Thursday, October 29, 2015

Teelah Harris Blog #1- Section 1

"If only I could add more hours to the day..."  is usually my thoughts everyday.  A teachers job is really never done.  We start to do list and schedules, only to continue to add to them throughout the day.  Every morning, my day starts with making my schedule for the day. I use the plans that I work so hard on to create my daily schedule.  I incorporate the details that I want to do throughout that day.  Every day independent reading is added as a important part of our day because we have been taught how important it is for readers.  Time has been a big constraint for fifth grade.  Our students are involved all around the school and are excused out of the classroom for various reasons.  Knowing the importance of reading ,  I have worked and reworked my schedule to make it work just like Miller mentions.  As a grade level, we have cut out morning work to allow more time for instruction.  Students are expected to read while I conference with students  I think the best reading instruction comes from a mix of independent reading/conferences and guided reading.  Students have to practice reading skills and that can be done in reading groups.  I personally like to allow my students to independently read daily, but conference 3 out 5 days with students..  That leaves 2 days for guided reading purposes.  This format seems to work well with my students' schedule.  Millers says, "its our job to do everything we can to equip children with the tools they need to stay engaged and motivated when we're not there."  With my method, my students are engaged and motivated and they even help to hold me accountable.  When the day goes by and we haven't had our independent reading time, students often say, "Ms. Harris, we need quiet reading time today" or "Today we get to work in groups."  It helps to keep me on track and continuing to create lifelong readers.  I totally agree with Miller and Moss when they say, "when independent reading stands alone with no instructional framework...it's simply not enough.  I think by teaching mini-lessons, conferencing, and having students to apply their skills, we are helping students to read for the long term.

2 comments:

  1. Eureka! I think you found gold in the way you set up your schedule! Good for you and your students! I love that you continually worked with the challenges that you face your schedule yet did not let go of what you believe is important. Giving them time to read and support through the whole process is exactly what we all need to do in elementary school so that each and every one of our students is provided for and comes to love reading. Then we have truly done our job.

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  2. Schedules are struggles--but it sounds like you've made some nice progress. Looking critically at morning work and deciding to do independent reading instead is a big win!

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