Carol Talanges - Blog 6 - Routman ch. 4

       All teachers can relate to the statement “Teach with a Sense of Urgency”. We all know the value in every second in the classroom and what to do all that we can to use that time wisely. I greatly related to Routman when she states “I am relaxed and happy when I am working with students, but I am also mindful of where I need to get them and how little time I have in which to do it”.  I so often lose track of time during our independent reading and conferencing time. I so love hearing what all my students are reading and how they are meeting their goals, but have to also stay aware of giving proper time for instruction and making wise teaching decisions.

            My YES moment came from Routmans Top Five Things…

1.      Demonstrate that I am a reader

2.      Provide an excellent classroom library

3.      Let students choose books they want to read and give them time to read them

4.      Teach strategies students need to know to process and understand text

5.      Evaluate students regularly, giving them feedback and helping them set goals

        As I was reading this I latterly thought that this is what I needed to read today. As testing is approaching it is easy to be harsh on myself and to become panicked with “did I prepare my students”. If I were to create my top 5 it would perfectly reflect this list. I most want my students to love reading and I want to give them every opportunity to choose great books for them and to grow as readers. At the end of the year I know that if I do these things that my students will leave me with a stronger reading foundation and I hope that I will plant the seed for a life-longer reader and learner!