Educational resources for elementary students. Helping teachers, parents, and students become active thinkers and future leaders. We encourage giggles, grins, hugs, & high fives!
And a FREE BALANCED LITERACY Resource to get you started!
2019 is the Year of BALANCED LITERACY!
But wait! THIS IS 2020!
Did I miss it??? NO!
2020 is a new decade!
We get a BALANCED LITERACY “do-Over”!
Ready to UPDATE your literacy block?
Balanced Literacy: Here is your NEW YEAR PLAN!
The Why? The What? and The How?
Balanced literacy has been defined as “an approach designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency.” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001)
It is an approach to teaching. NOT a curriculum. It is HOW we teach our students to be independent readers and writers. It is NOT what books we use to teach them.
Balanced Literacy has been defined in “components” or “pieces” of literacy instruction.
This 8-week series will focus on the components of a complete BALANCED LITERACY program. We will focus on clear and concise definitions. Definitions that educators can discuss in collaboration. A “common language” where we can learn from each other and with each other.
The 8 components we will focus on are:
Read Alouds
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Independent Reading
Modeled / Interactive Writing
Shared Writing
Guided Writing / Writer’s Workshop
Word Work
Each week we will focus on one area of Balanced Literacy and share experiences, teacher tips, and resources to support and expand our Balanced Literacy repertoire.
DEAR, SSR, Silent Reading, RAH, etc.. Whatever you call it…we call it
INDEPENDENT READING!
Independent reading is a time when students read text with little or no help from the teacher. They are usually at their seats or in comfortable places around the classroom.
In my classroom they may be at their desk, on a stool, in a rocker, or even…under a table or desk. Only one rule… You MUST be reading!
Independent reading is children’s reading of text — such as books, magazines, and newspapers — on their own, with minimal to no assistance from adults. It can consist of reading done in or out of school, including purely voluntary reading for enjoyment or assigned reading for homework. There are strong associations between independent reading and reading achievement, and many researchers believe that independent reading plays a key role in the development of reading fluency (speed and ease of reading), vocabulary, background knowledge, and even spelling. Not surprisingly, motivation also is associated with independent reading; children who are interested in and motivated to read tend to do more independent reading. Unfortunately, children with learning disabilities in reading often do not read independently, because they tend to find reading effortful, may have trouble obtaining books at their reading level, or may have generally negative attitudes toward reading as a consequence of repeated failure.
IR involves the full participation of the teacher. This means the teacher is instructing, scaffolding, and conferring with students (Reutzel, Fawson, & Smith, 2008) during IR time. For example, the teacher educates students in how to select appropriate books, scaffolds student understanding of specific text types, and confers with students to assess their understanding of what they have read.
If you’re really looking for independent reading to be successful with your students, you’ve got to commit class time to it. Students always see what we value by how we approach it during class. And if we want to be certain students get something done, we have to do it during class.
How you make this time is up to you. Elementary classes that tend to have students all day long can have a special fixed time each day allocated to independent reading. Middle and high school classes can allot a small portion – perhaps 10 or 15 minutes – of a class period towards independent reading each day before putting the book away and focusing on the day’s lesson. Others might prefer to wait until Friday and spend the whole class period reading that day.
Tips to Bring Independent Reading Into The Classroom
So, how do you realize the benefits of independent reading in your own classroom? Here are a few ideas:
Build independent reading time into each student’s day whether in school or at home. Class time is especially effective since it provides students a distraction-free time in their day to read.
Offer a selection of books at each student’s reading level and from different genres and help them find books they might enjoy.
Let each student make a reading list of five books they want to read and set reading goals.
Find creative ways for students to share books with one another, including things like book clubs, video projects, blogs or discussion time.
If you’re like most people, after reading a really good book you want to tell someone about it; you want to share. Let students share their excitement over books!
Here are 8 activities that will engage students in sharing what they read.
Illustrate an important character or event in the story.
Create an advertisement to promote the book.
Have students pick out words they are unfamiliar with and make a word wall.
Make a bookmark that represents the theme or main idea of the book.
Write a question to the author or a character in the book.
Have them illustrate their favorite part of the story.
They can write a letter to a character.
Have them make a connection to a life experience.
In summary…
Allow students CHOICE..choice of books & choice of reading area.
Build in time for independent reading EVERY day..model reading,too!
Debrief their independent reading time. DISCUSS it!
Tools that may be helpful:
Book Boxes for Independent Reading
Gallon Zip-Lock Bags for Independent Reading books.
HOW TO GET BOOKS for Independent Reading?
