Slice of Life 23: How much reading is enough?
(During March, I am blogging daily as a part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge!) Special thanks to the hosts of the Slice of Life Challenge: Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna and Beth. More Slice of Life posts can be found at Two Writing Teachers .
I LOVE to read. I LOVE reading. I typically READ just about anything. Reading is my preferred activity over cooking, cleaning, or crafting. I could be considered a voracious reader by some. I read quickly when I am reading for fun. I will read almost anything but I do not like vampires, fantasy or science fiction very much. When I find an author that I like, I devour ALL their texts. When I find something I really like, I may reread it. There are times during the year when my reading life seems to suffer. While writing blog posts every day, I do have less reading time. Is it “okay” that my reading seems to have an ebb and flow? How much should I be reading? What should I be reading?
I believe that I need to be familiar with authors and texts in the field of literacy. I have my favorite authors and this year they all deal with loving literacy: Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts, Donalyn Miller, Penny Kittle, Kylene Beers, Dorothy Barnhouse and Vickie Vinton, Jim Burke, Kelly Gallagher, and all the authors of the fabulous Units of Study in Writing from Teachers College. My reading of YA varies according to the favorites of students in the buildings where I work.
How does reading play out for our students? How much should they be reading?
In Book Whisperer, Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna and Beth. More Slice of Life posts can be found at Two Writing Teachers Donalyn Miller challenges her middle school students to read 40 books per year. That is basically one book per week, including reading over holidays and school breaks. A student who has developed those “reading habits” is likely to be successful as they move through life. In Reading in the Wild, Donalyn is more specific about the “habits” that students need in order to be life-long readers. Those numbers seem to make sense because a student will “be in the story” and stay connected to the text in those time frames.
For our struggling Middle School and High School students in Second Chance for Reading, I have suggested teachers set 30 books per year as the goal for students. If teachers have expectations and are carefully monitoring student work, 30 books is ambitious for students who have been less than successful in reading for years. It’s doable, a stretch but yet highly possible if the habit of reading becomes a part of a daily routine.
But is that “good enough” for our children? How long to read a book?
I was following the Twitter stream from the Saturday reunion at Columbia’s Teachers College and several tweets caught my eye. Exactly what books should students be reading and for how long?
So taking Hatchet and spending a week and a half on it would fit with Donalyn Miller’s goal of 40 books per year. Is this happening? Are students allowed to read a book like Hatchet in a week and a half? I believe this also fits with the belief behind CCSS Reading Anchor #10: “Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. Yet, it seems like I should be doing more in order to have teachers and students consider the “sheer volume” of what they are reading.
Are there books that should be “whole class” books in grades 3-6? If yes, what would be the characteristics of such a book? And how “many” of these would a child read during any given year?
I remember working on Language arts curriculum 20 years ago when teachers wanted certain books to be on a “protected list” so teachers in grade 3 would not use a book reserved for grade 4 because then it could not be used for prediction. But what is the real goal of a “class book”? If it truly is to have all students explore specific texts, will the class read at the same pace? Is it about the “activities” that accompany the book and its reading? What about a book club approach?
This tweet of a quote from Kelly Gallagher caught my eye:
So Kelly would agree with Donalyn Miller that students should not be spending forever on a class book. Dragging a novel out into 9 weeks’ worth of work turns it into a “9 week worksheet”! That belief has also been espoused by Richard Allington who has said that students need to read “more” in order to be better readers!
Are there some books that every fourth grade student should read? That would be a great source of conversation for a team of fourth grade teachers. What literature is that important and that interesting for the students? The same question would apply for informational text, poetry and drama. Those decisions can and should be made at a local level. The caution would be in “not allowing” a whole class text to be the only reading at the time and also not to be drug out as Gallagher’s quote reminds us.
How much should a student read every day?
The original source of this quote is not listed but think about this for a minute. To stay on the same level (maintenance), a student needs to read just right books for an hour each day and a common expectation in about 3/4 of a page per minute. So a quick check by a teacher 5 minutes into a silent sustained reading time would suggest that all students had read at least 3 pages. If a reading log/goal setting page includes the page started, a teacher could quickly move about the room conducting a visual scan. This would be data that could allow the teacher to form groups to discuss goals and purposes for reading.
The goal would not be public humiliation. I have used “bribes” for reading – pizzas, food, parties, etc. in order to encourage students to read more. Sometimes the food begins as the “reason/purpose” for reading until a student becomes “hooked” on reading and then begins to ask for books for gifts! Students do not need to take quizes to show their understanding of books. Carefully remove barriers or practices that are “counter-productive” to reading MORE! Consider how you can help your students be daily readers who will carry that habit over into the summer even when you, the teacher, are not around!
How much are your students reading? How do you encourage them to set HIGH expectations for their own reading?
How do I choose text for Close Reading?
I have heard this question multiple times in the last month. I do not remember being asked, “What text should I use for a Read Aloud?” or “What text should I use for a Think Aloud?” Maybe it happened and my memory is faulty, but I just don’t remember those questions in the past.
