Cindy Black Blog Post 3-MIller Section 1 "Is There Enough Time"

As a Kindergarten teacher the question of is there enough time in the day for students to pick up a book and read is a rather tricky question.  Since we are starting from the ground up and students in kindergarten are just learning how to read, letting them “read” on their own seems somewhat scary.  In reality, this is the most crucial time for students to “learn” to enjoy reading.  No they may not know all the words, no they may not be able to read the book out loud, but for most of my students they will pick a book based on pictures.  Does the cover look fun or interesting?  Are there lots of bright colors and pictures?  And for most of these students they can gather the point of the book just by the illustrations and context words they recognize.  So whether students are reading a chapter book or just learning about the book by the illustrations; our students are still reading and need this time to learn to enjoy picking up a book they like.  We do need to make time for this, and there is time.  Simply cutting out some of the “paper” work and readjusting some activities in our schedule that truly do waste time, leaves enough room in our schedule for reading!  This is also something that needs to become a habit!  Every day we need to spend time letting our students look at picture books and “read”.  Their imaginations can soar when they choose a book that interests them and that is the point of reading!  Another way to make this short reading time meaningful is the conversations that are had after they read.  Asking them about the book, about the main characters, or about their favorite part are all questions that can be asked so we learn about what our students took from the book.  Whether or not they actually comprehended what the book was about, and also to understand their way of thinking and how they felt after reading it.  We learn so much from our students just based on figuring out how they think!  So, yes!  There is time for reading, and plenty of it, we just have to make it a priority and make the time for it!  And ENJOY it once we make the time!