The Wayland Literacy Institute presenters, colleagues at my school, and many friends and family members I've spoken to this summer all point to the fact that an early start to reading and lots of reading exposure and practice leads to life long readers.
Developing readers starts at birth or even before birth. A steady diet of reading to and with children is essential. Yet in today's busy world, that is sometimes impossible for families for a myriad of reasons, and that's why schools have to make time for reading (I can imagine a colleague chuckling as I write since she's been repeating this message continuously--"They're finally listening," she's probably remarking.)
The time to add reading to school year schedules is the months before the school year starts. Decide now how and when reading will fit into your daily schedule, then hold that time sacred as many specialists and program leaders come to you asking for time.
Next year in my class, I am going to include the following reading times in the schedule:
- Daily Read Aloud/Reading Focus Lesson: 15-30 minutes (a time when all students are available)
- Daily independent, partner, and/or small group guided reading: 30-45 minutes
- Daily reading response writing, 15-30 minutes.
- Regular conferences with individuals, partners and small groups related to reading.
- RTI (response to intervention) for reading.
- Lexia: Reading Skills, 3-5 times a week, SumDog English for those done w/Lexia
- An expectation of 15 minutes or more of reading at home each school night.
The reading year focus will include the following:
- Introduction to the Comprehension Strategies: The Gold Threaded Dress
- Choosing Just Right Books, Individual Conferences
- Initial Reading Assessments: GRADE, DIBELS, attitudinal survey, reading with the teacher, observation.
- Reader's Workshop Introduction and Practice including times, routines, expectation.
- Reading Response Pattern (connected to Read Aloud/Focus Lessons)
- Specific focus on each reading comprehension strategy.
- Specific focus on genre.
- Specific focus on types of reading responses and close reading.
What will your reading year look like? How will you preserve time for reading in the schedule daily? In what ways will you make reading a meaningful activity for students each day?
Reading is an essential skill on the school year menu--one that we need to focus on each day with depth and breadth. Creating a schedule and outline of your reading program prior to the start of school will help you to reach this goal.
