For the Love of Reading!

My students love one 15 minute block of our day more than almost any other. They don't repeatedly ask when it is coming, count down on a calendar or describe it to their friends and family. But they do notice days when we can't participate in it. It has become an escape, a mood booster, and a safe haven.

This is D.E.A.R. ( Drop Everything And Read) time in my Kindergarten classroom. Fifteen minutes of absolute silent reading time. If you visit the room during this time, you'll notice most of the lights are off, slow jazz is playing in the background, and students are scattered throughout the room lying on the floor, sitting at a desk, or curled up in the library. Though Kindergartners often ask "what's coming next?," "how long until snack time?," or "is it time to go home?,"throughout the day, when they enter our room again after recess- they rarely say a word. Their "you time," as I refer to D.E.A.R., has begun.

So how can we, as educators who see the value in learning and reading and the connection between the two, help to develop this love of reading in all of our youngest learners?


ONE.

The first step to fostering a love of reading is to love reading  y o u r s e l f. Emanate the love of reading through your pores. "To love reading" doesn't mean you need to love all novels, or Shakespeare, or sports articles. Love the act of reading and what it can bring to you and your life. Find out which topics and genres inspire you. Bring up your personal reading frequently with your students. Explain how you found a new recipe and it led you to the best gumbo you've ever made. Share with them the instruction manual for a new class game over the document camera. Read them a passage from a novel you're reading with all the passion and expression you can muster. You may even find that you develop a new genre interest yourself!

This is so important because may times students don't remember what you say, but they do remember what you do. You could explain the importance of reading a million different ways but watching you, students will see your engagement, passion, and purpose. Watching you may be the reason your students are motivated to read or, they may simply copy you and fall in love by accident.

TWO.

Give them time to share about their reading experiences. Too often, we rush from one subject of the day to another. Though we may try, it is so difficult to conclude each lesson with a review or discussion of what was learned. But reading is never to be rushed. Reading, by definition, is the act of making sense of written text. In order to make the most sense out of a written text, we need to be able to understand, make connections, and infer. These strategies for understanding do not develop as a result of pure reading speed; they emerge under fluent reading. Fluent reading is reading at about a conversational pace. Any faster and meaning begins to be impaired. Any slower, and meaning also becomes impaired.

After engaging in any kind of reading activity, students should be prompted to share in a conversational environment. Maybe a turn and talk with friends about the book they found. Maybe sharing whole group about their personal favorite part. Or simply a thumbs up or thumbs down and having a discussion on how it is okay to dislike some books. Discussion leads to drawing conclusions which leads to thinking about reading. This thinking about reading helps the young reader to discover and take the time to figure out what he or she likes, doesn't like, and needs to explore more of. It sets the stage for reading as being a thoughtful activity- not just a 20 minute daily chore.


THREE.

Introduce your students to new genres, types, and series of texts. Have many different types available in your classroom library always, but also pick personalized books for your students. Make a list of the students and a place for their interests to be recorded. Once you make this list, it will be easier to provide some books directly specified for them. Books that are catered towards the interests of your students not only entice them to pick up the book, but also take away some anxiety about the difficulty of reading. Every once and a while, throw a book in a student's bin that deviates from their interests to introduce a new genre or topic.

Each classroom should include a student-friendly library with all books available to all readers all year round. The idea of a classroom library isn't to remind students of their reading level or to push them to read a level higher than they are currently- but it is to grow a love of reading. Fountas and Pinnell share this opinion as they deem that reading levels are for guided reading groups and are not meant to bind a reader to a certain set of books.

The books included in your library should be in a range of topics, lengths, and genres. They should be organized in a meaningful way that is appropriate to the age of the students (for example character bins versus by author's last name for the younger students). Lastly, the books should be the responsibility of the students. They should be taught where each book belongs and where it doesn't and expected to treat each book as such.

FOUR.

Set not just the mood, but create an entire reading environment.  Reading takes concentration. Even before students can read actual words, we can enhance their concentration skills by focusing on the pictures and story line and by ensuring they are in a conducive environment. We tend to read to our children in a quiet bedroom when we are comfortable and focused. Or on the couch with blankets and snacks on a rainy afternoon. Reading takes focus and requires minimal distractions. Otherwise, it is too difficult to focus and the meaning of the text falls apart, leading to inattention or "boredom."
We, as teachers, are asked to fit so much into our daily lessons that we may just barely squeeze in some time for free choice, quiet reading. Many teachers of younger elementary grades avoid it completely, deeming it ineffective if the students cannot read yet or are only early readers. But we must remember that reading begins before the reader can read alone. It includes story telling, pictures, book handling, and sense making. Any child can enjoy the act of reading.

