Building Lives As Readers

Building Lives As Readers

Our goal in 4th grade is to continue fostering our student's love of reading by exposing them to a variety of genres and types of texts. We empower students to make their own choices as readers, taking time to develop their own personal identity and their reading identity. The biggest shift for readers in 4th grade is that they begin to analyze texts in more thematic and more interpretive ways. Rather than seeing "Because of Winn Dixie" as a story about a girl who finds a dog, students start to see that it's much more than that. It's a story about loss, about pain, and how companionship changes people.

As we prompt our kids to see their books as their windows into the world, our ultimate goal is to build independence in all of the work we do. Continue reading below to find out what reading routines should ideally be in place right now, and what you can do to support this work at home across the year.

What Routines Should Be in Place By 4th Grade?

There are several reading routines that should already be in place in order to support the reading work in 4th grade. These routines are vital for student growth throughout the entire year:

• IN SCHOOL: Students read independently for 30-40 minutes
  • While reading, students write quick thoughts on post its that can later be developed into bigger ideas about the text
  • They meet in books clubs to discuss their reading, building ideas verbally
  • They write longer about their reading 1-2 times a week in school
• AT HOME: Students should be reading for 30-40 minutes each night
  • It is crucial that this reading time in independent and uninterrupted
  • Students log their reading to track their reading rate and stamina
  • Again-while reading, students write quick thoughts on post its that can later be developed into bigger ideas about the text
  • They write longer about their reading 1-2 times a week at home

How Can I Support This Work At Home?

1. Independent Reading Time

At this stage in their learning and development, it is vital that we give students their uninterrupted independent reading time. Create time and space for students to do this at home. Research shows interrupting students to ask them comprehension questions can hinder their comprehension and synthesis skills. After they have done their independent reading, you could have a discussion with the students using some of these guiding questions:

• "Tell me about your book- what is it about?"
• "Who is the main character? What are they like? What seems to motivate or drive them?"
• "Are there any secondary characters? Any important relationships? What are those relationships like?"
• "Do the characters face any issues? How does that influence the characters and/or the story?"
• "What themes seem to be developed through the story? What is the deeper meaning of this text?"
• "Does the author use any symbolism or other moves to reveal the deeper meaning?"

These are just some of the many ways for kids (and adults!) to talk about books. Again, these are questions we want to ask students after they have read on their own. Support students by exposing them to a variety of texts- going to libraries, book stores, reading stories from other countries or cultures.

2. Read Aloud

There had been extensive research that supports reading aloud to children of all ages not only supports growth in literacy, but it also has long term social and emotional benefits. We always have an ongoing chapter book that we read aloud in school to build literacy schools and foster our community of readers. The same can be done in your home- outside of their independent time, you can read aloud a book to your child and discuss it together using some of the guiding questions from above.

The above tips and more are featured in the quick video links below from Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project:

• Quick Tips for Building Literacy at Home Part 1
• Quick Tips for Building Literacy at Home Part 2