Independent Reading
Why is reading important?
This is a topic that I could write pages about, but in the interest of brevity, I will borrow from Reading Reasons, a wonderful book by Kelly Gallagher. In this book, Gallagher outlines 9 compelling reasons for why reading is important:
How much should my child be reading?
We only become good at things through practice. In order to grow as a reader and meet the challenges of increasingly complex texts, students must read at home for at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. This is in addition to the reading they complete during class. If a child is matched with a "just right" book, a good rule of thumb is that the child should read about 3/4 of a page every minute. You can expect then that your child will read roughly 22 pages during a 30 minute reading session. When students read significantly slower than this rate, this could be a sign that the student is reading a book that is too difficult or does not engage their interest. If you notice any potential problems, please let me know so that I can look into them with your child.
We do not want students to view reading like a chore that they must finish. To that end, try not to fall into the trap of setting a timer for thirty minutes and letting your child shut the book the moment the timer goes off. Adult readers read to logical end points--we might read to the end of a chapter, the end of a section, or the end of an article. Encourage your child to set page goals before starting a reading session using the page count rule of thumb above. He or she can even place a sticky note at a logical stopping place they wish to reach that day.
Each quarter (9 weeks), students should aim to read at least 1,400 pages. Click here to download the rubric that will be used to assess your child's independent reading progress.
How can I tell if my child is actually reading?
Some students are experts at looking like they are reading for 30 minutes when they actually haven't read that many pages. In 30 minutes, you can expect that your child will have read at least 22 pages. Even if you don't know the book, you can ask your child some general questions to assess comprehension. Ask these questions more as a way of engaging in conversation and showing you value reading, rather than a test to see if they read.
If you want to engage in deeper conversations with your child about their reading, consider reading the book yourself. There are many high quality young adult books around today that adult readers will also enjoy. You could also look up reviews of books on Amazon to have a better understanding of the story.
What should my child be reading?
Our first goal is to get your child reading and enjoying reading. Once a child is hooked on reading, then we can start to challenge them with more difficult and varied texts. Students should almost always be reading "just right" books. A "just right" book is a book that matches their reading level. While reading levels aren't emphasized as much in middle school as they are in lower grades, we still want students to read books that they can comprehend and read fluently (3/4 of a page per minute). We also don't want students to read books that are too easy for them (although this is fun to do every now and then), because they will only become better readers by reading books that are appropriately challenging. That being said, books that are too challenging or not engaging to that child are counterproductive and foster a dislike of reading.
To prepare for the ELA and high school, students will be expected to read a variety of genres and will be encouraged to read outside of their comfort zone. Over the course of the year, students will be expected to read a specified number of books in each genre (realistic fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, memoir, non-fiction, etc.). We are fortunate to have an ever expanding classroom library full of high quality young adult books at a variety of reading levels. As you can see from the photo above, books are organized by genre and topic bins to help students find books of interest. Students can get ideas for what to read next from class book talks and reviews and discussions posted on our Goodreads group. I am always happy to help students find a book, but since they will not always have me as a resource, my goal is to teach them strategies to find books that interest them for the rest of their lives.
Are students only allowed to read books from the classroom library?
Of course not! Students should view the classroom library as a starter set. They are encouraged to seek out books in the school library, the town library, their home bookshelves, the bookshelves of friends, and anywhere else they can get their hands on books they want to read. Students are also encouraged to read magazines and newspapers. Students are also welcome to used Kindles, Nooks, or other e-reader devices.
How do you make sure books are age-appropriate?
All books in our classroom library are recommended as being appropriate for 7th grade students. That being said, some books might contain more mature or sensitive topics as their characters face teen issues. Students are also able to access more mature books outside of the classroom. Parents and guardians need to decide what they feel comfortable allowing their child to read about and monitor their child's book selections. If you have any questions about a particular book, you are welcome to contact me or search for it online.
How can I encourage my child to read?
Here are a few things you can do at home to create a life-long reader:
Why don't students have to read class novels?
If we taught only class novels, students would finish 7th grade reading only 5-6 books. Instead, many of our students read 40 books in a year and all of the books are at their reading level and of high interest to them. We want students to develop habits, skills, and a love of reading that will create life-long readers. Research shows that students need to read more than 5-6 books a year to meet grade level standards. Research also suggests that the traditional approach to class novels fosters a dislike of reading, or what has been termed "readicide." For more information about this, please see Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher or The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller. In addition to independent reading, students will read one challenging shared text a week to develop reading skills that they are then expected to apply to their independent reading books. Students are held accountable for their reading through their reading notebook entries and conferences with the teacher.
This is a topic that I could write pages about, but in the interest of brevity, I will borrow from Reading Reasons, a wonderful book by Kelly Gallagher. In this book, Gallagher outlines 9 compelling reasons for why reading is important:
- Reading is rewarding
- Reading builds a mature vocabulary
- Reading makes you a better writer
- Reading is hard, and "hard" is necessary
- Reading makes you smarter
- Reading prepares you for the world of work
- Reading well is financially rewarding
- Reading opens the doors to college and beyond
- Reading arms you against oppression
How much should my child be reading?
We only become good at things through practice. In order to grow as a reader and meet the challenges of increasingly complex texts, students must read at home for at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. This is in addition to the reading they complete during class. If a child is matched with a "just right" book, a good rule of thumb is that the child should read about 3/4 of a page every minute. You can expect then that your child will read roughly 22 pages during a 30 minute reading session. When students read significantly slower than this rate, this could be a sign that the student is reading a book that is too difficult or does not engage their interest. If you notice any potential problems, please let me know so that I can look into them with your child.