Suddenly, text seems to matter. And many teachers are very concerned about using the “right text” for instruction.
From the World of Common Sense:
1. Consider what your students are currently reading and what they need to be reading to meet R.CCR.10 Text Complexity and Range of Reading
2. Aim for text that is complex and will be a “stretch” for the students
3. Check your class data – What is a procedure, skill, or strategy that students need to be using more consistently?
4. What are your writing goals? What mentor texts are you using?
5. How can you combine reading, writing, speaking and listening and language standards so the students can “practice” using a variety of language arts skills on a very rich and relevant task that is worthy of class time?
Doug Fisher (2012) reminds us that we do want to choose “short, worthy texts” (p. 108) when planning for close reading. The use of a short piece of text allows the teacher to have time for modeling the skill, strategy or procedure before turning it over to students to practice in a gradual release of responsibility framework. That modeling is going to include rereading with a specific purpose in mind. The focus lesson needs to be explicit and include the actions that students will eventually be expected to use. One goal is to have the students use the skill, strategy, or procedure as soon as possible in the context of their own reading. Doug is crystal clear in explaining that close reading does not happen to every page in any book nor only with short pieces of text. Balance of text (genre, length, and complexity) is always a consideration in selection for instruction because close reading is about really “understanding what the author is saying and then comparing that with our own experiences and beliefs” (p.108).
The key points to remember for close reading according to Doug Fisher (2012) are: “rereading, reading with a pencil, noticing things that are confusing, discussing the text with others, and responding to text-dependent questions” (p. 108).
Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D.(2012). Text complexity: Raising rigor in reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
However, do keep your eye on the “prize.” If the goal is that students will independently “close read” text, then the teacher cannot always be providing the “short” text, the directions and the text-dependent questions. In the world of “gradual release of responsibility” and “common sense” another goal would be for students to be “close reading” their independent reading texts and texts for other courses outside the realm of ELA. Consider how you would scaffold instruction to build towards multiple goals for close reading. What can and should that instruction look like?
What text have you used? Did it work as you expected? What text will you plan to use next?
What is the Purpose?
Two books that I read this summer have changed my thinking. They are Hattie’s Making Learning Visible, Maximizing Impact on Learning and Moss and Brookhart’s Learning Targets. Hattie’s book helps me craft my response when a teacher or administrator asks for help with idea/innovation/program X. I can easily check the research for the effect size and ask questions about “possibilities” for increased learning. Learning Targets has been instrumental in helping me think about the “portion size” of daily lessons for students as well as the need to be crystal clear each day about the expected student learning. A question that I frequently use is: “Does the learning target match the student action or learning?”
Why is this important? Well, Reading is very important now as several states have added a requirement for third graders to be reading at the third grade level or several different processes kick in for additional intervention, instruction, summer school or retention. This post is not going to focus on those legislative mandates. Instead it will focus on part of Reading Anchor Standard (K-12) #10 – Range of Reading. As you read through this information, think about “HOW” you will know if students have met this standard?
CCR English Language Arts Anchor Standard 10 says:
“Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.”
Several pages later in the Common Core document a reader finds this additional information:
“Range of Text Types for K‑5 Students in K–5 apply the Reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods.
| Literature | Informational Text | ||
| Stories | Dramas | Poetry | Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific and Technical Text |
| Includes children’s adventure stories, folktales, legends, fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth | Includes staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes | Includes nursery rhymes and the subgenres of the narrative poem, limerick, and free verse poem | Includes biographies and autobiographies; books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps; and digital sources on a range of topics” |
“Range of Text Types for 6‑12 Students in 6‑12 apply the Reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods.
| Literature | Informational Text | ||
| Stories | Dramas | Poetry | Literary Nonfiction |
| Includes the subgenres of adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, and graphic novels | Includes one-act and multi-act plays, both in written form and on film | Includes the subgenres of narrative poems, lyrical poems, free verse poems, sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics | Includes the subgenres of exposition, argument, and functional text in the form of personal essays, speeches, opinion pieces, essays about art or literature, biographies, memoirs, journalism, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience” |
There is more information in the standards about the three characteristics of “complex” text. But that is not the topic here. A Twitter conversation today caught my eye. It was linked to this blog: “Reading: It’s Kind of a Big Deal.”
How will you know students have read the variety of genres listed above?
How will your students know that you have read the variety of genres listed above? (If you are a teacher, you probably would not ask students to read genres or texts that you have never read, would you?)
Before I read the blog above from a parent and a child’s view, I probably would have said that a “Reading Log” would be a good indicator of texts read. But what does a list really tell a student, parent, or teacher?
- If the goal is creating students who can and will read all their lives, how can we model, encourage and excite students to read? Will it be teacher conversations in conferences with readers? Will it be peer-to-peer conversations, blogs, or tweets?
- If we consider student voice and choice, will students and parents read more than the assigned daily obligatory reading?
- And lastly, do you keep a “required reading log?”
I would love to hear your thoughts!
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