Thinking back to my childhood, I did not enjoy reading. Between the whole class novels that lasted all quarter, ridiculous amount of annotating, packets to complete, and sitting through a whole class period taking turns reading from a textbook.... Groan! It is so important to me as a Kindergarten teacher that I do my best to make sure my students are engaged and love to read and write. Along with that, we have to be intentional and provide time to do so.
Which practices are hurting our readers?
Students don't need to know their reading level because adults don't know theirs.
FREE from Jen Jones HERE
....Allow students to have a balanced reading diet. Meaning, students have books on their independent level that they can read confidently in addition to books they are interested in reading. As adults, we don't go to a bookstore or library and only select books from a leveled bin. Choice is choice. Remember, during guided reading students are reading texts on their instructional level and are receiving support so they can apply these strategies when they read independently.Students don't need to complete packets and reading logs to prove they read.
....there is no research to support that taking reading quizzes improves comprehension. Yes, A.R. I am talking about you. Spending time reading and writing can improve reading comprehension. Guided writing also plays a role in my guided reading lessons, usually after the comprehension activity.
If you haven't already, get Jan Richardson's book, The Next Step in Guided Reading. Included are leveled sight word lists and leveled word work. It is so simple to implement into your guided reading routine. I highly recommend. I met Jan Richardson at the National Reading Recovery Conference in February so I am a fan!
Students don't need classroom libraries that lack choice.
....Although it is important that students have time to read books on their independent level, choice is what motivates readers and what helps students discover their interests. Classroom libraries should contain hundreds of books. Not multiple copies of the same book. A classroom library should have multiple authors /genres / series / interests. This is what makes students excited to read.
Students don't need to stop listening to read alouds.
....listening to read alouds on the carpet has many benefits. During this time, you are modeling a positive attitude towards reading and introducing students to a wide variety of books. In addition, you are modeling skills such as fluency, expression, and monitoring comprehension. Even with intermediate students, picture books are still a strong mentor text to model comprehension strategies.
Jen Jones from Hello Literacy has a free mentor text list for reading literature standards in grades K-2. Download HERE and grades 3-6 HERE It is one of the best free products I own because it is a time saver and easy to navigate when lesson planning.
Students don't need to skip writer's workshop.
....even in Kindergarten having a devoted writer's workshop time is crucial. Writing and reading are connected processes. Last year, a study was published illustrating that invented spelling is linked to reading ability. Read more about the study here. I also did my action research for my master's degree on this topic. Student's writing reveals which spelling patterns they have mastered and how they manipulate sounds. Many times writing and reading are viewed are separate subjects but we write to read and read to write.
People and Resources That Inspire Me:
-Donalyn Miller (Reading in the Wild and The Book Whisperer)
-Pernille Ripp (Passionate Readers)
-Jen Jones -- helloliteracy.blogspot.com IG : @hellojenjones
-Jennifer Serravallo (The Reading Strategies and The Writing Strategies)
-Kylene Beers and Bill Probst (Disrupting Thinking)
How do you inspire readers in your classroom?
