Self-selected+Reading

**Brian Tait**
=Welcome to the Self-Selected or Independent Reading Page!= Self-Selected Reading is in some sense a misnomer. The teacher’s goal is to employ strategies that lead the student reader to make selections that will engage them and foster a love of reading, all the while empowering the student with a sense that they themselves made the selection. The American Association of School Librarians defines Independent or Self-Selected reading as, “the reading students choose to do on their own. It reflects the reader’s personal choice of the material to be read as well as the time and place to read it. Independent reading is done for information or for pleasure.” What follows is an attempt to explain strategies at all grade levels to create effective self-selected reading. I __**Primary Grades**__ In the primary grades, students are taught that there are two ways to read--picture reading and reading the words. In the early primary years, children are taught to use the pictures to help them sound out the words. Sometimes students are taught use pictures to predict what will happen in the story prior to reading the book. Eventually the pictures become less apparent in books as the students become older; therefore reading the words becomes more necessary. In a primary classroom, students start off independent reading for about five minutes a day. Many teachers have crates of books that are separated by reading levels that are used for self-selected reading. The teacher usually color codes these books and then informs the student which color books they can choose based on a reading inventory given to them. Throughout the independent reading session, the teacher walks around the room and conferences with the students in regards to the text they are reading. As the students become stronger readers, they move on to different levels, hence choosing from different crates of books. In the primary grades, students are unaware that the books are strategically leveled by the teacher and they are assigned books based on their level. As the students grow older, they may tend to ask why they are reading much longer books with fewer pictures than some other students in the classroom. This is a commonly used strategy in primary grades and also keeps the classroom library organized! // Independent Reading Programs // // One of the strategies in recent years in regards to self-selected reading in schools is that they have used "100 Book Challenge". I have personally been in schools that use this strategy and the students seem to really enjoy the challenge. Below is a researchers thoughts on "100 Book Challenge". // // "100 Book Challenge // is designed to enhance pupils’ reading competencies through use of self-selected reading materials that are not part of traditional, formal instruction. The program gives pupils access to a large number and a wide variety of books that students are expected to find attractive, chosen from the titles of over 200 // Using Self Selected Reading Materials // 4 publishers. A standards-based, color coded leveling system is used to classify books based on difficulty according to national standards for acquisition of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary skills. In this type of program, children are expected to learn to read, in part, by engaging them with materials they have chosen for pleasure or for obtaining information related to their interests.
 * SELF SELECTED READING**
 * [|(American Library Association, 2000)]**

=Middle School= Are our students productive and involved in an environment where all reading materials are dictated to them by teachers and administrators? How great is the chasm between teacher and student? The success of Self Selected Reading in the middle school grades is contingent on establishing an atmosphere that fosters a love of reading. Donalyn Miller in her book //the Book Whisperer// suggests a variety of strategies to create an environment that spawns a love for reading. A lynch pin of Miller's approach is the Rights of the Reader as spelled out by Daniel Pennac:

1. The right to not read. 2. The right to skip pages. 3. The right to not finish. 4. The right to reread. 5. The right to read anything. 6. The right to escapism. 7. The right to read anywhere. 8. The right to browse. 9. The right to read out loud. 10.The right not to defend your tastes.

//Source//: Pennac, 2006

Miller sets lofty goals for her middle school classes (40 books a year). By creating a culture which values the students opinions and experiences, the kids develop self confidence in their reading choices as well as ability. Miller plants the seeds for reading excitement in her class by having a 3000 book library right in her room. Her enthusiasm for reading is so thorough that the students hardly have an option but to be pulled into the euphoria. Miller's Forty - Book Requirement is broken down as follows:

Poetry anthologies 5 Traditional literature 5 Realistic fiction 5 Historical fiction 2 Fantasy 4 Science fiction 2 Mystery 2 Informational 4 Biography, autpbiography, memoir 2 Chapter-book choice 9

The connection between a successful self selected reading program and developing sound writing skills are firmly entwined. This fact is evident in the National Writing Projects's selection of Donalyn Miller as the keynote speaker of their 2010 convention. [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=jblOtvdAG-Y]

The Flat River Middle School, in the spirit of Connie Prevatte has developed a self selected reading toolkit to conduct instruction and assessment during individual conferencing while in Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). Conferencing takes approximately 5 minutes per student. With 30 minutes a day reserved for (SSR), conferencing for an entire class can be completed within a week. Questions have been formulated using RI, GLEs and Connie Prevatte Cards and touch upon the following criteria:

1. Genre (fiction, non fiction & poetry) 2. Characters 3. Plot 4. Setting 5. Conflict 6. Point of View 7. Connection/Moods 8. Author 9. Style 10. Theme 11. Illustration 12. Text Features 13. Expository Initial Understanding 14. Expository Analysis [|www.readinglady.com/.../reading%20Conferences%20Cards%20from%20Mary%20Low.pdf]



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__**HIGH SCHOOL**__

In April of 2002 the Department of Education in conjunction with JohnsHopkins University’s Education Department issued a report entitled, “Re-Conceptualizing Extra Help for High School Students in a High Standards Era.” The report proffers several strategies to encourage Self-Selected Reading. Below are a few examples:

__Strategic Reading__: Each classroom has a small library of books and magazines from which students choose an item for their own private reading. The items in this library are selected for content that interests most teenagers. Logs and journals are used to record what each student expected and gained from each selection. Some separate learning stations with audio books that can be followed in print and with writing aides are also available for occasional student use during this portion of the class period.

