Read Between the Lines: Developing a Culture of Reading

Developing a culture of reading at home and at school is going to be a game changer for students this school year. Teaching reading in content areas boosts overall confidence and performance. As we master reading skills and strategies, we become strong readers. We are also empowered to become more independent learners. We're equipped to solve novel problems and address age-old issues.

Did you know?

• The average U.S. citizen spends only 16-minutes a day reading outside school and work; down from 22-minutes in 2005.
• People age 20 to 34 read the least outside school and work: 6-minutes a day.
• People age 75 and older read the most: 51-minutes a day.

Apparently, with wisdom comes the uncanny tendency to appreciate and engage with the wealth of knowledge at our finger tips. This post outlines strategies for developing a culture of reading, so we can outperform yesteryear versions of ourselves.

Getting Started

• Research shows that independent reading can improve student achievement in language arts and other content areas. Let's begin with book choice. We want to teach students how to choose appropriate books. In addition to choosing interesting books, they need to understand how to assess text complexity. Is the book on grade level? Is the book below a student's reading capabilities? Explicit instruction on Lexile measures, grade level AR measures, DRA reading levels, or other relevant reading measurements is paramount.

• I usually find myself reading in the same place. On occasion, change of scenery is necessary. Maybe I'll read in a restaurant or near the reservoir in my car. (I hate bugs!) It's not uncommon to wake up feeling different. Just as we enjoy the freedom to express ourselves differently, to behave differently, it's important to make room for flexibility in learning environments. We want to afford students similar flexibility. Yes, this includes flexible seating for reading. Click here for flexible seating ideas for home and school.

• Success is in your routine. In setting a routine for independent reading time, start small. Situate reading time in the middle of the day, class, or block. Reading shouldn't feel like a punishment nor an after thought. Students are best poised to be intentional when we're intentional about constructing learning opportunities. It's not necessary to write answers to comprehension questions during every scheduled reading. In this way, we promote love of reading. (Or, is it love for reading?)

Reading Pedagogy

• When facilitating student transition from reading to learn... to learning to read, assessment comes first. Assessments, tests, exams. Oh my! Do these words make you cringe? Only in a fantasy world are we able to get on with the business of providing effect reading instruction without making time for meaningful assessment. Since we know how much reading counts, it's important to concretize the gap between where students stand and growth expectations. Assessment results give us information needed to draft effective reading action plans. The best plans inform instruction, goal-setting, and feedback via student reading log and student engagement inventory (here's another inventory).

• To remain engaged students must see incremental improvements in their own performance, so we have to design learning experiences that yield quantitative results. Several web-based reading assessment programs offer individualized reading options and performance data. Reading journal prompts yield qualitative results and insight into the mind of the reader. One cool way to take this approach up a notch is by placing sticky notes with questions about the text inside the book. Also, consider impromptu verbal questioning throughout the day to infuse reading and comprehension skill into everyday life.

• Cooperative goal setting involves getting buy-in. Student patterns reveal opportunities to improve reading engagement (e.g., resisting distraction, choosing appropriate texts, increasing stamina) and strengthen comprehension performance (e.g., building vocabulary, leveraging textual evidence, thinking beyond literal meaning). Let's aim for several small victories over time. Armed with relevant samples of student work and performance data, schedule 5 to 10-minute goal-setting conferences to get students on board with setting smart goals via questioning. Consider writing a goal card (maybe used as a bookmark) as a reminder for the student. See deconstructed sample goals here. (Read one educator's experience with setting smart goals with her students here.) 

Raising Readers

• Reading goals are most impactful when teachers provide ongoing, real-time feedback. It's worth noting that reading support strategies are different than reading feedback strategies. Reading support may involve strengthening phonemic and phonological awareness skills (e.g., sounding out words); whereas reading feedback involves praising student ability to attempt to sound out words before asking for help. Another example of support involves providing additional context to drive home word meaning; in a similar case, feedback would involve commenting on a student's use of an online dictionary to independently make sense of an unfamiliar concept.

• When setting reading goals for learners and planning instructional supports, think about the nonverbals. How does engaged reading look? What does a focused person look like? How do we respond to the environment when we're immersed in a text? Whatever your answers, it's important that you're not just observing students, that you're also modeling reading engagement during student reading times. Young people do what we do, not what we say.

• Student motivation to read is linked to both enjoyment and perception of growth.(I advocate facilitating the transition from external to intrinsic motivation, so the end goal would be that more emphasis is on reading for understanding than on reading to demonstrate understanding. Still, this is a different conversation that I'll likely address in a future blog post; you're invited to share your experiences and thoughts on this distinction.) Dissect the difference between student perception of growth and actual growth; keenness in this area is key to addressing low reading motivation.