Use SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUBS, Donor’s Choose, and/or garage sales to add to YOUR classroom library for independent reading books.
And a FREE Balanced Literacy Resource to get you STARTED!
2019 is the Year of BALANCED LITERACY!
But wait! THIS IS 2020!
Did I miss it??? NO!
2020 is a new decade!
We get a BALANCED LITERACY “do-Over”!
Ready to UPDATE your literacy block?
Balanced Literacy: Here is your NEW YEAR PLAN!
This 8-week series will focus on the components of a complete BALANCED LITERACY program. We will focus on clear and concise definitions. Definitions that educators can discuss in collaborations. A “common language” where we can learn from each other and with each other.
The 8 components we will focus on are:
Read Alouds
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Independent Reading
Modeled / Interactive Writing
Shared Writing
Guided Writing / Writer’s Workshop
Word Work
Each week we will focus on one area of Balanced Literacy and share experiences, teacher tips, and resources to support and expand our Balanced Literacy repertoire.
Guided reading is subject to many interpretations, but Burkins & Croft (2010) identify these common elements:
Working with small groups
Matching student reading ability to text levels
Giving everyone in the group the same text
Introducing the text
Listening to individuals read
Prompting students to integrate their reading processes
Engaging students in conversations about the text
The goal is to help students develop strategies to apply independently. Work focuses on processes integral to reading proficiently, such as cross-checking print and meaning information, rather than on learning a particular book’s word meanings. (For example, a student might see an illustration and say “dog” when the text says puppy, but after noticing the beginning /p/ in puppy, correct the mistake.) During guided reading, teachers monitor student reading processes and check that texts are within students’ grasps, allowing students to assemble their newly acquired skills into a smooth, integrated reading system (Clay, p.17)
It varies based on reading level, but here’s a general structure for a 15-20 minute lesson.
Students re-read familiar texts for several minutes. This is a great way to promote fluency!
For just a minute or so, the students practice previously learned sight words.
The teacher introduces the text.
The students read the text out loud or silently while the teacher coaches. They do not take turns reading; instead, each child reads the text in its entirety.
The teacher leads a discussion of the text.
The teacher makes 1-2 teaching points.
If time allows, students do a few minutes of word work or guided writing.
Establish Routines. Routines for The Lesson format ( this helps with TIME constraints ), routines for when Guided reading happens, AND routines for what the OTHER students are doing while the teacher is teaching at the table.
2. Make SMART text choices. The text should provide multiple opportunities for students to apply strategies and skills you have identified for the group.
3. Dive into INSTRUCTION. Before, during & after reading.
3. Assess and Be Flexible. Your groups should be fluid and should change as your students’ instructional needs change. That’s where informal and formal assessments come in handy.
Balanced literacy has been defined as “an approach designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency.” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001)
Fountas & Pinnell have been the guiding resource for Balanced Literacy. Today we listen.
It is an approach to teaching. NOT a curriculum. It is HOW we teach our students to be independent readers and writers. It is NOT what books we use to teach them.
Balanced Literacy has been defined in “components” or “pieces” of literacy instruction.
This 8-week series will focus on the components of a complete BALANCED LITERACY program. We will focus on clear and concise definitions. Definitions that educators can discuss in collaboration.
A “common language” where we can learn from each other and with each other.
The 8 components we will focus on are:
Read Alouds
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Independent Reading
Modeled / Interactive Writing
Shared Writing
Guided Writing / Writer’s Workshop
Word Work
Each week we will focus on one area of Balanced Literacy and share experiences, teacher tips, and resources to support and expand our Balanced Literacy repertoire. Start 2019 with the plans to implement BALANCED LITERACY!
This week: Shared Reading.
Last week we discussed Read Alouds. Week 2 is about Shared Reading.
How is shared reading different from a read-aloud?
Shared reading, involves quite a bit of pausing to teach or engage kids in practicing a skill. When doing a read-aloud, go through the book a bit more quickly, stopping less frequently.
The other most important difference between shared reading and a read-aloud is that during shared reading, kids have their eyes on the print. During a read-aloud, you may show the pictures to students, but they are not usually able to see the words clearly. Since students can see the text during shared reading, you are able to teach things like decoding more easily.
Shared reading is a part of the balanced reading model (read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading).
It is a 15ish minute block of time within that model that should be practiced daily. Simply stated it’s the “We do.” part of the gradual release model. This element is crucial. It’s time for the teacher and students to practice together.