__Matching Material with Student’s__ Matching materials with students: To address student motivation in assigned or self-selected reading, the match with a student’s reading skill level and content areas of interest are very important. Often struggling readers are poorly motivated to undertake additional reading, either because they are embarrassed to reveal weaknesses or because they have a history of frustration and failure with reading. Thus it is important to offer reading materials at a level that will not further frustrate student efforts which are close to the individual’s current grasp of recognizing most of the vocabulary in sentences and paragraphs of manageable length. At the same time, the reading selections should cover topics or invoke characters and situations that will be appropriate to teenagers’ current interests and experiences. [|(Balfanz, McPartland & Shaw, 2002)] __Self-Selected High School Assessment__ One constant in my research of self-selected assessment at high school level involes the use of a "reading log". There are four main areas of assessment 1. Reading Attitudes 2. Reading Strategies 3. Comprehension 4. Literary Skills These categories are assessed over the course of the year and are broken up into four nine week segments. A point system is utilized to arrive at a grade: 4= Always 3= Most of the Time 2= Sometimes 1= Not Yet The link below displays an sample assessment log provided from [|www.Scribd.com]

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__**Literacy in the Media**__ Reading Is Fundemental was founded by Margaret McNamara in 1966 to promote reading among youth. Below is a video link to a Public Service Announcement that ran in the early 1970's The author Donalyn Miller in her book, "The Book Whisperer" references RIF to establish the fact that literacy had become a hot topic by the late 60's as more and more school children were turning to electronic media for education and amusement. One could argue that the issuses and strategies surrounding self-selected reading are a direct result of the decline of the independent reader. [|READING IS FUNDEMENTAL]

**SPECIAL EDUCATION**

It is important for teachers to assist special education students with selected books because the teacher is well aware of the students’ instructional level. At younger ages, the teacher can provide samples for the student to read and allow him/her to choose. As the students get older and become more aware of his/her disability, the teacher may be able to openly discuss the students’ instructional level. From the information provided to the student, he/she will be able to select an appropriate book.

I found this article very informative. It discusses how to assist students who are struggling readers and interventions for these students in primary grades. A brief overview of the article is as follows, “Recommendation 1: Screen all students for potential reading problems at the beginning of the year and again in the middle of the year. Regularly monitor the progress of students who are at elevated risk for developing reading disabilities. Recommendation 2: Provide differentiated reading instruction for all students based on assessments of students’ current reading levels (tier 1). Recommendation 3: Provide intensive, systematic instruction on up to three foundational reading skills in small groups to students who score below the benchmark on universal screening. Typically these groups meet between three and five times a week for 20–40 minutes (tier 2). Recommendation 4: Monitor the progress of tier 2 students at least once a month. Use these data to determine whether students still require intervention. For those still making insufficient progress, school-wide teams should design a tier 3 intervention plan. Recommendation 5: Provide intensive instruction daily that promotes the development of various components of reading proficiency to students who show minimal progress after reasonable time in tier 2 small group instruction (tier 3).”

As a teacher of students with Autism, I am aware of the struggles Autistic students have with comprehension and retelling. Special education teachers must be aware of the selected texts students are choosing because they must check for understanding from the students. If students are reading words but not comprehending, reading individually loses its validity. "Students with Autism have problems making predictions; visualizing the events of a text; and identifying a purpose for reading. Comprehension strategies include: "Research indicates students with disabilities have the same needs and learning styles as other students. The greatest difference is requiring a more conscious consideration regarding instructional access. This describes good instruction inreading comprehension, how to make instruction accessible. Reading comprehension is a process of making connections.
 * 1) Building background knowledge
 * 2) Thinking aloud
 * 3) Drama
 * 4) reciprocal teaching
 * 5) Retelling

**Assessing Reading** Informal Reading Inventory The Informal Reading Inventory is based on learning about the skills, abilities, and needs of the individual in order to plan a program of reading instruction that will allow for maximum rate of progress. There are no time limits and is not compared against standardized or normed scores. But against pre-established standards which must be met if a reader is to become a successful, accomplished reader. No matter how old the reader, they must be fluent and comprehend at existing instructional level in order to continue progressing.

__LEVEL__ __WORD REC__ __COMP__ Independent 99% or more 90% or more Instructional 95% or more 60% or more Frustration 90% or less 50% or more Listening Comprehension 70-75% or more Steps in the IRI The following links are Rubrics for reading inventories many school districts nationwide use. IRI Rubric-- 
 * Ask the student to read the passage orally
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Mark all miscues on the teacher’s copy
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Remove the passage and ask the comprehension questions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Record incorrect responses for later miscue analysis
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Present student with passage from a different form at the same grade level
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Read intro statement
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Ask student to read silently and look up when finished
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Remove passage and ask comprehension questions, record incorrect responses
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">If student met criteria on word recognition and comprehension, move on to next higher level and administer oral and silent passages from the same two forms as before
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">If student did not meet independent level, drop back to next lower grade passage and administer both forms at that level
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Continue to drop back until independent level is located
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">If the initial passage presented was not at frustration level, go to the next level above that passage until frustration level is met
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">For listening comprehension level--read passages above frustration level aloud
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Ask comprehension questions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-top: 0in;">Continue to read progressively higher passages until student falls below 75% comprehension

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; margin: 7.5pt; text-indent: -15pt;">DIBELS Rubric-- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; margin: 7.5pt; text-indent: -15pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; margin: 7.5pt; text-indent: -15pt;">Running Record Rubric-- <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; margin: 7.5pt; text-indent: -15pt;">