Blog #7 Chapter 6 Independent Reading Jenny Blanton

Independent reading is one of those areas that I know I need to make sure I have time carved out for it each day, and I need to utilize it the best I can, but truthfully sometimes if I am running out of time in my day it gets pushed to the back. I can totally relate to the friend she mentions at the beginning of the chapter. Also I am having to re-evaluate how effective my independent reading time is.  I do meet with my students as much as I can to conference and guide their selections, but there is only one of me so I don't get to as many students as I would like in a week.  Katrina has started coming in once a week to try and help so we can get to more students more frequently. I try to keep records, but it is often hard because I like to keep our conversations casual, and it takes a lot of my time so that I can't get around to as many kids in one day.  I  also realize I may not be giving my students enough time to read daily.  I have some students who naturally pick up a book any time they have extra time during the day, but others will only read during their independent reading time.  I do not do a great job of setting goals with my students.  We set goals a few time earlier in the year, but with time constraints I usually do not make this part of my daily conferencing.  I do have a good classroom library, but I need to take the time more often to go through it and make sure it is still organized appropriately.  One thing I do not do in my classroom (except during science/social studies) a lot is partner reading.  I think my kids would really like this and it is something I would like to try in my classroom  more.  The hardest thing I believe during independent reading is getting my students to pick just right books.  We are told that students should have choice, but often times if they get a just right book, it is really hard to find one they are interested in.  This is especially true of my lower students, because the books appropriate for them they are embarrassed to read, or they find boring.  I really have to look hard for them on our class library trips.  Overall I feel like I am on the right track to making sure my students have time daily to read and make it beneficial for them.  This chapter had some good thoughts on how I can tweak it to make it more meaningful.