Independent vs. Interactive Reading Models

Marshmallowing It

Reading is Reading is Reading.

Isn't it?

No, not really.

I remember back in the day (90's, whut, whut!?) we had homeroom or AR periods where we got a luscious 20-30 minutes to do nothing but read. As a teacher I know now that one of our untested standards in the TEKS is for students to read independently for 'sustained' periods of time.

I tried this years ago as a fledgling Reading teacher and was disappointed at the common struggles teachers face with in class independent reading.

• Wigglers
• Frequent Flyers "getting a tissue"
• Book-Lookers
• Page Starers
• Noise Boys

All in all, I felt like I was losing more time than I was making and that could have been used for the unending number of standards I needed to be addressing. The second year that I tried it, I tried to do small group fluency at the same time, but inevitably the children were more interested in me whispering advice and modeling to a small group than they were in their books. Sad, right?

So what was going on? Why didn't it work that well? It was okay, but it wasn't great. And I don't know about you, but my class needs great, not good, if we're to make our goals.

Making the StayPuff

So this last year I tried a thing. Most things I've learned to do effectively have come from a random question popping into my head and then trying out different techniques to play with all the variables in the classroom.

The thing was, "How can I know whether my students are reading their books to completion rather than abandoning them?"

Tradition and trainings all suggest Reading Logs, but frankly, who's got time for that?

My ESL students need every moment they're with me to be high-charged, effective activity, and simply copying out by hand titles and authors and pulling folders and putting them away is a terrible idea.

It's just a waste of time.

We live in an era where everything we do gets tracked for us automatically: how much we spend, where we spend it, what we watched on Netflix, when we bought something on Amazon, even how many steps we walked today

The age of logging things with a pen and paper by hand just to make a list died a long time ago.

So, what does this mean?

It means it's time to reinvent the Reading Log into something that's ALIVE.

How to Transition from Independent to Interactive Reading

1. I make a spreadsheet with the kids loaded onto in the order that they sit in class. There are enough blank cells for one week per page.
2. As students get out their library books, I walk around the room and note down 1-2 key words from the title. Then I note down the page they're beginning on for that day. 
3. I give each child a sticky note for the day. 
4. On the board I've posted a sentence stem concerning something that we've learned. For example, it might say, "On page _____, I found an example of imagery. The example is_________." 
5. Students read their books looking for whatever is on the board and as they find them, I walk around looking at their notes. 
6. As the week progresses, I change the stem, making it more challenging or simply different if I see a need to practice something. "On page _____, I found an example of imagery that appeals to my sense of __________________." "The most vivid imagery I found this week in my reading was ______________ because ____________________."
7. I call the whole group to the floor. 
8. I (or Ramon) read a novel on their level and I model the same sentence stem and discuss my book.
9. Students share their findings with partners as I listen in.
10. Students put their sticky notes into the Reading Logs, making their Reading Logs a meaningful collections of work. 

Advantages of Interactive Reading over Independent Reading

• I know what my students are interested in because I look at their books every single day.
• I know who's struggling on a book. If day to day the pages didn't increase much, there's a problem.
• I know who goes home and reads a lot and who goes home and reads none or little. Shakira says hips don't lie, but I'm here to tell you that books don't lie, either.
• The class is in a constant spiral review.
• Reading Logs are meaningful work.
• Students are accountable for content because of the sticky note and discussion.
• Students want to remember more of what they read so they can talk about it with their classmates and me.
• Students see me read and want to read what I'm reading.
• Students read chapter books to completion.
• Students ask me for book recommendations.
• Students feel empowered.
• Students build stamina for those lovely (ridiculously long) state assessments.
• We build a classroom culture of reading.