So create a reading environment and watch how effective it really is!

Our reading environment looks like this:
1. dim lights
2. total silence (I don't do reading buddy peers at this time - it is their "me time")
3. light jazz music in the background
4. flexible seating
5. reading buddies (stuffed animals)
6. a teacher who is reading, too ♡


FIVE.

One of the best ways to encourage and grow a love of reading is to story tell. All different cultures and peoples have told stories for centuries. Some cultures still feel uncomfortable writing down their ideas and tales for fear that they will diminish in value. Some Native American peoples still hold this belief today. The idea is poignant: writing things down, while allowing the story to reach a larger audience, frees the author of remembering each and every detail of the idea or event. The story no longer needs to be rehearsed in the author's mind and is no longer part of their every day. A different atmosphere is created when stories are told aloud. It takes away the need for reading skills and requires a complete focus on the plot and emotion of the story so as to engage the audience without pictures.

Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we begin writing block with story telling. A few children per day sit in my rocking chair and share a complete story of their choice. It can be a personal narrative, made up fiction, or a non-fiction informational story. This activity grows their love of the story. Their knowledge of story parts. Their understanding of characters. Above all, it allows them to develop their interests and watch the emotions of their peers. Story telling allows children to fall in love with the story line and the excitement of the plot so that when they begin the difficult task of reading... they are already motivated by the promise of a good story.

SIX.

Maybe the most crucial step to take in developing lifelong readers is to read with your students. Not to them, not shared with them, but next to them. This past summer, I listened to a few of my teacher friends complaining about how they were supposed to get their young elementary and even Kindergarten students to read to themselves quietly. Though I also loved the idea of a peaceful and productive D.E.A.R. time, it often was loud, unruly and unproductive. After all, how could I expect these young children who are full of energy and can barely read to enjoy 15 minutes of quiet "reading?"

Just like any other skill children need to learn, we must teach our children how to be a reader. I don't mean how to read. How to be a reader. And just like any other skill, we must do as we say and say as we do. Children copy our behaviors. I found this to be true for reading when one afternoon, I was overwhelmed (imagine?!) and needed to use the children's D.E.A.R. time to review an article for an after school meeting. I sat in the rocking chair, among my Kindergartners who were sprawled across the floor, and began reading. Within two minutes, I had a student come up to me to ask what I was doing. Why I was reading it. What it was about. Whether or not I liked it. Then, she returned to her book, grabbed it, and brought it next to me. She, and soon a few other students, read alongside of me for the remainder of the D.E.A.R. time. I, however, could not focus because I noticed the power of my teacher presence. It's as if the students thought: Oh, it's not just "good for me," its good for everyone. 

Every single day, I read alongside my students for 15 minutes.

I believe in simplicity.

Waiting to master each subset phonics skill and following a particular reading procedure each time you pick up a book is difficult for students AND teachers to follow. It creates an anxious and tense environment where reading is considered more systematic than enjoyable. Becoming a lifelong reader begins and ends with loving reading. It is not only based on phonics skills. Just as we cannot teach a classroom full of disconnected and anxious students, we cannot expect lifelong readers to come solely from timed readings, DIBELS testing, and teacher-chosen passages; as these are things disconnected from the heart and mind. Engage your students' hearts and minds and you've created the most important foundation for life-long reading.

The Magic of Quiet Buddies: Independent Writing

I am a writing fanatic. I believe that if children become good writers (not just "academically good" but also confident, comfortable and creative), they will become better readers, mathematicians and scientists. And I'm not the only one; research shows the importance of the ability to write and to write well. So how do we foster it? When and where do we begin?

If you've read my previous posts on writing, you know that we, as a class, dive right into it. Writing is about telling a story or explaining a phenomenon. These skills appear in children almost as early as they can form sentences. (This is why it is so important to read, read, read to your child!) However, we as teachers- and parents- often see our children struggle with writing and dislike the subject in school. The writing our students do produce is often less complex and detailed as the stories and arguments they can make orally. And this phenomenon continues well beyond the primary grades. We are always looking for ways to foster and improve their details, structure, word choice etc. And almost above all, our students are always asking too many QUESTIONS. How do I start? What do I say next? How do I spell that? Is this good?

