Why don't they love reading?....

After working with many different students over the years in several different grade levels, I've found myself asking this frustrated question week after week. While the initial question I asked myself was, "Why don't they love reading?" it soon evolved into, "How can I help them love reading?". While the "why" question is very important, I started to feel like it made me feel helpless as a teacher. Why don't they read at home? Why can't they find a book they enjoy? These questions were good ones, but they weren't at the heart of what I do as a teacher. See, the process of reading isn't the only thing we teach. We must also look at the process of becoming a reader. Becoming a reader is what will help our students strive and thrive long after they have left the walls of our schools. Even our proficient readers are at risk of never picking up a book in their adult life if we don't instill the love of the written word. In a time of Common Core and state testing, it can be difficult to remember the true pleasure that just reading a good book can bring. So where do we begin? Three points to consider:

• Students can't enjoy what they can't read.
• It's important to talk with students about what they are choosing to read. Many students select books they see friends reading or that others have suggested. It's important to teach students what it means when a book is too difficult. And I challenge us to this: Teach students to know for themselves. Don't tell them a book is too hard or limit what they read by a Lexile number. Work with them to understand what a good fit book will feel like as a reader.
• Encourage students to think about their interests
• I was amazed when I sat down with a twelve-year-old student the other week to talk about a book he was reading and the first words out of his mouth were, "I hate this book." I followed up by asking him why he was reading something he disliked so much. He didn't know. I probed further and asked, "Well, what types of things do you normally like to read about?". He still didn't know. The more I talked with him I came to realize that this wasn't an act. He truly had no idea what he liked to read or what types of stories grabbed him as a reader. As teachers, we need to encourage students to think about themselves as individual readers and then enter the library to select a book with that knowledge.
• Allow students to abandon.
• I recently picked up a copy of Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. The book had come highly recommended by a friend and I was excited to read it. As I progressed through the chapters I started to realize that I didn't care for the book at all. The story line wasn't engaging and the writer's style did nothing for me. Now imagine if my husband had sat next me to on the couch and said, "I know it's not your favorite book, but you really should finish it. You can't just start a book and then drop it. Keep reading and maybe you'll like it by the end of the story." Ugh! I certainly would be frustrated and start to resent picking up a book at all. Of course there are certainly times we need to encourage students to stick with a challenging text, but we also need to truly listen to them when they're being honest enough to talk to us about their reading.

Looking for more ideas on how to foster a love of reading in your students? Check out Book Love by Penny Kittle. While geared more towards the older grades, teachers of all grade levels will love its message. It will change your thinking forever.

District 200 Teacher Feature-An Annotation Lesson

We all know that a large part of Common Core is the act of close reading. Close reading can be quite a daunting task to start with however, because students often lack the foundational skills that are needed to successfully close read a piece of text. A sixth grade teacher in our district is working hard to make sure her students have the skills necessary to close read. She began at the ground level with talking to her students about how to truly read deeper in a piece of text and then how to record their thinking through annotation.

What do you want students to show you?

The teacher began with the end in mind. What were the skills she wanted her students to demonstrate by the end of the lesson? These were then posted on the board for all students to see. The objectives are addressed by the teacher at the start and end of each class period. Sometimes one student will read them to the class, other times the teacher asks the students to read them silently and reflect on their learning towards meeting the objective.

Be clear about the language

As teachers, we often post objectives or goals on the board and they remain there, hanging out in the shadows and part of the background noise. This teacher not only reviews and discusses the objectives with her students, but she also makes sure they understand the words that make up the objectives. Sometimes in the daily rush of things, we can forget that some of our students aren't exactly sure what we mean by "inference" or "evidence".

Get them hooked when they walk in the door

When students enter the classroom they are directed to complete an entrance slip that allows the teacher to quickly assess which students have grasped the concept covered the day before. The additional question about what they are annotating makes a connection to independent reading as well as other subject area classes.        
                                                              

                                    

Gradual release gets us to mastery

An anchor chart assists students with annotating their text. The teacher modeled how to use these symbols to annotate during a close read she modeled to her class. This "I do" lesson was the first step in the gradual release of responsibility where the teacher explicitly showed the class her thinking. In the next "We do" lesson, students partnered with the teacher to work on a close read as a whole class. 

"We do together"

In the next stage of the lesson, students worked with a partner to do a close read of Gary Soto's poem "Ode to Family Photographs". The poem was read several times and during the second and third read, students annotated the text. Each student has a blue card that reminds them of annotation symbols that can be used. These symbols are the same as shown on the anchor chart, but having this card allows students to keep this information in their binder for use in their science and social studies classes as well. 

Annotating on our own- "You do"

When students independently read, they are also annotating the text. This allows the students to have effective and engaging book talks with the teacher and provides the teacher with a formative assessment to determine the student's understanding of annotating text.

More about reading aloud and interactive reading

Last week, I posted the reasons, as well as strategies, for reading aloud.  As suggested last week, reading aloud includes modeling and thinking aloud.  This is an opportunity for students to observe what efficient readers do when reading. According to Fountas and Pinnell, there are ten text characteristics to consider for choosing books and making decisions about teaching through the read aloud/interactive reading.

