Classroom Procedures
Please click on the image above to access the classroom policies and procedures.
Independent Reading Time In Class
There are four main aspects to improving student achievement in reading: fluency, word analysis, comprehension, and wide reading/reading stamina. In class I will teach students strategies to aid their fluency, word analysis, and comprehension. The only way to increase stamina, fluency, and experience as a reader is to read books in narrative form (see below) consistently. Because our in-class time is primarily devoted to instruction and practice, students need to read on their own outside of school everyday. Research shows that 20-30 sustained minutes of reading everyday is optimum for increasing reading fluency, stamina, and comprehension. Therefore, the ongoing homework assignment for my class is to read at least 20 minutes or until a student has reached their required reading goals.
What are narrative forms of literature?
Narrative forms of literature usually refer to novels with text structures that include a continuous story line without the interruption of numerous pictures. This is why I do not allow students to read short story collections, graphic novels, and informational resource books as part of their independent reading requirements. I encourage students to read these types of books as 'vacation books' during winter, spring, and summer breaks.
Biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs are often written in narrative form. The newer non-fiction texts have become more of a narrative story structure which support the type of text needed for independent reading skills. Please see below for picture links to examples of the newer type of non-fiction texts with narrative text structure.
