Teacher Tales

We’ve all seen the quotes, powerful messages all over the Internet with positive sayings such as “If a child learns to love to read, a child will learn to love to learn”. How very true, but as teachers we often see reading in a different light. We watch our students get frustrated over sounding out words and finding the answers buried in a paragraph. We hear the collective groan from students when we assign reading work or ask them to take out a book and silently read. We know that reading for a minimum of 20 minutes a day can work wonders for our children, however, what do you do when they sit and stare at the same page, unwilling to absorb any information? While no answer I can provide is foolproof and will work in every situation, these tips might help reduce some of your frustration!

1. Stop Leveling the Class Library
2. Create a Reading Friendly Area
3. Give Students [Guided] Choice
4. Hold Students Accountable
5. Model Great Behavior

 

Stop Leveling the Class Library

Unfortunately, much of this decision is not in the hands of the classroom teacher. While my personal preference and belief is that the Classroom Library be a safe haven for children to explore their options when it comes to reading, that belief is challenged, often. Some schools of thought recommend that every book in your room be leveled because students are only able to read on their level. In this theory, if students choose a book that is too low they are not challenging themselves enough to learn anything. By the same token, if a student chooses a book that is too high than they are not actually reading. My answers to these two ideas are this. Sometimes a student will choose a book that is too easy for them, but more often than not it is the student who needs to feel some measure of success in the classroom who makes this decision. In a classroom where a student is faced with challenges all day long, allowing them to feel safe and successful in their independent reading will build self confidence and make them more willing to try in other areas. Sometimes a student is going to choose a book that is above their level, and that is OK! We need to stop putting a cap on our children and let them rise to meet the challenges that they feel comfortable taking on. If a student is trying to read a novel that they heard was excellent or that all their friends are reading the student will push themselves to that level. We mandate what students are reading and how they are reading it for much of the day, we need to give them some choice and flexibility at some point. Putting a book in your library should make it accessible to all students, not the ones pigeon holed into that reading level.

Create a Reading Friendly Area

If you’re an avid reader like me, you know that nothing beats a comfortable and cozy spot where you can let yourself be transported to another world. The reading area in your library should reflect that as well. I love to have a rug, some pillows and sometimes even a blanket or two. My reading area also usually connects to my theme somehow.For example, this year my theme was Neverland, and I decided that my library and reading area were going to represent Pixie Hollow. To help create this effect, we built a tree in the corner of the reading area. We used artifcial leaves and flowers and had branches that extended about 5 feet out. All my students wanted a chance to read under the tree, and eventually they all were given that opportunity. To that end, everyone has their own idea about what makes the perfect place to curl up with a good book. In fact, a quick Pinterest search will have your mind spinning with great ideas about what to make this space look like. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Pinterest fan and it’s usually my go-to search engine for things like this, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Remember that there is often not enough real estate in the classroom to create a reading area that large and it usually will have to serve as more than just a reading area. Get ready to do whole group instruction, morning meeting and any number of other daily tasks in the area that you want to make inviting for your students to read in. Flexible seating options are great, but you may have to limit the number of students in your reading area at one time. While I do have a reading area that I’m proud of, only 5 students at a time really fit there. To compensate, I allow students to sit in other areas of the room and read as long as they are comfortable and safe. I’ve had students read under their desk, sitting back to back with a friend, laying on the floor, under my guided reading table and even some who stay in their seats!

Give Students [Guided] Choice

I have made it clear that students, in my opinion, should be able to have free choice when it comes to their independent reading choices. I stand by that opinion. However, as teachers we know that it is up to us to aid and guide our students to the correct answer or choice while making them feel like they did it all on their own. Students may ask you for recommendations of books and when they do it’s easy to give them a few suggestions that will keep them on the right path. Knowing the interests of your children is helpful as well. Some students will continually tell you that your library is boring and that you have no interesting books for them. I have two tricks to combat this. First, I keep a few exciting looking books out of the library in my personal bookcase. When students tell me that they can’t find anything good to read in the library, I pull one out, making  big deal out of the fact that they are borrowng one of my favorite books. This usually is enough to get them excited about the book and to start them reading. My second trick is to make that student a helper. I pick out a book I think the student will find interesting and ask them to help me lesson plan it. I might ask them to pick out interesting vocabulary in each chapter, write comprehension questions or summarize the chapters for me so I can reference it later. Sometimes the work that the students do is so great that I’ll actually give it to other students reading the book and have them interact with the material that way. Students get so excited when they get to teach their peers!

Hold Students Accountable

We all know the perils of allowing students to think that the work they do in the classroom doesn’t have purpose and meaning. The same perils abound when students think that independent reading is nothing more than a filler between other subjects or a homework assignment that they can fake doing. The easiest way to hold them accountable is to give them a task to complete related to their reading. There are many different ways to accomplish that goal. If I assign independent reading as a homework assignment I give a reading log to go along with it. This can be as simple or complex as you like. Pinterest, Google, or Teachers Pay Teachers can provide you with plenty of examples of what these look like. During class I like to have students fill out recommendation sheets when they finish a book so that students can choose books from the library based on what their classmates think. I also have them do running summaries to help them with their recommendations and other assignments. Perodically I ask students to write about a recent book they read and I allow them to use the summaries for such an assignment. Once students know that they are accountable for something at the end of the time frame, they will work to make sure they meet your expectations. As with almost all classroom management strategies, consistency is key.