I'd love to be a resource as you work to develop a culture of reading. Schedule professional coaching for yourself and private tutoring for your student by visiting je411.com. You're also invited to keep the conversation going by sharing this content, leaving a comment, and clapping back in a guest blog submission.

Literacy Camp Lessons

Members of the JE Community email list have received updates about the Summer Literacy Camp. Six elementary students from different local districts gathered to build literacy skill. During sessions, participants engaged in hands-on activities, discussions, and games. Topics included written self-expression, cause-and-effect relationships, and sequencing events. Everything was planned: lessons were meticulously detailed, activities were aligned with standards. Then, parents and students arrived.

As the Summer Literacy Camp unfolded, we found a groove. Students developed an understanding of behavior expectations. The volunteers and I learned to work together in a new capacity toward development of more independent learners. Everyone learned to support one another in ways that facilitated learning while promoting curiosity and creativity. Three lessons were reinforced during this experience.

Lesson 1 - Don't go it alone.
Involve parents and family members in the learning process. In addition to sharing preparatory activities via email before each camp date, a peer tutor was invited to improve student-teacher ratios. Camps are designed to be inclusive; that is, each participant is involved in each learning activity. Having support, whether in the form of peer tutors or other educators, enhances engagement and amps up motivation.

Lesson 2 - Embrace curricular adjustments.
View the lesson plan as an instructional guide, not a law. Remaining flexible is imperative to leverage spontaneous teachable moments. This is particularly challenging when time is limited, which is almost always the case. Though ideal, transitioning from one topic to the next as outlined in a day's lesson plan may not be possible. During Literacy Camp, scaffolds were provided while students completed advanced activities. The objective was to engage all students, to improve individual performance through preparation.

Lesson 3 - Take time to reflect and learn.
Educators and parents adopt varying reflection exercises. Some blog about their experiences. Others prefer to curate portfolios and visuals. Whatever your approach, moments of reflection are invaluable. These moments provide opportunity to identify areas in need of improvement as well as successes worth celebrating.

In true fashion, reflection on the Summer Literacy Camp resulted in a number of new strategies for supporting parents and students. Feedback from parents prompted development of Multiplication Circles, the first event under the Jackson Education Support Circles umbrella. Parents of students enrolled in 3rd through 5th grade are encouraged to register here.

Jackson Education Support Circles are designed to improve parents' ability to help learners complete homework and assignments. Share skills you'd like to revive via email.

Ten Ways to Encourage Reading

Encouraging reading for kids varies widely by each child’s nature and learning style. The ultimate goal transitions from learning to read to reading to learn to fostering love of reading. Encouraging children during the process results in adults who love to read.  

I have a 10-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. Whereas they read some of the same books to the point that I have to buy two copies sometimes (thank you Rick Riordan!), they require different kinds of motivation. The following Ten Ways help me encourage their growth.

1. Follow Reading Style
Once kids have learned to read, it is important to find out their reading style. 

My son loves math and the linear nature of solving equations. I found that he loved mysteries because they are also very linear by nature. Defined characters who solve crimes imitate step-wise, formulaic algebra. Focusing on love of a linear plot, we started with The Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown. Then, he discovered Clive Cussler and James Patterson. Both of whom write mid-grade novels as well as more well-known adult books. Once he polished off the mid-grade novels, he moved on to reading the adult novel versions.

2. Model Reading
If parents read, kids will follow. If there are books in a home, children look for their own books. Likewise if a parent speaks badly of reading or doesn’t encourage reading outside of school, a child may never see the value in picking up a book just for fun. 

I am in a mom book club that meets once a month. My middle-schooled aged son participates in Battle of the Books where his team answers questions about a pre-made list of books. Similarly, my daughter saw value in joining her own kid version of my mom book club. The girls choose books, read them, and met up to discuss over snacks. The book club model nurtures our love for reading, because we have someone with whom to share the experience. 

3. Read Aloud
My 10-year-old still enjoys read alouds. Sometimes, I read books that are slightly above her reading level. Other times, I read her old favorites aloud using fun voices. When we are in the car, audio books have the same effect. Sometimes, my daughter prefers to listen to books as she does homework.

4. Find the Passion
Ask kids what they like, and search for novel on the topic. If they identify with the character(s) or setting, children gravitate towards reading. This can be a non-fiction pursuit like marine biology or something more fictional about pirates.

