Oh Good... Are They Just Reading?

As  usual, I was in a  hurry and I knew I had just enough time to ask our Language Arts Department Chair a question before my next observation.  So I did my fastest principal walk to get to her class with the hope that she would have time to answer.  To my relief, it appeared she was available because her students were quietly reading during their sustained silent reading time and I smiled and asked, “Oh good, are they just reading?”.  As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew they were wrong, but my intuition was confirmed by a first surprised and then scornful disappointing look from the ELA teacher followed by a question of her own that was really verbalized more like a statement, “JUST reading?”.  I thought, “Oh Shit”.
Luckily, I had taught with this teacher as well as been an assistant principal and principal in the same building, so she knew I found value in students being given the time to read in class.  As a result, she quickly forgave me, but has been sure to not let me live down my faux pas to this day.  Fortunately, this miscommunication was quickly cleared up, but I have the feeling that there are many other conversations between teachers and administrators or even teachers and teachers that leave the value of  giving students time to read in class in the dark.  In my mind, the value does not come so much from just setting aside the time to read, but rather in how the time is used and what the students are reading.   

Students sometimes need to just have time to read, especially when starting a book, in order to get into the flow of the text.  However, if they are only left to reading without being given time to share their reading through conversations they  run the chance of  falling into the habit of reading for completion (i.e. to get through the pages) rather than to read for meaning.  I think this is what causes teachers to fall into the trap of over teaching a text by creating questions sheets that go along with the reading or end of chapter quizzes to “make sure” the students are reading for meaning.  In my opinion, this also takes away from the flow of reading because, at best, it over scaffolds and, at worst, it over assess, leading to over teaching a text.  At the same time, teachers need to be careful not to under teach a text as well. As an example, asking a student to independently read a non-fiction article, a play by Shakespeare, or a complex novel like Fahrenheit 451 on his own without the valuable conversations, questions, or insight from a teacher under the premise that the students are reading is equally damaging to nurturing a student’s love of reading.  Neither of these address the fact that in order to really comprehend what they are reading students need to be able to read the text with at least a 90% accuracy.  In a class of 25+ students, with a varied level of readers, who have a wide range of interest, it is hard to find the perfect class book.  As a result, getting students in self-select high interest “authentic” reading is imperative, but how do you do that?  Somewhere in between all of these concerns lies where we want students to be when it comes to developing readers.  I am not saying we need to get rid of all class reads and I will be the first to admit I am not close to being the expert or even the one to propose a solution, but I have seen this working in pockets throughout our district through variations of a Reader’s Workshop model.

I say “variations” of a Reader’s Workshop model because the time constraints at the various grade levels, as well as the unique needs of the readers, will call for an amalgamated approach of  Fountas & Pinnell’s “Guided Reading”, Miller’s “The Book Whisperer”, Atwell’s “In The Middle”, and Gallagher’s “Readicide” depending on the students make-up in the class.  The common theme across all of these experts’ message is to get kids in authentic reading and get them talking about it.  In education time is currency, so where we spend our time demonstrates where we find value.  If we value the development of readers, not test takers, then we can justify the time spent on allowing students to have time to read and have conversations in class.  Those conversations should not only be with each other, but one-on-one with the teacher who is the “expert” in the room.  Being the “expert” doesn’t mean you know everything about every book the students read, but rather you are able to ask the questions that help a student to dive deeper into the book and to be able to help them to make connections.  It is easier said than done, but these experts give us a great place to start.  As an example, in Readicide, Kelly Gallagher breaks down the  four key elements found in schools that often lead to students’ avoidance of reading.

• Valuing the development of test takers more than the development of readers.
• Limiting authentic reading experiences
• Over teaching books
• Under teaching books

He goes on to give suggestions of how to avoid these pitfalls and instead nurture students as readers.  

The point with all of these is the common sense fact that if you want better readers you have to get kids to read more.  The more kids read the greater background or foundation they will have to build on which will allow them to construct new meaning.  The more that THEY can construct meaning and make connections the better they will comprehend and retain what they are reading or learning.  This is an important caveat for ALL educators to understand.  Without giving students the opportunity to build off their own meaning while reading, they will just turn to SPARK notes or, even worse, memorize and regurgitate for the test.  You don’t need to believe me, take it from the kids in this short video from Penny Kittle on the power of authentic reading.   Understanding the power of getting kids in authentic text  and giving them the time to do so just might help you the next time you find yourself walking into a classroom where you see kids sitting quietly all over the place because you can then ask, “Oh good...are they reading?”.