Sheryl Hilton Blog Post 2- Why Not? What Works?

Why Not? What Works?

Often times as a teacher, I feel guilty for giving students free time to read because of the pressure felt to cover so many standards and skills. Even before reading this article, I have changed from feeling guilty to enjoying this particular part of my day. The way I use my independent reading block looks completely different. Daily 5 has helped change what this time looks like in my classroom. Much time is spent building stamina and modeling how students go about reading independently. It is much more than putting a tub of books in the middle of a table and expecting students to know what to do. It was almost a dreaded time in my day simply because I didn’t’ set up appropriate expectations.

My students are building stamina with weeks of practice and modeling. The length of their stamina allows me to be able to listen to students read and give important feedback. It also allows me to see if students are comprehending what they are reading or just going through the motions. Just the other day I listened to a student “read” to me. She chose The Hokey Pokey because she knew the song. She began singing the song and sliding her fingers across the page. We looked at the picture to see what the text might be saying. She began using this strategy to help her read her book. She was very proud after finishing her book. I sent her back to continue to read so that I could listen to another student. I could hear a quite song singing behind me. It was that student quietly rereading her book because I had spent the time to listen and make a few suggestions for her reading. It is an exciting time to see engaged readers during independent reading. I still have those that are “fake reading” but we are moving in a positive direction. Mini lessons address weakness observed during independent reading.

The more I read in this article, I felt validated in what I have been working toward. I have spent countless hours sorting through books and putting them in tubs so the students have a variety of texts that they can choose from to put in their bag of books. I have been labeling books so students will be able to independently shop and return books to their appropriate bin. I am still labeling. This has limited the students’ selection but it has also given me the chance to model how to shop for books and return them with fewer tubs. I have noticed an increased interest in books I have read aloud to them. They are seeking some of these books out when they are doing their “shopping”.

After reading there were few things that I need to make sure I work towards. I need to make sure I teach strategies to read a variety of genres. I also need to work on getting more informational text. I have some but the majority of my classroom library consists of fiction text. I would really love to find leveled informational text appropriate for kindergarten readers. I feel that I am on the right track with how I have worked to create a classroom environment that promotes independent readers in my classroom.