5. Think Outside the Book
Sometimes a child will find an interest that falls outside the reaches of 'traditional child' or 'young adult literature'. 

My son loved studying WWII and quickly exhausted most age-appropriate literature. I found the Mr. Biggles series on Amazon. Long out of print, the books gave him a first-hand but personal essay style of reading about the war and a pilot’s experience. Around the same time, he wanted to learn about physics. I found the Graphic Novel Guide to Physics which gave him a more age-appropriate overview of the material. 

His sister loved the idea of mysteries as well but we had to look harder to find strong girl role models in mystery literature. She needed to read about a protagonist that she could identify with. We found the Enola Holmes mystery series involving Sherlock Holmes’s sister, a character who solved crimes.

6. Don’t Get Stuck on Reading Levels
My kids will often pick up a book that might be below their reading level because they are old favorites. On the other side of the coin, introducing a child to a book of interest at a higher reading level can strengthen and expand their reading skills. Reading books out loud to kids also can expand their reading comprehension level and vocabulary levels. As kids get older, the reading level itself becomes less important as most adult novels are written at sixth and seventh grade levels.

7. Introduce a Book Series
There's a reason we love sitcoms and movies with sequels. Introducing a book series can motivate kids to read more as their attachment to story lines grows. From Harry Potter to the Lightning Thief series, there are many options. Kids that are hooked on a book series continue reading.

8. Provide a Multi-sensory Experience
After my kids read books, I frequently find the video or movie version of the book or other complimentary option. My daughter loved reading about Helen Keller and found even more depth in the books when she watched The Miracle Worker. The Junie B. Jones books and Lily and Plastic Purse books came alive when she visited the children’s theater to watch live theater versions of the books.  The Narnia series of movies gave both of them a fantastical view of the books to add to what they'd already imagined.

9. Supplement with Project Based Learning
Check out Scholastic for teacher lesson plans to add further dimension to the simple act of reading. Incorporating project-based learning projects with text-reading has a longer-lasting impact on learners. 

A science-themed book might instigate a trip to a local science museum while a crime-solving heroine like Nancy Drew may be complimented with an inexpensive spy kit. Also, kids studying Houdini might appreciate learning simple magic trips to identify with Harry’s pursuit of magic.

10. Encourage Questioning
I read books as a child that were probably horribly inappropriate like Clan of the Bear and Flowers in the Attic and Are You There God, Its Me Margaret. With many online sources offering parent and publication reviews, parents can examine content without reading ahead and also prepare responses to questions about sensitive subjects introduced in texts. Kids should feel comfortable to openly talk to us about content.

By taking a look at a child’s interests with an eye on expanding the reading experience, parents and teachers can encourage a lifelong love of reading.

_______________________

A very special thanks goes to educator and 

guest blogger, Amy Barnes. She and 

her husband created ExitBoxMedia.

Parents, are you on the Fence About Tutoring?

Are you  considering tutoring for your child?  Did your child struggle to end last year on a high note?  Has the classroom teacher expressed concern about academic performance? Well, you're not alone...

Jillian Smart, M. Ed., launched Jackson Education Support.

I launched Jackson Education Support (JE) to support the educational goals of learners in literacy, math, and science subjects. If you haven't heard, JE is a Mississippi-based education firm that offers personalized in-person and online services which allows parents like you to enjoy family time.

While classroom teachers are often expected to provide children with individualized attention during class, the likelihood of this happening decreases as class size increases - not to mention the growing number of assessments that take precedence during lesson planning.  

Jackson Education Support support learners by providing homework help and study skills support.  Each service is personalized to meet individual need. Clients schedule in-person and virtual tutoring sessions to address gaps in achievement that hinder progress in literacy, math, and science classes.

Tutoring is the new normal, reports scholastic.com.  "When specific, basic skills are not developing as you would expect, or when a child has a diagnosed learning disability, having a tutor can help her build those special skills or compensate for the ones she lacks," says learning specialist Susan J. Schwartz, M.A. Ed., clinical coordinator at the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the New York University Child Study Center. Parents of early elementary students are feeling the pressure to ensure that children meet and exceed rising educational  standards.

If you think your child struggles in school, I encourage you not to wait for the problem to resolve itself. I say this, because many parents regret hiring a professional at the end of the school year. Children who receive support early on become more independent over time, so working with an educator outside of school times may not have to be a long-term arrangement for your child.

But, adding an experienced educator to your team is the best way to start the new school year. Let's discuss your child's academic needs in greater detail.  Schedule a free consultation today!

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