Book Shopping
1/19/2019
This past week I read an article from The International Literacy Association that confirmed my philosophy of best reading practices, practices that thankfully PNA embraces as well. The article, "Creating Passionate Readers Through Independent Reading," reaffirmed the importance of several key factors of the literacy environment in schools: student choice, creating time for, nurturing, and instructing through independent reading, and growing stamina. All of these are components of the workshop model, a model which each teacher at PNA establishes in his/her classroom for reading and writing (and often math as well). I will elaborate more on student choice in this blog post and follow up in subsequent blog posts about the others. As you noticed this week, students began book shopping in the morning, as they are ready to book shop with more independence. Book shopping is pretty much just what it sounds like. On their book shopping day, each student "shops" for books from our classroom. But not just any books, books that they choose. We call them "just right" or "good fit" books. These are books that they can read most of the words in and that are about topics that interest them. Oftentimes, they search for books that a reading partner has introduced to them. "When independent reading focuses on reader choice, readers inevitably find books they love, and then they often find friends and others to hold a conversation with about such books."Since the beginning of the year, students have read both privately and with partners. During private reading, they practice implementing the skills taught during mini-lessons independently. With partners, they have the opportunity to practice bringing stories to life, talk about their books, and share the joy of reading with others. They learn to give "book talks," in which they tell their partner about the pattern in the book (if there is one) and what the book is mostly about. More recently, we have expanded book talks to include recommendations as well. This is an opportunity for our little readers to share the books they love, while also encouraging comprehension and retelling in a very authentic way. It also trains them to coach one another. When they give a book talk on a particular book, it makes that book easier for their partner to read independently by establishing background knowledge and providing the pattern or main idea of the book. This expands the amount of books approachable to each child, and it provides an authentic way for them to share the books they love, something that will hopefully become natural to them as they repeat this process over and over again. "These approaches for students to share their voices about what and why they read provide specific feedback to other student readers for motivation as well as encouragement to continue with daily independent reading."Students who know which kinds of books they like and are able to pick out their own books are more likely to become avid readers. They are more likely to have stacks of books that they want to read and therefore spend sustained and focused time reading. "Research establishes that one cause for the difference between good readers and poor readers is the difference in the amount of time spent reading." In other words, students who read more become better readers than students who do not. In our kindergarten classroom, our little readers are expected to read for 15 minutes privately and for 15 minutes with a partner every day. This amount of sustained, focused reading requires books that will keep their attention, and this is where book shopping and student choice are especially powerful tools. Each student has a shopping list that helps them know how many books they should have and at which reading levels. This, coupled with book talks from classmates, ensures that our little readers have enough books to keep their attention for a sustained period of reading time and that they can actually read their chosen books using the skills and strategies they have learned in mini-lessons. This is important for two reasons. First, it makes lifelong reading skills routine for our little readers. They are naturally and authentically establishing literacy habits and rhythms, choosing books that interest them and sitting down to read, enjoy, and later share them. Secondly, it allows me to work with students, both one-on-one and in small groups, to target the specific skills and strategies they need to reach their reading goals. It allows me to focus on a few readers while ensuring that the rest of the class is still growing as readers. None of our precious reading time is wasted. Students either receive instruction specifically tailored to their needs or they practice independent reading habits and, through that, begin to create the habit of becoming a lifelong reader. "Motivating students to read is easier to accomplish when students select their own books because student choice in reading materials develops a love for reading that often lasts a lifetime. These students can name the books that have affected their lives, the next ones they want to read, and those favorite genres that keep them up at night reading."Reading a book independently that they chose is highly rewarding for students; our little readers beam with pride when they can read through a brand new stack of books. It daily establishes the fact that they are a reader and that reading is fun, joyful, and rewarding. What better way to create lifelong readers than to help our littlest learners fall in love with reading and then give them the tools to read independently, choosing their own books and carving out time to read, enjoy, and share them?
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Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
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