Module 6

Michelle Suggs
March 28, 2022
Module 6

This week’s reading discusses making our students independent readers.  In chapter 2 of Classrooms That Work, it is noted that we do not just want students who can read; we want students who do read. “The more you read, the better you read.” One great way to foster independent reading is to actually read aloud to children- whether your own personal children or your students at school. You have to demonstrate how to read before you can expect them just to start reading on their own.  This chapter suggests that you read aloud to your students at least once a day, and hopefully, the students are being read to at home as well. Reading aloud to students, according to the same book, is a simple and research-proven way to motivate children of all ages to become readers.

While reading aloud to students, we should be sure to include a large genre of literature. We should consider all the backgrounds and ethnicities in our classroom as best as we can. We should use a variety of fiction and nonfiction, and well as a variety of medium, such as books, magazines, newspapers, comic books, etc. The teacher should intentionally try to strike the interests of his/her students and make reading as inclusive as possible.

In addition to reading aloud to students, teachers should also schedule a time each day for independent reading. Many times, students may not read at home when they have the choice to do other things, but when given the time in class, there is nothing else to do during that block of time. A variety of books should be available to students as well as low-level books. Many students are unable to read on grade-level, so it will not do any good to give them only grade-level books or higher to read during independent reading. 

I like that chapter 2 discusses conferencing with student- formal or informal. Sometimes, the conference may just be a “whisper.” This time is to be used to encourage your students to read and enjoy reading; students should never dread the reading conferences, and they should be conferenced with roughly once a week. It is a good idea for us to spend a slight amount longer with our struggling readers.

The final suggestion from chapter 2 is sharing and responding. Not only is it important for the teacher to discuss reading with his/her students, but it is also important for students to discuss what they are reading with their classmate and peers. We have to develop new and fun ways to have our students interact with each other. The issue I find is students talking about everything else except what they were told to talk about; therefore giving exact assignments seem to help keep students on track.