Model Great Behavior

Students love to emmulate their teachers. We see it all year long. There will be students who try to mimic your speech pattern. I’ve had students pick up common words or phrases that I say and incorporate them into their daily speech. It only stands to reason that they will model the behavior exhibited by their teachers as well. I’m just as guilty as the next teacher of using those 20 minutes of independent reading to get things prepped in the classroom for another activity, grade a few papers, finish some lesson plans or enter in some data. These are all incredibly important tasks and they require your students to be otherwise occupied which makes independent reading time a natural choice for this. Consider allowing your students to see you enjoying reading however. This doesn’t have to happen every day, but if your students see you reading for pleasure, they will attempt to model that behavior. Additionally, students will begin to look at independent reading time as something to value if they see that they you value it as well. If they percieve it as something to mark time until the actual lesson begins than they will fail to respect the time.

I do believe that learning to enjoy reading is crucial for any student. I know as teachers it can be difficult to release the control and allow your students some freedom in what they read, however, the students will thank you.

Do you have any other tricks for independent reading? Share them in the comments below!

 

Mariann Jensen
Teacher

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If you’re anything like me, the idea of running your Guided Reading block can lead to panic and terror. It’s enough to make even the savviest teacher run for the hills and put it off for another day. As educators, we know that we get the most educational impact for our time when we run small groups, but the idea of preparing that many lessons, tracking that much data and making sure that the rest of your class stays on task and productive is challenging to say the very least! Here are my tips and tricks to running your Guided Reading block and making it meaningful for every student in your classroom.

1. Set up for success:

How many groups are too many groups? This is a common question and a struggle for many teachers. If I have a student between two reading groups where is the best place to put them? Should they be in their own group? Am I going to be holding a higher group back if I push him? Am I going to hold him back by putting him in a lower group? My best tip? Relax. I typically will not have more than 5 students in a guided reading group, and if I can push a student into a higher group I usually will. Nothing about your groups has to be set in stone, so if a student placement doesn’t work after one or two sessions, mix it up and try again. Try to limit yourself to 4 groups of students. If you have more than 4 groups your planning will become overwhelming, any less and chances are your small group instruction will suffer.

2. Find the Best Materials

We all know that 5 minutes of planning can save your sanity, however, when trying to plan for a 7 hour day, the idea of planning for 4 guided groups is daunting. Many guided reading libraries will give you a synopsis of each text offered with other valuable information such as the level, word count, phonics strategies and comprehension strategies. Putting that information in a spreadsheet or searchable format will help you select the best texts to read for your group. At this point you might be thinking, “I picked out my text, but now what????” This is where sites like Teachers pay Teachers can come save the day. There are complete guided reading packets that give you a place to start with everything from vocabulary to do it yourself projects. Often these are sold in editable forms so you can customize them for your classroom. An example can be found here.These allow you to teach the book while still having the students works through material independently. Whether you choose to alter someone else’s document or create something for yourself, be mindful of the types of questions you are asking you students and how they are proving their answers.

3. Be Flexible

Your children are going to steer the group, and ultimately, that is your goal! Don’t be afraid to release a little of the control and let the conversation stray from your lesson plan. Yes, you may have planned on teaching questioning techniques using chapter 7, however, your students may have very different ideas! They may have been so excited about the events of the chapter that they are bursting at the seams to discuss them. This is where the love of reading and discovery can turn your Guided Reading block from your most challenging period into the one you look forward to the most. My favorite days are the days when I don’t have to say anything during group! Your children’s personalities and opinions will start to shine and they will learn to communicate their ideas with others, and defend their convictions (hello easy way to reference those dreaded SL standards in the Common Core!).

4. Get Them Writing

We’ve all had those conversations with our administrators, the ones where we desperately try to convince them that our kids just “get it”.  No one wants to try to defend the conversation that their students have around your guided reading table in a data meeting. Just like we tell our children to cite their answers, the burden of proof falls on us to defend our claim. The easiest way to meet these requirements is to have your children document their conversations. Even when you’re being flexible and letting your children drive the conversation, encourage a text dependent response. In their journals have the students share their own argument using accountable talk and defending their position. In this way students can track their thinking, you can track their learning and you can participate in meaningful discussions with your colleagues and administrators.

5. What About the Rest of the Class???

Anybody who has ever been on Pinterest has seen the many ways teachers use to indicate to their class that they are off limits while in a Guided group. Unfortunately, we have all seen the cases where the students that are being trusted to work independently have strayed from their assignments. Of course, this piece will start with your classroom management, and your ability to hold your students accountable for the work they do independently. There are, however, a few tips and tricks. I could go on for pages on this topic, but for our purposes here it really boils down to the following:

• Giving your children meaningful work-Make sure that the assignments that you are asking your students to complete have a purpose. This is not the time for an activity that seems one-dimensional or out of left field. Students should be interacting with text (either something you are doing with the whole class or their own guided reading work) and writing every day. This is the perfect time to incorporate these activities. Make sure that you are giving the opportunity for enrichment or extension activities and giving proper credit for their completion.
• Consistency-This is a huge component, not just to guided reading but to classroom management in general. Your ability to maintain the same classroom conditions each day is crucial. This will look different for every teacher and in every room. For me, it’s a set of nonverbal cues that allow the students to see that while I’m devoting my attention to the group at my table, I’m not so far removed that I can’t monitor their behavior. Eventually, your children will model that consistency for you. I’ve had students approach my table during a group to ask a question only to be told by a student involved in guided reading, “She can’t answer you right now because she’s in a guided group, but she’ll help you when the timer goes off”. By not breaking this “4th wall” of guided reading you are showing the students around your table that their learning and your discussion is vital to your day.

 

I hope these tips are helpful in your classroom and enable you to run your guiding reading with a little less stress and anxiety.

What are your best tips for guided reading? Leave them in the comments below!

 

Mariann Jensen
Teacher
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