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"If children are apparently unable to learn, we should assume that we have not as yet found the right way to teach them."~Marie Clay
PD Corner: Independent reading routines
From Stenhouse Publishers
When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.
—Maya Angelou
Whether you call it recreational, independent, workshop, or free, reading makes a difference in students' lives, personally and academically. Before you set up your reading routines, read "Free Reading" by Stephen Krashen, author of The Power of Reading. It's a concise summary of research supporting sustained silent reading:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/ca6367048.html
How does an elementary teacher motivate and manage independent reading in the classroom? Visit Planet 13 and peer over the shoulders of third-grade teachers Beth Newingham and Holly Gordon as they explain their reading workshop routines—mini-lesson, reading time, and closing lesson. Their classroom website is replete with photographs, work samples, and workshop activities and resources:
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/index.htm
In Are They Really Reading?, National Board Certified Teacher Jodi Marshall demonstrates how she improved silent reading time in her middle-level classroom, and expanded SSR concepts into a successful school-wide program:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0337.asp?r=n153
Jennifer Myers begins her reading workshops with read-aloud. Want to listen in? Vivid and visual, Myers's website, Living the Life of a Reader and Writer, showcases video clips of each segment of her workshop routine:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdmyers.htm?r=n153
Tony Stead's new book, Good Choice!, lays the groundwork all elementary teachers need to begin, sustain, and manage independent reading. Read Chapter 1, "Establishing Independent Reading and Borrowing Routines" to get started or peruse the entire book online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0732.asp?r=n153
