Independent Reading
“When you give your students the chance to practice and strengthen their reading skills on high-quality, high-interest books that they can read with confidence and accuracy, they will make progress—in fact, studies have shown that independent reading is the best way to get students to make gains,” says Jennifer Serravallo, who is the author of Scholastic’s new Independent Reading Assessment: Fiction.
The teacher’s role is paramount, she says. “Conferring with students, keeping their reading on track, setting goals, making ongoing assessments—when teachers do all of that, they can turn students who know how to read into readers.”
The first few weeks of school are important to practice stamina and what independent reading expectations look like. Conferring with the readers is also important to keep the students accountable and engaged in their books.
Set Up of Classroom Libraries
Arrange books by interest levels and each child has a tub where they can store their books for independent reading time.