative, so if shared reading (or book clubs) get students talking about something other than popular songs or each other;s hairlines, I will be one happy teacher!

I am excited about the possibilities of shared reading in my room, from book clubs to read aloud time, to anything that we can read together. I think I am going to be implementing shared reading much more in my room. 

Lori Henke- B\log #5- Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading/Make Assessment Instruction's Working Partner - Ch. 6 and 7 Routman

I feel validated after reading Ch. 6 of Routman's book.  I chose to read this chapter, because I believe that the Independent Reading portion of my ELA block is crucial to the student's success in improving in reading.  A number of strategies that are in the chapter are strategies and practices that we already have established in my classroom.  There is always room for improvement, but I feel like our routine for independent reading time is well established. 

One area that I will be changing  when I am conferencing with my students, is the "push" for them to challenge themselves with a book that is at the higher end of their reading level range.  After reading this chapter and the article in our after school session last week, I realized that one of the most crucial parts of independent reading time, is the  ease with which a child can read and understand what they are reading. 

I have also implemented a weekly goal, instead of a monthly goal.  I changed this after the Christmas break and I am noticing that the students are very motivated to reach their weekly goal.  It seems much more attainable for them to think of their goal as a weekly goal.  I like the way they are progressing. 

In Ch. 7, I really like the Independent Reading Rubric on p. 113.  Mrs. Parker made one for us to use during our reading conferences.  I really like using it with the students because it gives them the exact reading objectives that they will be graded on.  A copy of the rubric also goes home in the child's Friday Folder, so the parents are kept in the loop about the expectations with reading as well. 

Karen Parker- Blog Post 5: Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

     I am obsessed with containers.  I have too many little plastic boxes that I know I will need one day to organize something.  And I am obsessed with books.  When you put these two together, you can say I am obsessed with my classroom library.  Just the other day at Dollar Tree, my daughter told me I didn't need anymore of those purple or teal blue crates, but I told her I was sure to need them for more books. 
    I use many of the suggestions by Routman in Chapter 5 to organize my library.  He suggests having sections for genres so that books are easy to find.  My chapter books are divided by author or topic and are in the teal blue or purple crates.  My picture books are in clear bins marked by the genre (realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, poetry, informational, and biography).  I also have informational books in red bins by topic, such as animals, health,  and social studies.  He also suggest having a section for "light reading," and I have several National Geographic Kids books, encyclopedias on weather and presidents, and a basket for magazines.
    I love my library, but the problem is I don't think my students love it as much as I do.  They want to go to the school library rather than look in mine, and often they come back with a book unsuitable for them or a book that I have.  I definitely think that they want a chance to get out of the classroom for a minute or two, but it is frustrating.  They are only allowed to go to the school library after they have conferenced with me on the book they have finished, but it means that a lot of my books are not being used.  I will continue to build my library and make it the center of our classroom with the belief that it truly benefits my students.  And I will probably buy more books and purple and teal blue crates.  :)

Sheryl Hilton- Blog Post 5 Routman Chapter 6

In Routman’s Chapter 6, I could relate to the teacher that had a multitude of resources and books but they were not organized in a way that students could use them. Over the last several years, I have worked diligently to change how I set up my classroom and how materials are managed. It is still a work in progress but I feel much better about the amount of materials being used and managed by the students in my classroom.

Independent Reading is going well in my classroom. I have noticed that since we have come back from Christmas the students have slipped and we have been going back over the expectations. This chapter discussed seeing students “starring at books” rather than reading. I think we all have those readers but the great thing about independent reading is that you are conferencing with them and able to give them strategies that will help them on their road to success with their reading. Students in my classroom do choose books they are interested in but I need to provide more books on their reading level. My classroom library is lacking in this area. I am working on adding books but it takes time and money. I also want to do a better job of doing what I would consider an interest interview at the beginning of the year to better know my students interests as readers. The DRA test we give goes through many of the interview questions listed in this chapter but I could certainly go a little deeper with the questions to find out a little more. I would definatly wait until after reading stamina has been established to try and conduct an interview like this.

I liked the suggestion to occasionally give them a purpose for their reading such as having the students look at character behavior in their book or making a self to text connection. I actually tried this with my class and it worked well and it gave me something specific to focus on when I was conferencing with the students. My students love to partner read as well. They get excited about reading with their friend which makes me excited as well.