We do not want students to view reading like a chore that they must finish. To that end, try not to fall into the trap of setting a timer for thirty minutes and letting your child shut the book the moment the timer goes off. Adult readers read to logical end points--we might read to the end of a chapter, the end of a section, or the end of an article. Encourage your child to set page goals before starting a reading session using the page count rule of thumb above. He or she can even place a sticky note at a logical stopping place they wish to reach that day.
Each quarter (9 weeks), students should aim to read at least 1,400 pages. Click here to download the rubric that will be used to assess your child's independent reading progress.
How can I tell if my child is actually reading?
Some students are experts at looking like they are reading for 30 minutes when they actually haven't read that many pages. In 30 minutes, you can expect that your child will have read at least 22 pages. Even if you don't know the book, you can ask your child some general questions to assess comprehension. Ask these questions more as a way of engaging in conversation and showing you value reading, rather than a test to see if they read.
- What happened in the part you read today?
- What was your favorite part?
- Tell me about the main character. What happened to him or her today?
- What do you think will happen next? Why?
- What are you wondering or thinking about after reading today?
- What are you working on as a reader? How's it going?
- Why did you pick this book?
If you want to engage in deeper conversations with your child about their reading, consider reading the book yourself. There are many high quality young adult books around today that adult readers will also enjoy. You could also look up reviews of books on Amazon to have a better understanding of the story.
What should my child be reading?
Our first goal is to get your child reading and enjoying reading. Once a child is hooked on reading, then we can start to challenge them with more difficult and varied texts. Students should almost always be reading "just right" books. A "just right" book is a book that matches their reading level. While reading levels aren't emphasized as much in middle school as they are in lower grades, we still want students to read books that they can comprehend and read fluently (3/4 of a page per minute). We also don't want students to read books that are too easy for them (although this is fun to do every now and then), because they will only become better readers by reading books that are appropriately challenging. That being said, books that are too challenging or not engaging to that child are counterproductive and foster a dislike of reading.
To prepare for the ELA and high school, students will be expected to read a variety of genres and will be encouraged to read outside of their comfort zone. Over the course of the year, students will be expected to read a specified number of books in each genre (realistic fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, memoir, non-fiction, etc.). We are fortunate to have an ever expanding classroom library full of high quality young adult books at a variety of reading levels. As you can see from the photo above, books are organized by genre and topic bins to help students find books of interest. Students can get ideas for what to read next from class book talks and reviews and discussions posted on our Goodreads group. I am always happy to help students find a book, but since they will not always have me as a resource, my goal is to teach them strategies to find books that interest them for the rest of their lives.
Are students only allowed to read books from the classroom library?
Of course not! Students should view the classroom library as a starter set. They are encouraged to seek out books in the school library, the town library, their home bookshelves, the bookshelves of friends, and anywhere else they can get their hands on books they want to read. Students are also encouraged to read magazines and newspapers. Students are also welcome to used Kindles, Nooks, or other e-reader devices.
How do you make sure books are age-appropriate?
All books in our classroom library are recommended as being appropriate for 7th grade students. That being said, some books might contain more mature or sensitive topics as their characters face teen issues. Students are also able to access more mature books outside of the classroom. Parents and guardians need to decide what they feel comfortable allowing their child to read about and monitor their child's book selections. If you have any questions about a particular book, you are welcome to contact me or search for it online.
How can I encourage my child to read?
Here are a few things you can do at home to create a life-long reader:
- Model reading. Read books, magazines, and work related material in front of your child to show that reading is a life-long habit and not something only done for school. Talk about your reading with your child. Even though it might not seem like it, your teen still notices what you do!
- Create a reading space. Help your child find a quiet, well lit, and comfortable space to read. You can stock the space with reading tools such as bookmarks, sticky notes, a dictionary, and pencils. They should also have a bookshelf or place to store books they own or borrow from the library.
- Make time for reading as a family. Set aside time each day to read together as a family. This could even be as simple as reading the newspaper at the breakfast table. Be sure to save a few minutes to share what you each read at the end of reading time.
- Visit the library and bookstores together. This is a great way to spend quality time with your busy teen.
- Ask questions about what he or she is reading. Showing interest in their reading is a great way to show you value reading and the work that your child is doing. See the suggested questions above for ideas.
- Listen to books on tape in the car. Find a novel that will appeal to your family to listen to on road trips or even back and forth to school and other activities. The public library has a collection of books on tape or you can download them on iTunes.
- Always have reading material with you. Encourage your child to always bring a book or magazine with them on errands or to after school activities. You never know when they can find a spare minute to catch up on some reading.
- Subscribe to magazines that will interest your child. There are many great magazines geared for middle school students, as well as adult magazines that are also appropriate. Try to find magazines that match your child's interests.
- Encourage him or her to read out loud to a younger sibling. Reading aloud is a great way to build fluency and your younger child will gain a great reading mentor!
- Let your child choose what to read. Forcing your child to read books he or she isn't interested in will make them dislike reading. Let your child make his or her own book selections so that when you do recommend a book, he or she is more willing to give it a try.
- If your child is struggling with a book, let him or her abandon it. Struggling through a book does not build a love of reading. We ask that students read at least 20 pages of a book before abandoning it. If students are abandoning book after book, it's time to have a conversation about selecting "just right" books.
Why don't students have to read class novels?
If we taught only class novels, students would finish 7th grade reading only 5-6 books. Instead, many of our students read 40 books in a year and all of the books are at their reading level and of high interest to them. We want students to develop habits, skills, and a love of reading that will create life-long readers. Research shows that students need to read more than 5-6 books a year to meet grade level standards. Research also suggests that the traditional approach to class novels fosters a dislike of reading, or what has been termed "readicide." For more information about this, please see Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher or The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller. In addition to independent reading, students will read one challenging shared text a week to develop reading skills that they are then expected to apply to their independent reading books. Students are held accountable for their reading through their reading notebook entries and conferences with the teacher.