Rose Ferrero School

Numerous studies prove that wide reading improves children's comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing. Unfortunately, the poorest readers read the least, often as much as three times less than their peers. Many students identified as struggling readers receive reading intervention, but no matter what instructional methods we employ, the bottom line is that students must spend substantial time applying the reading skills and strategies we offer to them … that is, to become good readers, students must read and read and read.

The challenge for many teachers lies in motivating and inspiring students to pick up a book in the first place. Developing or struggling readers often lack the experience and confidence to choose books for themselves, read for extended periods of time, or consistently apply reading strategies across texts. Dormant readers, who possess the reading skills needed for academic tasks, see reading as a school job—not as an activity in which they would willingly engage outside school. How do we instill lasting reading behaviors in all our students? Lifelong readers possess certain habits that we can explicitly model and teach our students. By redesigning our classrooms to support young readers as they practice and internalize the behaviors of avid readers, we can increase our students' engagement in reading and reap the benefits that prolific reading engenders.

Making Time: When I used to announce that it was time to come to a stopping spot during Independent Reading time, my 6th grade students used to groan. Their complaints were music to my ears. I learned that the only way I could guarantee that my students read was to dedicate time for them to read in class every day. The Commission on Reading's report, Becoming a Nation of Readers, recommends two hours of silent sustained reading a week, but increasing curriculum demands and the need to prepare students for standardized tests have made independent reading time a luxury in many classrooms. Knowing that voracious readers make time to read every day, how do we carve out more reading time for students?

I used to set aside as much as 30 minutes a day for my 6th grade students to read in class. During this time, I modeled reading, by reading, too. Maximizing wasted moments in the school day may garner as much as an hour each week of reading time for students. Activities such as editing sentences, vocabulary study, or journal prompts, may yield limited instructional benefits; but none produce the same level of academic power as 15 minutes of reading time. The same could be said for “when you are done” activities. I used to tell my students that they are never done … that when they finish class work, they read. Students can gain as much as 20 minutes of extra reading in class each day when teachers designate reading as the only activity for any class time not used for instruction and practice. Research also has shown that when students given time to read in class, they are more likely to read more at home, too.

Giving Freedom: Although providing students with more time to read dramatically increases the amount of reading they do, no single practice inspires students to read as much as the opportunity to choose their own books. Learners who lack input into decision making feel powerless and unmotivated—this is true for adults, for teachers, and for our students. When teachers or librarians restrict students to the books they are allowed to read, students hate it. What students love is when they get to choose what they read. Even though educators use heartfelt recommendations, thought-provoking discussions about what a particular student should read, students will tell you that the most important factor for them is having the choice to read the book they want to read.

Options and Requirements: I never provided my students with the option of not reading. Instead, I would ask my students, “What book will you be reading today?” By doing so, I moved the opportunity for choice to book selection – and book selection only. Allowing students to choose what they will read gives them power and removes the opportunity to refuse to read at all. That will be enough to motivate some students. Through the 40-Book Challenge, I “required” my students to read 40 books each year. Requiring my students to read widely exposed them to more genres, authors, vocabulary, and background knowledge than I could ever accomplish through teaching, and it helped students discover and develop their own reading tastes. For students who lack reading experience and confidence in choosing books, I used to introduce a wide range of books and authors through readalouds and book introductions, and then I would place the book on the chalkboard rail for students to enjoy. My students would frequently seek out books and authors that I shared in class. I often used the first chapter of a book as an introduction piece, or once I finished a book (and I read about 90% of the books in my classroom library), I gave a quick “book review” about its contents. These books rarely lasted the day before a student would check it out to read.

When my students selected books on their own, I always approved their choices, but at the same time, if I thought a student was selecting a too easy/hard book, I would ask questions pertaining to the book they selected, or, depending on the student, offered suggestions based on what I knew about the student. When students saw that I valued their reading choices, they began to trust themselves to select their own reading material and trust me to suggest more books. I tapped into this relationship to move students toward more challenging, meatier books over time. I worked closely with students who struggled to select books or commit to a reading plan; I helped them set short-term goals, such as reading a certain amount of pages per week or finishing one book. Finally, I encouraged and praised these students for every step they took toward their reading goals.

The Gift of Reading: Like a sport, the more students read, the better readers they become. By dedicating reading time in my class, recommending books, exposing students to a variety of texts and authors, and validating their reading choices, I saw students' interest and motivation to read increase. Students' background knowledge, understanding of text structure and features, vocabulary usage, appreciation for authors' craft, and performance on a wide array of assessments improve tremendously because of the amount of reading they do. For it is only through volumes and volumes of reading that many students internalize the comprehension skills and gain the reading experience they must acquire for academic success. Of course, hours and hours spent reading and the freedom to choose their own books also leads many children to discover a love of books and reading—a path to enjoyment and learning that lasts long after schooling ends. Having students become life-long readers is an immeasurable gift that I believe all educators strive to give to their students.

On the east side of our Multipurpose Room is the original Rose Ferrero marquee. And now that we have our new electronic one on the northeast corner of the Multipurpose Room, we probably do not pay much attention to the old one. However, when thinking what to put up on that marquee – most likely, something that would be there for a while, I had them place this phrase (in both English & Spanish) “Reading is Important. Read 30 Minutes Every Night.” This is because research indicates that time spent reading correlates positively with students’ performance on standardized reading tests. Just look at these numbers:

· A student in the twentieth percentile reads books for up to 0.7 minutes per day, which adds up to 21,000 words read per year.

· A student in the eightieth percentile reads books for up to 14.2 minutes per day, which adds up to 1,146,000 words read per year.

· A student in the ninetieth percentile reads books for up to 21.1 minutes per day, which adds up to 1,823,000 words read per year.

· A student in the ninety-eighth percentile reads books for up to 65.0 minutes per day, which adds up to 4,385,000 words read per year.

With these numbers in mind, and thinking how well our students can do in school if they only read at least 21 minutes per day, why wouldn’t we do anything and everything possible to turn our students into voracious readers?

1). Teachers: Please remember to be inside the Multipurpose Room by 8:00 AM. I believe having all of us there together – all students and teachers at once – really helps our students as well as helps send the message that we are all in this together in regard to the important messages we deliver to our students each and every morning. Thanks.

2). Teachers: Please remember to use the What, Why, & How regarding your Learning Targets … explaining to students What we are going to learn, Why we are going to learn this, and How the students will know when they have learned it.

3). Teachers: Please remember to be outside on the yard for the 10 minutes of Yard Duty you share with your Grade-level Team. Sometimes we are short Pupil Supervisors, and we are counting on your presence out on the yard to keep our students safe. Thanks.