I am SO excited to start the
Reading in the Wild book study hosted by
The Brown Bag Teacher! I have read this book at least three times so far and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with all of you on Thursdays this summer!
This week, the link-up is hosted by:
Each chapter addresses one characteristic of a life-long reader, since that is what we want our students to become. Miller starts off with the idea that readers need to dedicate time to read.
This is hard! As an adult, I struggle to squeeze in time to read. But Miller makes a good point, you don’t need to sit down for a half hour to read every time. Squeeze in small amounts throughout the day. Carry a book with you always, in case of a “reading emergency.”
After reading this book the first time, I decided to do just that. I carried a book with me in the car at all times. One day, I got stuck at a doctor’s appointment for over two hours. Instead of playing on my phone and becoming bored/agitated, I whipped out my book! The time flew by and I didn’t mind the wait at all. Encourage students to do the same and brainstorm together places where they could read.
Miller also mentions talking to students about “binge reading.” This is when a reader just. can’t. put. a. book. down. Discuss with them reasons why they might binge read. The book was so good. I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted to finish it before the movie came out. So many reasons! I’ve always been a binge reader. When I was younger, I would curl up on the floor of my bedroom and finish a book in one sitting. Now I struggle to read during the school year, simply because I know I’ll stay up too late to “finish one more chapter.” This is what we want students to do!
There are two concepts from this chapter that I want to incorporate into my reading classroom next year; independent reading observations and status of the class.
Utilizing independent reading observations will allow me to identify students who are struggling with their reading or are finding it difficult to enjoy. It’s a 10-minute observation, for three days, of a student who seems to be “fake-reading” during independent reading time. The observation then leads to a conference with the student in an effort to help them become successful in reading class.
I’ll also have students create a Status of the Class log in their notebooks. Here, they will record the title of their book, the page number they are on and a one-sentence summary of what is happening in their book. This is beneficial to not only myself and the individual student, but the rest of the class as well. Students may hear something interesting that their classmate is sharing and be encouraged to pick up that book next!
Next week, we will be reading Chapter 1: Creating a Workshop Schedule that Works for You (pg. 37-41). I am looking forward to picking up some new ideas on how other teachers organize their reading time in the classroom.
