Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.

Date: Monday, January 5, 2020

Place: My classroom

Student: Mrs.Mims, could we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for Christmas and I just want to read it.

Here's what's funny, and by funny, I mean ironic. During the break, I was thinking about how I had pretty much eliminated Read to Self from our daily schedule. (Don't worry, I did not spend my entire break thinking about work.😉)

What had happened was... there were so many other obligations to be met, and it just kinda, sorta, disappeared, vanished, was gone.
However, a lot of these obligations were taking place in front of a computer; Dreambox, Imagine Learning, completing their assignments on Schoology, and of course, digital reading websites. I am all for integrating tech, but this was getting to be a little too much screen time.

They needed to read. Just read. Read a book.

I do have Book Club on Mondays and Fridays. Thanks to DonorsChoose, I have plenty of novels the students  can access. But, it's not the same as curling up in a video chair, couch, those comfy flexible seats we just got from, yeah, DonorsChoose, and reading on their own.

Every day. And yes I mean every day, since we have returned from break, that kid I mentioned above, comes to tell me how many more pages he has read during our Read to Self time. Or someone will point out one of our Vocabulary words. Or they will tell me something great that happened in their story. Or, they will share something with a classmate. Or... I could go on and on about how valuable this time is, if... we want to create READERS, and not test takers.

I'm not saying my kids aren't ever going to get reading passages. As much as I detest it, SBAC is real. But, with no regrets, I am going to continue to give them their 15 minutes and let them read to, and by, themselves.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

"You LIKE Reading"? Is Reading for Pleasure Obsolete?

The other day I was teaching an economics lesson on Supply and Demand.
The students had to write a list of 4 things they like to do when they are home.
I modeled the ist with a list of my own, and I started with reading. (Which I really shouldn't have because the lesson was about getting paid to read, so... but that's how much I love to read.)

One of the students stated increduously, "You LIKE to read?"
I replied, "Yes, that is part of how I got here, haviing this job," or something like that.
He said, "That's not what I mean. You just LIKE to read?"
I said, "Do you mean for pleasure?" Yes, I do, and I'm mad that I don't get to do it as much as I would like because of work."
At this point, he just laughed and shook his head.

Many students don't read for pleasure. Many adults don't read for pleasure.
Why?
video games
Youtube
phones
lack of diversity in books
books are not present in the home or classroom
school has sucked the joy of out of reading

So, what should we do to get our kids reading for pleasure?

1. have diverse books in your classroom
2. stop killing books with worksheets (What's the Main idea?)
3. give kids time to just read 
4. Let students choose their own books 
5. allow students to read books, not just passages with questions
6. allow students to read above or below their "level."
7. participate in projects like the Global Read Aloud
8. connect with others in the world who are reading the same book.
9. use tech to let students "talk" about their book
10. connect with authors
11. read picture books
12. allow audiobooks
13. let them read digitally with Epic and Readworks.

My kids are tested at the end of the school year, so I am not going to tell you that I never use worksheets or teach reading "strategies." But, I have found that the ideas I have listed above have created students that actually enjoy a book, who read for pleasure.

My best moment of our day is whe my kids sprawl out all over the room in video chairs, the Yoga balls, at a desk, or the round table and read. The room is quiet and and the majority of them are actually reading! Sweet!:)

Reading Aloud! They're Never Too Old!

I used to read to my students every day for five minutes.  

We would set the timer, and I would begin five minutes of uninterrupted reading.  Sometimes, the students would be “Guest Readers”, and they would get a chance to read the book to their peers. They loved it, and so did I.  Then I stopped. I don’t know why, but I did.

Last year, I became a volunteer for Read Aloud DE. Every Tuesday, I head to the day care across the street, and I read for an hour to 3 and 4 year olds. There is nothing like the feeling of being the Reading Lady, and having toddlers bum rush you as you walk in the door, or outside on the playground, screaming, “Read to me, read to me!”
Well, this motivated me to read to my 5^th graders again.  I chose “The Bad Beginning” by Lemony Snickett. I have to admit I had never read one of his books. We set the timer, and I read, uninterrupted, for five minutes practically every day.  What an enjoyable experience for myself, and my students!
“The Bad Beginning” began to spring up on desks around the classroom, from low readers to higher level readers.   Some finished the first book, and moved on to the rest of the series. Some stayed with me, sharing each moment. I loved the reactions that were elicited from my students as I read. The gasps, the moans, the “Ugh, she’s only 14.”  The last day, when the five minutes were up, they begged me to finish, there were only 13 pages left.  I looked at the clock, thought about what I was supposed to be doing at 10:45 a.m., and kept reading! The applause at the end of the book was thunderous!
Each week, I would incorporate Edmodo, Twiducate Chat, Kidblog, something to make the students think, and write, about what I had read. I had them draw a picture of their favorite scene. Many of my students volunteered to bring in the movie. I’m going to use the movie as a vehicle to compare and contrast the book vs. the movie. Let them decide which is better, and explain. (I can create a poll on Edmodo before and after they view the movie). They will also create a Glog “book report” of the story.
 It still amazes me what I was able to do with 25 minutes of Read Aloud a week.  I was able to incorporate many of the Language Arts Standards, and it inspired my non-readers to read.  The next book we read, I will incorporate Guest Readers again, and I will also ask their parents to volunteer to read. Five minutes a day created something that, I hope, will last a lifetime, a love of reading!
Education World: Reading Aloud, Is It Worth It?