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Without being able to write in an organized articulate way following the correct rules of the English language, it will be difficult to do well on a college or job application essay. The other person will likely get the job or be accepted over you. Without being able to read and understand information in a fast-paced world, it becomes harder to be successful. Being a great English student and communicator is really an essential skill for life!
In my previous post about how to turn a reluctant reader into an avid reader, I dive into the How To's of getting kids to love reading, but this post is especially for newer teachers and homeschool educators who are trying to figure it all out on how I can develop a great structure for my reading class. How can I structure reading class so students will grow as readers? After all, as a teacher a lot is at stake to make sure our kids excel as readers and writers! We don't want to screw this up! Our kids' futures are too important!
One of my greatest passions as an educator is teaching ELA. I love seeing kids light up as they are able to sound out words faster and begin to really read--cracking the code! I love to see kids sprawled out in a cozy spot on the floor totally immersed in a book. I love when kids are so excited about their book that they can't wait to share what is happening. I love when kids laugh out loud or cry when reading, showing just how invested they are in reading. I love when I overhear conversations about a book recommendation to another student. These are awesome moments, but all really boil down to the reading that is happening in that child's life.
The first real important step to helping your kids take off as readers is getting to know them. Begin to understand how they learn best. Some kids struggle reading because they may need to "jump" or "clap" out sounds if they are kinesthetic learners, while other kids need to see with visuals. I recommend that you help your students understand their learning styles so that you as their teacher can create great lessons with this in mind. Please check my previous blog post that has free multiple intelligence checklists to better understand your students.
Read real books and texts! I know this may sound ridiculous, but there are so many programs out there that work from a basal textbook. What this means is that there are canned parts of stories, in other words kids rarely read the full text! Basal books are usually very tied to standards, so the stories are largely based on covering something like "author's point of view" instead of getting kids hooked on reading and having them read the full story. Without reading the full text the reader doesn't get to know the protagonist intimately or understand how the mood of the setting plays a role in the plot. Valuable clues are missed, all because the reader is only looking at an excerpt of the story. Using a basal textbook is one of the very reasons I hated to read in elementary school. It turned me off of reading so much that I didn't enjoy it until college, or if I have to be honest, maybe even after!
When kids read real full-length books, both fiction and nonfiction and have choice in what they read, it develops inspired readers and thinkers. Magazines, newspapers, historical texts and other texts of all kinds are great. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for kids to be reading real books and not just parts of them!
Let's talk about reading class structure!
How much time should reading class be? This is a hard question to answer, but the more the better. I feel like an hour is a good amount of time devoted to just reading, but 40-45 minutes could do. I see kids excel when reading is a part of their lives.
Begin with a mini-lesson of about 10-15 minutes (max!) where you teach a specific skill from the strategies I mention in my next post (part 2). A mini-lesson is direct instruction, usually to the whole group or to a smaller group. While kids need to be taught specific skills, it also happens naturally in many cases when you have avid readers on your hands. I recommend giving 3-5 minilessons on the average week, going over a strategy for that day. It is my experience that you don't need to be completely hung up on teaching standards because it naturally happens throughout the school year when kids are immersed in reading and learning. Yes, as a current public-school teacher, this is something I am required to do, but speaking candidly, more freedom allows kids to love reading more passionately and these types of kids make better critical and inspired thinkers. If kids are enjoying reading and you are teaching strategies that support their love of reading and comprehension, then they will do great!
Independent/small group work time. Students read 20-30 minutes. During this section of class, check in with students as often as you can while also helping them build independence and stamina as well. I love to read with students taking turns, or just listening in and asking follow-up questions. This check-in time can last a good 20-30 minutes and it's a great time for students to not only be reading, but to be applying the strategy you just taught. For example, if you just had a read loud of a picture book to teach text-to-self connections in your mini-lesson, then kids might use "think marks" or post-it notes to write down text-to-self connections in their own reading.
Student reading time can fluctuate between independent reading to partner or small group reading. In other words, sometimes you may want everyone to just read by themselves while you circulate around the room, while some days students will be reading in groups. Giving students literacy circle jobs like "connector" or "word sleuth" can empower kids to take ownership of their work. Sometimes I have kids read books in groups of 3 to 6 and they decide the pace. I'll just give them a date in which the book has to be done and a calendar for each child or group and they will figure out the breakdown from there of how many pages they need to read per class/night.
Since I am a huge advocate for project-based learning and interdisciplinary thematic units, I absolutely would often use this time for specific types of reading. For example, if we were researching how trees communicate, we might do the reading portion of this project during reading time. Reading should absolutely involve reading non-fiction texts, finding answers and digging deeper.
Finish by giving closure to reading class (5 minutes). This can look like partner sharing, coming back as a whole group and having a share out of something you jotted down, sharing the biggest takeaways from class, putting their think marks in their journals, etc. The point of an end activity is to gauge what the kids took away from that class and how to reteach or expand the next class.
Fit in read aloud books when you can. Reading out loud to your class is a wonderful opportunity to have class discussions about vocabulary, plot structure, author's purpose, or really any skill.
To wrap up this post, I'd love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite read aloud books? How long is your reading block of time and what are some different and similar ways you use this time compared to what I've written here?
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