I am slowly trying to get this program or FVR (Free Voluntary Reading) time back in place - not just for the little kids, but for all the students. Please use this letter if you want to encourage your teachers...you are what you share :-)
Dear Teachers,
It’s great to hear that some teachers are doing “reading time” in class.
Research shows that above all other activities in school – reading has the most dramatic effect on academics.
- use the library
- search the catalog in class
- ask the Librarian for help getting the “right” books
- At least 25 minutes at a time to get into the “zone” (losing all sense of place and time) of deep reading.
- Teachers must model reading books at the same time (not check email).
- No strings attached – no rewards or punishments for reading. We just want to build the environment for the love of reading – which in turn improves vocabulary, critical thinking, world knowledge, empathy and more.
- Read-alouds (both fiction and academic texts) are also seen as highly beneficial to even older students.
I remember being made to feel very unprofessional by a principal early in my career for reading as my students read. I had learned that modeling a love of reading was one of the most powerful practices in encouraging adolescents to read. As a male, this was especially important for the boys in my class - there were few male teachers at that middle school.
ReplyDeleteNow that this is an accepted best practice we should latch onto it. A teacher's day is frantic enough already and I strongly believe this negatively influences our students. Perhaps we need to start a Slow Teaching movement that reflects some of the positives and best practices of the Slow Food and Slow Art initiatives.