Self-Selected Reading Block

Let’s look at our books

40-43 /56 Overview/Summary 20-26/36

44-48 Teacher Read Aloud 22-26 49-52 Children Read 26-29

53-54 Conferences 29-33

55-56 Sharing/Making the block multi-level 34,35

57-60 A Typical Week 37-40

Why?

• Increases the odds that students choose to read once they are able.

• Increases competence in skimming, scanning, sampling, selecting appropriate and interesting books.

• Increases competence in sharing interests and excitement about reading

• Increases fluency in application of skills learned in guided reading and words block.

Some Core Activities

• Read-Alouds(10-15 minutes)

• DEAR time

• Mini-lessons/focused discussions

• Reader conferences

• Reader’s Chair (sharing) (5 minutes)

(15-20 minutes)

Read-Alouds

• DO’s– Read aloud daily from a variety of materials– Teach students how to listen to stories.– Set purposes for listening.– Link the texts to the students’ experiences.– Make the book available after the read-aloud.

• DON’Ts– Read stories you don’t enjoy yourself.– Discourage questions and comments.– Read too fast.– Insist on consensus or correct interpretation.

DEAR Time

• DO– Have students select several books before beginning.– Begin with short time and slowly increase.– Share your excitement about something you’re

reading and encourage others to do likewise.• DON’T

– Make the activity dependent upon good behavior.– Limit reading to books or fiction.

Vary how they read, what they read and where they read “on their own”.

Make it Accessible!

• Power Point (and other multimedia) Books

• TarHeel Reader

• My Own Bookshelf

What if they aren’t “readers” yet?Model 3 ways to read

• Read and talk about pictures

• Retell familiar stories

• Read the words

Create Books for Older Students

• Use popular song lyrics as texts– Create song books with single pages for each song,

or – Create storybooks with individual lines of lyrics on

each page & illustrations (magazine pics)

• Use magazine articles to create texts– Select articles on topics of interest– Generate sentences to reflect text in article– Read article to student and student selects from

sentences for the new text.

Some Important Mini-Lessons

• Skimming, scanning, sampling, selecting.

• If it doesn’t fit, don’t wear it.

• Ways to help peers when sharing a book.

• Rule of thumb.

Reader’s conference

• DO– Keep records on what authors, topics, text types

students like.– Suggest similar/related readings.– Guide, but don’t legislate, choice and response.– Miscue-analysis periodically.

• DON’T– Make this experience a book report forum.– Insist on a particular form of the activity.– Restrict type of text that can be shared.

Reader’s Chair

• DO– Have a few children take a turn every day.– Explore sources of reluctance in some children.– Model various possible responses.– Model sincere questions and appropriate praise.

• DON’T– Make this experience a book report forum.– Insist on a particular form of the activity.– Restrict type of text that can be shared.

Multiple Ways to Read and Write

• Reading– From memory, pictures, words, combinations– Predictable text + familiar experiences– Icons + familiar experiences

• Writing– By dictating, scribbling, drawing, AAC

symbols, letters, ear-spelling, words, combinations

What can they do without a teacher?

• Read a book on CD, in a slide carousel, in a talking word processor, or other adapted formats.

• Listen to a peer read aloud to them.• Read with a peer (chorally, in turns, silently…)• Write in a journal or dictate to someone else.• Work in a peer group on:

– Long-term projects– Multimedia projects– Writing projects

WHAT ELSE??

• Write email with peer(s).

• Surf the “net”.

• Read aloud via AAC device to others.

• Anything that you have prepared for independent access

• Your turn:– What else?

AIMMMM for Literacy

• Access: independent• Interaction: blessings, peers, reader’s

chair, conferences• Models: read-alouds in a wide variety of

materials• Materials: appropriate, interesting,

numerous (20:1), various• Minutes: 10 of silent reading, 30 total• Motivation: intrinsic, NOT extrinsic