1. Genre- Use a variety of genres at every grade level. 
2. Text Structure- Interactive reading provide a setting to teach students to not only know the structures but to identify them within a text.
3. Content- The subject matter should be interesting and engaging to students.  Students can acquire a great deal of content knowledge through the read aloud but remember to build background knowledge, if needed, before reading. 
4. Themes and Ideas- Students need to be able to connect to the reading to understand the themes and ideas.  This understanding is developed as they discuss with other students and their viewpoints.
5. Sentence Complexity- Reading aloud allows students to be exposed to more complex sentence structures when not required to decode them. Again, discussions can build this understanding even more. 
6. Vocabulary- Reading aloud continues to expose students and build their vocabulary.  Some vocabulary may need to be explicitly taught but understanding of words may occur naturally within the reading and discussion. 
7. Words- While teachers need to consider the complexity of the words (length, syllables, etc) when choosing books for students to read, this is not an issue when reading aloud.  Vocabulary, at the word level, is the only consideration for reading aloud.   
8. Language and Literary Features- The read aloud provides opportunities to expand students' abilities to process literary language, such as dialogue or figurative language. It is also a time to develop the story elements, such as characters, plot, setting, etc.
9. Illustrations- Picture books or everybody books are for everyone, not just the very young. Illustrations, at the early reading level, provides a great deal of information.  However, students of all ages can enjoy, as well as discuss, the illustrations of a book. 
10. Book and print features- Consider the the physical aspects such as length, size, and layout.  It is also an opportunity to explicitly teach print features and tools, such as table of contents, glossary, etc.  

Banishing the Bird: Why Round Robin Reading Isn't Working in Your Classroom

Books are open on each desk. Students sit silently while one student struggles through reading the text. The student stops over and over again and waits for the teacher to prompt him with the word he can't figure out. Several students are staring out into space and others are busy trying to figure out which section they will be reading.

This scene is likely familiar in many classrooms. So what's really wrong with Round Robin Reading anyway? Research has shown that using this practice in classrooms does far more harm than good. Round Robin Reading (RRR), which is also commonly referred to as "Popcorn Reading", leads to slower reading rates, a lower quantity of text being read, more off-task behaviors, models of dysfluent reading, and problems with comprehension. Research provides us with useful information about practices that are most effective in our classrooms, and this type of reading doesn't make the list. Consider the following statements associated with Round Robin Reading:

"I read five sentences at school today!"
We would be horrified if a student went home and proclaimed this to their parents, yet Round Robin Reading does just this. In classrooms where RRR is used, students read far less than those classrooms that do not. Many times, students are asked to read only a paragraph or a few sentences which greatly lowers the reading opportunities within a day.

"Time for the dress rehearsal."
Ask most students and they will tell you that while other students are reading they really aren't following along. While a classmate is reading they are likely counting paragraphs or lines to figure out which section is going to be their section to read. They then proceed to practice reading their part in their head while the current student reading drowns on in background.

"Not him again!!"
Imagine being a fluent reader and having to listen to a classmate struggle through a text. It becomes boring and tiresome for those students who are good readers to be held back by those who may struggle. Additionally, this can model dysfluent reading for all students in your class. Even worse, I've heard of cases where "reading bullying" actually takes place when good readers in a class purposely call on struggling readers in order to make them feel embarrassed

"Not ME again!!"
If you've never been a struggling reader, then you have no idea how horrible it feels to be called upon to publicly perform a task that everyone else seems to do with ease. Students who struggle with reading often feel singled out in the practice of Round Robin Reading. They in turn become more anxious about reading which perpetuates the cycle of not wanting to read. In upper grades, students may act out in order to be removed from class to avoid reading.

"Teacher knows best"
There's a good chance that we've all done some form of RRR in the past. At least half of K-8 teachers have reported some variation of RRR in their instruction (Ash, Kuhn, Walpole, 2009). But it's time to get honest with ourselves. Round Robin Reading does not benefit students' reading abilities and really is a superficial level of engagement in a text. I often hear teachers say, "But my students love popcorn reading! They beg me to do it!" to which a wise friend of mine once replied, "They also like chocolate, but that doesn't mean you give it to them. " Teacher knows best when it comes to reading instruction and our students rely on us to be the professional.


So What's the Alternative?
There are plenty of other practices that can be substituted for RRR or popcorn reading.

1. We can read-aloud to students.

• Teacher read-alouds provide good modeling of reading and comprehension. Keep read-alouds interactive and engage students in concepts, vocabulary, and strategies.

2. Students can read to each other.

• The strategy of Patterned Partner Reading (McLaughlin & Allen, 2009) keeps students focused and working together on a text. (Note: This requires thoughtful planning and modeling of practices in peer coaching to be effective.)

3. Students can read silently.

• When teachers provide scaffolding and a purpose for reading it assists students in their focus and understanding of a text. While students are reading, consider sitting down next to an individual student to listen to them read and confer with them for a quick moment. 

Looking for more alternatives to Round Robin Reading? Check out the book: Good-bye Round Robin: 25 Effective Oral Reading Strategies (Opitz & Rasinski)

References:
1. McLaughlin, Maureen. "Read-Alouds and Recreational Reading Always! Round-Robin Reading Never!" Reading Today 31.1 (2013): 3-4. Print.
2. Hilden, Katherine, and Jennifer Jones. "Sweeping Round Robin Reading Out of Your Classroom." Reading Today 29.5 (2012): 23-24. Print.

Gradual Release of Responsibility in Literacy

Effective literacy instruction includes using the gradual release of responsibility.  Teachers must shift the load of the thinking and work from the teacher to the students.  However, before we can do that, we must decide what learning we want to happen.  To do this, we must establish the purpose first when creating lessons. What do I want my students to learn and why is this important?  How is learning this going to make my students a better reader and/or writer? How will I know that my students understand and demonstrate the skill?  Objectives will set the purpose and allow students to understand the expectations.  Establishing why the lesson is important (relevancy) will help motivate, as well.   When writing objectives, we want to include the academic vocabulary used by our Core Standards, as well as the skill or strategy and finally the learning activity that demonstrates understanding.  When the students understand the purpose, everyone benefits.

Want to know more?  The website below gives short, yet informative, information on this instructional model of teaching.
https://www.mheonline.com/_treasures/pdf/douglas_fisher.pdf