Self-Selected Reading
Denise Burson
Feb 16, 2009
The purpose of Self-Selected Reading is to teach students to take responsibility for selecting appropriate material to read for enjoyment, while adults conference with individual students. Children need to be selecting and reading books on their independent reading level. The teacher has a primary role in motivating the students to read, and ensuring they are reading books that are instructionally appropriate.
Conferencing is the accountability factor in self-selected reading. The students will be more attentive to their books if they know they will be discussing the books with the teacher. During Self-Selected time the teacher usually will conference with approximately 3-5 students daily. The teacher does conference more frequently with the less fluent reader(s).
Ideas to make Self-Selected Reading Work:
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Focus on comprehension. Questions should be high level and based upon the literary elements.
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Focus on the student's ability to support comprehension using text or illustrations.
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Focus on the student's ability to use the reading cueing systems.
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Have leveled books in baskets to make choosing appropriate books easier for younger children.
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Give each student a "Friendly Folder" to keep a reading log and one book. When the book is completed and recorded, it can be exchanged for a new book.
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Have conferences while the students are reading, and write anecdotal records on sticky notes as you listen to the students read and retell the story.
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Assign a day to each student so you know that you have heard each one read every week.
See the Learning-Focused Literacy Collection for more reading strategies and skills.
