Blog 1: Miller Section 1

Miller Section 1: Not This: Is there Enough Time? And is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?

My purpose for choosing this reading was clear to me. My greatest struggle as a teacher is finding the “time” and using the time that I do have wisely. I loved that Debbie Miller addresses this strong educational concern first in her book and it gave me much insight into how I can better use the precious time that I have.

“What Benches are you Guarding?” This is a strong question for all teachers…. What “things” have we always done and continue to do that really are not best practices for our students? I read this section with an open mind to things that I do daily and reflected on how my practices as a teacher. We all have this idea of worksheets or test preps that we must do and it really is not the best use of our time each day with our students.

“Children learn to read by reading… but not without instructional support”. This is my favorite line of the chapter and it is so very true. Reading is not DEAR or SSR, it must have an instructional purpose. I love having a focus strategy and see students being about to apply comprehension skills while they are reading books that they love. My favorite part of the day is my reading workshop and I have already seen my students grow as readers. I reflect on my practice daily with my workshop and am always changing and fine tuning different aspects of my mini-lesson or students practice while they are reading independently.