Don’t Forget Time for Self Selected Reading!
Carol Brewer
Feb 22, 2010
At this time of the year, can your students sit still and attend to text for an extended amount of time? It is all about building stamina and Self Selected Reading is the time of the day to satisfy this crucial component. To balance instruction during Comprehensive Literacy time, too often Self Selected Reading is cut short or not allocated at all.
It is important for students to have the scheduled time to interact with text. This text might be:
- a book the teacher read
- a book the class has read
- a book the class has created
- a book on a "must read" list
- a book on the State Reading List
- a book suggested by another student
- a book teachers have suggested, especially the media specialist
Take time to allow students to share what has been read. This might be time at the beginning or end of the Self Selected Reading time. Have a Reading Log for the students to complete after each session. This will give students accountability for their reading. These logs are helpful for conferences when sharing information with parents. When parents see their child has not taken advantage of reading time, they may better understand why their child is having trouble comprehending text.
Suggested Reading Log:
To learn more visit the LEARNING-FOCUSED Literacy Strategies.