It is important to teach what “really matters” connected to a shared text. “We always want students to leave each reading experience enriched by the language and the text because of the shared approach, so we shouldn’t find hundreds of vocabulary words and instructional opportunities in a single text.
Some of the many benefits of shared reading
building vocabulary
developing understandings of story structure
demonstrating reading strategies
entire class reads a common text
all read the large text
high engagement
There are many types of print for Shared Reading. Big books, charts, and poetry are some resources for teachers to read WITH students.
The main goal of shared reading is to engage students with the text. It is to share a reading experience. Everyone can read together and then participate in a rich discussion, writing, or response to the text.
In summary, a Shared Reading is a reading experience where both teacher and students read a large text, together. A chart, a poem on a smartboard, or any other BIG text, where the teacher reads WITH the students using self-question and think aloud reading strategies. The goal is to model fluent and expressive reading. The students INTERACT with the text while reading WITH the teacher and then through discussions, writing, and/or thinking for themselves.
These literacy posts may help in YOUR Balanced Literacy journey.
My nemesis. Setting them up. Making sure they are running CORRECTLY. And then storing them for another year! UGH!
But. What if you had a PHONICS center that was SELF CHECKING, kids enjoyed so they did it OFTEN, and it could stay out for a longer time because KIDS WANT TO PLAY WITH IT!
And a FREE Balanced Literacy resource to help you get STARTED!
2019 is the Year of BALANCED LITERACY!
But wait! THIS IS 2020!
Did I Miss it??? NO!
2020 is a new decade!
We get a BALANCED LITERACY “do-Over”!
Ready to UPDATE your literacy block?
Balanced Literacy: Here is your NEW YEAR’s PLAN!
The Why? The What? and The How?
Balanced literacy has been defined as “an approach designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency.” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001)
Fountas & Pinnell have been the guiding resource for Balanced Literacy. Today we listen.
It is an approach to teaching. NOT a curriculum. It is HOW we teach our students to be independent readers and writers. It is NOT what books we use to teach them.
Balanced Literacy has been defined in “components” or “pieces” of literacy instruction.
This 8-week series will focus on the components of a complete BALANCED LITERACY program. We will focus on clear and concise definitions. Definitions that educators can discuss in collaborations. A “common language” where we can learn from each other and with each other.
The 8 components we will focus on are:
Read Alouds
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Independent Reading
Modeled / Interactive Writing
Shared Writing
Guided Writing / Writer’s Workshop
Word Work
Each week we will focus on one area of Balanced Literacy and share experiences, teacher tips, and resources to support and expand our Balanced Literacy repertoire.
This week: READ ALOUDS.
As defined by education.com, the teacher reads aloud various types of text. She often models her thinking aloud as she reads. The students participate by listening to the text and the teacher’s thinking strategies and then trying some of them out by talking with partners. The teacher reads the text, therefore taking away the visual sources of information, so that students can focus on meaning and structure.
The READ ALOUD is done BY the teacher FOR the students.
Marie Clay (1991) writes that when teachers read aloud to students “meanings can be negotiated in discussion before, during, and after the story reading” (p.171). Reading aloud to students should include think-aloud or interactive elements and focus intentionally on the meaning “within the text,” “about the text,” and “beyond the text” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p.33). Read aloud, as part of the gradual release of responsibility, feeds naturally into shared, guided, and independent reading as teachers demonstrate for students the ways the reading process works (Burkins & Croft, 2010).
Among the many benefits of a read aloud, Rog (2001) lists the following:
building vocabulary
developing understandings of story structures
supporting developing connections between print elements
encouraging high levels of understanding
teaching the reading process in a meaningful context
modeling fluency
motivating students to read
There are many types of print for Read Alouds. Classroom library books, Big Books, chapter books, charts, and poetry are resources for teachers to read TO students.
The main goal of a read aloud is to engage students with the text.
To create their own thinking based on their life connections, and discuss the text with peers. Each will bring their own comprehension based on their life experiences. As they learn to communicate their thoughts and understanding to others, their own comprehension will expand. The teacher has an opportunity to draw the students INTO the book. Use your posters, viusals, artifacts, and storytelling techniques to be the characters, create the world using your voice, and open the doors to new adventures.
In summary, a READ ALOUD is a book, a chart, a poem on a smartboard, or any other text in your classroom supplies, where the teacher reads TO the students using self-questions and think aloud reading strategies. The goal is to model fluent and expressive reading. The students then INTERACT with the text through discussions, writing, and/or thinking for themselves.
These literacy posts may help in YOUR Balanced Literacy journey.