I have noticed with some of my fluent readers they are not comprehending as they read. My plan during guided reading is to take their abilities to a deeper level rather than continuing on with more difficult text. This chapter reinforced what I had planned to do with my students. I am finding that all of the components of Daily 5 work together to make students stronger readers and writers if we as teachers use them the way they are designed. I am still learning but I am seeing great gains in my students reading abilities. It all stems from me knowing my students strengths and weaknesses through conferencing a small guided reading groups. I am excited to see what second semester holds for my students.

Katrina Hankins Blog Post 5--Teaching Comprehension

I reread this Chapter 8 of Routman’s book because so many people have listened to their students read either using an IRI or DRA and expressed concerns about their comprehension.  Even Routman expresses what we know is true regarding the current state of affairs for many our readers when she says, “We are turning out lots of superficial readers.”  Yes, they may sound good but they have no idea what they are reading.  So philosophically I ask, if they are not getting the meaning from what they read, are they really reading?  I have to say that they are not. 

Now the next question is for us.  How do we help them become real readers and even dare to go more deeply into comprehending what they read?  My answer has always been to let them read and let them talk.  Even Routman says to start with what they are reading.  Letting them choose is a must.  Giving them time to read and talk about it only makes sense otherwise why bother saying that you allow choice.  In addition, we must support their reading with explicit instruction.  This gets a bit tricky because we often go on and on beating a strategy in day after day then wondering why they don’t get better as a reader.  Reading is complex and highly personal.  One strategy will never do.  Yes, we can and should model and instruct the strategies that are essential for reading but we have to make them applicable and personal.  The only way I know to do it is to conference with them, provide the feedback that they need when they need it, and continue to get them to read and apply many different strategies as they are appropriate for the text they are reading.  This can obviously be done with conferencing but it also can be done through peer discussions and writing too.

A fourth grade teacher recently approached me about student self-assessment as a missing piece in our efforts to raise student achievement.  Just as we provide the “think aloud” for students to see how readers comprehend and use strategies to make meaningful connections to text, so too should students.  We do need to encourage and guide our students to process their abilities and metacognition so that they are in tune with themselves as readers and therefore continue to grow in their abilities.  I am so looking forward to this teacher providing a look as self-assessment as professional development in the near future so that we are able to continue to help our students to sift through the complex process of reading and find a meaningful activity that they will enjoy.  That, I think, will help make real lifelong readers since reading will no longer be reduced to a basic task of calling out a bunch of words from a page.  It may actually become fun!

Dawn Mitchell's Share Your Reading Life Regie Routman's Chapter 2

During the month of January our application we are working on learning about Socio Cultural Learning theories and strategies that help support student talk.   In our required reading this month Richard Allington identifies student talk as one of the essential components that characterize the most effective teachers’ classrooms. 

In January’s blendspace you will find a variety of resources we’ve included for you including the four theories that we are sharing with you such as Owocki and Goodman’s kidwatching excerpts that focus on sociocultural learning and talk and Chorzerpa’s suggestions for utilizing Socratic Seminar to promote active student engagement in learning.  You will also find in our blendspace an example of an award-winning podcast in the link to NPR’s “This I Believe” podcast series as well as a link to try out a very user friendly podcasting tool for students called vocaroo (vocaroo.com) 

This month for my blog post, I have chosen to read chapter 3 “Share Your Reading Life” from Routman’s Reading Essentials for many reasons.  First of all, I believe that this directs to the importance of talk in our classroom.  How many of us love to read and love to talk about what we are reading?  I know that many times I have read a book that has deeply affected me as a reader and I have immediately wanted to share that experience with another human. 

When I was in the second grade and read, Charlotte’s Web I remember sitting beside my best friend at the time, Amanda Ravan just a crying over the loss of Charlotte and the heart warming knowledge that I at 8 had experienced the joy of friendship.  When I was in the fifth grade and read Where the Red Fern Grows I remember vividly having to re-read it at night to my twin brother because I wanted someone else to know those two coon dogs, Little Ann and Ole’ Dan that had stolen my heart and made me love the outdoors all over again.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit to you that in college when Greg and I first met I read Nicolas Spark’s The Notebook and was so smitten by the idea of a love like that I asked him would he please read because I hoped that the new love we had found might grow into a lasting life time love like the two characters based on the author’s grandparents had found.  I know cheesy right! 

As readers we connect to what we read and we are compelled to share our thoughts with others.  When Lily Grace figured out what Severus Snape’s heart was really about in Harry Potter she had to run downstairs and tell me that he wasn’t all bad and she couldn’t believe I had let her peg him wrong all this time when I knew he actually helped save Harry in the end!  I told her that I was waiting to see her reaction and I didn’t want to spoil the discovery of loyalty in his character for her.  We then both concurred that J.K. Rowling had magical writing abilities to draw out his character development.

