Independent Reading
Independent reading is used to:
● practice reading strategies and skills that the teacher has modeled
● foster a love of reading
● engage in purposeful reading
● discuss literature with peers
● develop stamina for reading
● explore texts wherein they can see themselves and their communities reflected
● explore and provide explicit instruction around how to read a wide range of texts of increasing complexity
Teacher: Planning for Independent Reading
● Provide a balance of fiction and nonfiction texts inclusive of a variety of worldviews, cultures, and backgrounds
● Establish a purpose for reading
● Establish expectations for independent reading
● Plan for the use of assistive technologies and note-making features as students require
What the teacher is doing
● Conferring with readers about their reading
● Modeling active reading through read alouds and think alouds
● Facilitating small group instruction that focuses on learning targets
● Checking in with students to monitor reading progress
● Offering text selections from a variety of genres, fiction and nonfiction
● Assessing students for their fluency, accuracy, and comprehension
What the students are doing
● Choosing personally meaningful texts from a personal or teacher-curated selection
● Establishing a purpose for their reading
● Reading and viewing selected texts
● Practising reading strategies and skills
● Responding to texts
● Reflecting on their strategies and setting goals for their reading
● Researching texts connected to a central theme or inquiry question
Teacher: Reflecting after independent reading
● After observations and conferring with students, determine next steps for learning. This could focus on developing a more in-depth understanding of a specific text with the students or an intentional exploration of different types of texts that are meaningful and relevant for the learners.
Text Selection and its Impact on Reading
Text selection significantly impacts reading development. Given that students must read with 98% or better accuracy and with fluency and high comprehension, schools must prioritize investing in independent reading selections, book club sets, and mentor texts that vary in reading complexity and are diverse in genre, voice, and reading complexity.
For EAL and FAL students, this may mean that teachers allow students to complete a novel study in their home language and allow the incorporation of translanguaging strategies. Research shows that translanguaging is effective in developing additional language skills.
Nova Scotia’s Inclusive Education Policy supports purchasing texts to meet the needs of all readers:
● 4.4 Inclusive education values, draws upon and includes student voices and choices to assist students in achieving their goals.
● 4.5 Every student deserves to belong (affirmed, validated, and nurtured), be safe, and feel welcomed in all aspects of their daily experience.
● 4.6 Inclusive education is a commitment to honour and respect each student’s cultural and linguistic identities and knowledge systems.
● 4.7 Inclusive education practices use evidence of students’ strengths and challenges to determine a system of supports and to monitor the effectiveness of those supports.
Teachers may wish to consider how to use a novel as an anchor text for teaching. Berit Gordon’s No More Fake Reading outlines one way to do so.
According to the research,
Students experience increased achievement when:
● there is extensive reading with time devoted to reading in each class. This includes texts that are both teacher-selected and student-selected.
● there is independent reading as it enhances the overall quality of narrative and descriptive writing
● teachers stress the importance of reading, teach reading strategies, frequently incorporate reading into the class period, and allow students to choose what they read. Teachers who do this are more efficient in enhancing reading motivation than teachers who do not stress such activity.
● teachers give book and author suggestions, demonstrate enthusiasm and encourage students to read, frequently read aloud and give students access to a large classroom library
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