Our students need time to talk about what they’ve read, to transact with others who may affirm their thoughts and more importantly, who may challenge them and open them up to a new way of thinking.  In my first summer of the Spartanburg Writing Project, my book club that read and wrote under the influence of Barbara Kingsolver’s work that summer challenged my thinking and my writing in ways that grew me. 

In this month’s article, Allington states,  "..if we want to increase substantially the amount of reading that children do (and would I argue that this is one absolutely crucial step toward enhancing reading proficiency), it is important to give children books they can read and choices regarding which books they will read. Likewise, crafting a supportive conversational environment in which students talk to their teachers and to their peers about the books they are reading is an important component for sustaining increased reading. And active teaching of useful reading strategies expands the array of books that children are able to read. Finally, shifting evaluation to focus on effort and improvement enhances students' motivation for reading."  (Allington, 2002 pg. 8)

One of the strategies that Routman made in this chapter is to share your now and your next book and to have a record of your reading.  In my writer’s notebook I have a running list of books I’ve read so I can remember them for mentor texts and for the memories.

Each month I visit Mr. K’s Used Book store in Greenville (in Verdae Shopping Center off the Motor Mile) and buy my stack for the month.  Below is my picture of my Now Book stack.  Every single book in this stack was recommended to me by a friend.  Keri Lyles from Arcadia recommended Outlander (she was right, it is full of adventure, history, suspense, and a little romance too!).  A friend of mine I met in Kentucky when Tasha Thomas and I presented at a Writing Conference there recommended The Goldfinch to me on facebook and The Martian was highly recommended to me by my parents. 

Here is a picture of my Next Book Stack and both books on this list made the list through talking with others.  The Rick Bragg book is on my next stack because he is an all-time favorite of mine and two friends, Susan Cox and Pam Ray recommended this one to me recently.  The ESV Bible was given to me for Christmas by my husband Greg because two friends of mine recommended this translation to me. 

Other take aways for me from this chapter include:

*Favorite Author Area – page 30

*Baskets of Recommended books – page 30

*Keeping a Simple Reading Record – page 35

*Demonstrating How You Read and Your Love For Reading – page 36

Routman says on page 24 that it is important that we share our love of reading with our students.  “I want students to know I am compelled to read.  It is almost impossible for me not to read.  It’s much more than enjoying a well-told story, increasing my knowledge about the world, following directions, or say, understanding philosophy.  Reading pervades my life and sustains me the same way friendship and love do.  Reading gives me joy, comfort, perspective, new ideas, questions to ponder, and connections to other lives.  I want nothing less for my students.” (Routman, page 24)

I agree whole-heartedly.  #readersareleaders

Sincerely,

Dawn

Brandi Nolan: Blog Post 5: Routman Ch 3

Blog # 5
I read Routman (2003), Chapter 3: Share Your Reading Life.  I really enjoyed this chapter because I am an avid reader myself.  I read all the time for pleasure.  Often when I tell people this they say “you read because you like it?” and I reply “yes, I love to read!”  I cannot get enough of books!  I would love to share the books I am currently reading with my students.  Sometimes this is difficult because most of the books I read are on my Amazon Kindle app on my phone.  I do share my favorite authors with my students.  Some of these include Leo Lionni, Eric Carle, and Robert Munsch.  My students have absolutely loved all of the Robert Munsch books we have read together.
I do agree with the statement about what is your “now” book? what is your “next” book? which helps students start thinking about what book they are currently reading and which one they are going to read next.  Often times I try to make my book last as long as possible because I am afraid I will not find another one that is as good as the one I am currently reading.  I want to start keeping a reading log so I can share my reading thoughts and books with my students.  I can model for them how I go through my reading log and see which genre I tend to stick with and how I can expand my reading choices.  Therefore, I am going to start applying some of these practices in my classroom and sharing my reading life and my love for reading which will hopefully transfer over to my students and help start their love for reading.

Jaime Steading's Blog Post 5--Routman Chapt. 8: Teach Comprehension

I chose to read this chapter because comprehension is something my students struggle with.  This is a common trait for children with autism.  Many of my students are great "word callers", but they are unable to retell the story or answer questions about what they have read.  Routman says, "When we spend most of our energy focusing on words, students get the message that reading is about words rather than meaning".  One strength most children with autism have is rote memorization.  This can make them fantastic "word callers" and, I think, is the reason instruction for them is often geared towards word recall.  The difficulty with teaching comprehension to children with autism lies in the fact that these students tend to have difficulty with abstract thinking.  They tend to be very black and white, literal thinkers.  This makes it very difficult to teach comprehension skills, especially higher order thinking skills.

One idea Routman shared that I really liked is the "20-percent-to-80-percent rule".  This rule means that 20% of our time should be devoted to explicit instruction, while 80% should be devoted to guided practice.  The actual act of reading continues to be the most effective way to ensure student success.  The most effective way to teach comprehension, according to Routman, is to demonstrate how to use comprehension strategies by thinking aloud in front of your students.  I have to admit, this is difficult for me.  I often feel very awkward doing this.  I hope, with time and practice, it will become more second nature to me.

Another important idea Routman shares that I would like to incorporate into my classroom is interaction among peers.  Routman says, "Talking with others about what we read increases our understanding".  I am brainstorming ways to make this more effective in my classroom, since some of my students are very limited in their language.  They have difficulty carrying on conversations, let alone discussing a book they have read.  However, I hope with modeling and practice, this can be an effective way to increase not only comprehension, but communication as well.

Finally, Routman discusses using texts that are easy enough to support comprehension.  "Students can't read for meaning if they are struggling over words or concepts."  I have tried to pay closer attention to this.  For example, I have a couple of students who can "read" at a very high level without error, but are unable to tell anything about the story they read or answer questions about it.  In order to address this, I have dropped them to a much lower level.  I have seen an increase in these students' ability to answer questions and retell information from the story at this lower level.  It has increased their confidence, as well as their comprehension.  Hopefully, this strategy will continue to help close the gap between their comprehension and their word calling.

I will continue to research ways to help improve comprehension for children with autism.  I will also continue to look for ways to make comprehension more visual, as this is the way children with autism tend to learn best.  I plan on using some of the strategies that Routman shared in this chapter in my guided reading groups and read alouds to help increase comprehension skills for my students.

Robin Wright - Routman Ch. 6 & 7 - Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading/Make Assessment Instruction's Working Partner - Blog Post #5

     I chose to read these chapters because independent reading is something I definitely implement in my classroom, but I often question whether or not I am doing it "right."   As teachers, I have noticed throughout the years that it is really easy to get caught up with what everyone else is doing or what the research says.  This often times leaves us wondering if what we are implementing in our own classroom is good enough.  I have learned that what is best for my students, is best for my classroom. Chapter 6, Plan for and Monitor Independent Reading, confirmed that I am doing things right, but there is always room for improvement in everything we do.  Routman emphasizes that struggling readers need much more time to read.  The saying, practice makes perfect, really is so very true.  However, students have to be matched with a book that they not only enjoy, but comprehend as well.  This is so challenging for some of my struggling readers because they want to be included in that group that is reading the popular chapter books, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I Survived.  This is why Routman says that feedback is so important.  This conferencing is necessary to be sure that our students are applying the strategies that we have been teaching.  Conferencing is an ongoing process for me, one that I feel like I lack in and also one I am constantly trying to improve.  Everybody conferences differently.  Some take elaborate notes, some use random sticky notes and some don't take any notes at all.  Are any of these strategies incorrect?  I don't think so.  I know what works best with my students is that one on one interaction with me that they love to have.  When I conference with my students it is more of a laid back conversation that stirs up things they have connected their story with in their real lives.  It always leads to lots of smiles, laughs, and enjoyment for both of us. Yes, I try to focus on the skills and strategies, and we will identify verbs or practice our summarizing or expression, but to me the conversations about the books are the real teachable moments.  For those struggling readers that long to read the chapter books that are not right for them, Routman suggests partner reading.  This is something I have implemented many times in my classroom, but not during independent reading time.  I plan to use this strategy for some of my readers who I know are struggling to comprehend.  Routman has found that this idea increases reader involvement, attention and collaboration.
     Chapter 7, Make Assessment Instruction's Working Partner, emphasized what we have been learning in our monthly meetings, that a variety of assessments can be useful.  I must say that I have done more assessments on my students this school year then I ever remember doing.  From DRA's to IRI's to conferencing, I have found some of this helpful to guide my teaching direction.  I really liked how Routman included in this chapter a framework for an informal reading conference.  One of the suggestions that really stuck out was discussing their strengths while conferencing instead of always focusing on what they need to improve on.  I plan to use this framework to help me to continue to improve on my conferencing skills.