A lot of these excess questions can be the result of two factors:

1. Ineffective mini-lessons or writing preparation by the teacher (moderately likely)
2. ANXIETY AND LACK OF CONFIDENCE FROM THE STUDENT (most likely)
*** You're wondering why I'm not including disinterest? Disinterest in explaining one's own thoughts, opinions, personal stories or fantasies just sounds plain silly. We talk, explain, argue and daydream about these things because WE ARE INTERESTED. So the problem, my friends, is not disinterest; it is the stigma of difficulty that surrounds writing.

How to Create An Independent Writer's Workshop 

A teacher has to first make sure that he or she has properly prepared the students for their writing assignment. I do not mean with weeks of mini-lessons and instruction to make sure they can use periods correctly and spell "the" and use a subject and verb in every sentence before they ever get their hands on a writing paper. Those skills develop over time, as they become better readers and writers. What I do mean is that the teacher needs to ensure that the students feel confident, are able to find the tools they need BY THEMSELVES (pencils, erasers, word wall, idea suggestion chart, extra paper), and have had experience with written texts. Their experience with written text can be as simple as a read-aloud; where you point out where the words go, what they say, and how the pictures enhance the meaning. Before writing, the children should be taught the behavioral expectations of quiet writing time and shown some models of what you expect. Peers modeling the expected behavior at their desks.Writing samples written in front of the children by you. When you model, the spelling should be correct, but the story simple, like one a student may tell.

Teacher mini-lesson preparation: done. And most of you probably already do this.

So what do we do about the anxiety and lack of confidence then (YES it appears as early as K- especially with students who have had experience with writing in Preschool)? We create a writing mood, much like a yoga instructor does at the beginning of a class. Calm the anxiety, and set the expectation for silence (yes I said silence in a Kindergarten classroom), with music, dimmed lights, and the beloved, adorable and sought-after quiet buddies.

The Best 5$ You'll Ever Spend

This, is a quiet buddy. 

I've seen them with feet, I've seen them with hair, I've seen them big and I've seen them nearly minuscule. They are NOT my original creation. But they are amazing. And a bag of pom poms, googly eyes and some hot glue cost no more than 5$.

Quiet buddies are afraid of noises and are very shy. They do not like, and will not be, touched. In fact, if they hear much more than a whisper, they jump right back into their pail for the remainder of the day. They also are taken if they are played with or hurt (sadly this happened once- and only once, when he realized he was the only one without the privilege of having one) That's the deal and there's no exceptions. The little things are afraid of us, by golly! But they sure do love writing and stories- that's why they come out! To experience our creativity!

When the students are preparing for writing and they're calm in their seats (or wherever they choose to be), the lights are dimmed, and the music is playing, I get out the buddies. I carry them around in a tiny dollar store plastic pail and hand them out to students who are exhibiting not just expected behavior, but ALSO a concentrated effort with their writing. You can't be ineffective in here, kids.

When they are first introduced, they are given out nearly as soon as the students are showing expected behavior. As the year goes on, and the students' expected independent work time increases, the quiet buddies take longer to come out. A bit of a "weaning off" and a challenge combined. The students also find they enjoy writing totally silently! Its helpful and effective! They're proud of the work they can create this way!

If you are skeptical of whether or not they work, come visit my former student- who struggled with some disabilities and was possibly the most difficult student behaviorally- who still carries around his quiet buddy in his pocket to this day! (He is in 3rd grade now!) At the end of the year, I sometimes let the students take home a quiet buddy to help them adjust to their new grade or to keep at home for when they do their homework. They are just so excited. Who wouldn't be? They're SO CUTE!

Sayings to Quell the Questions

Yes, you will always have a student or two in the beginning who still won't stop the questions or has major anxiety about drawing and writing. My expectations for these students remain the same.

Here are some sayings to help stop the questions and encourage writing:
- If I tell you what to write, it will be my story!
-Tell yourself what you want to explain out-loud, then draw the picture to match. Do the words last.
-Start with a picture.
-Write down whatever you hear.
-If you're writing is done, add as much detail as you can to the picture.
-Reread your work out-loud so you can see what comes next.

*The commonality between all of these sayings is that they are short and do not initiate a further conversation between the student and teacher*

Back to work, writers. 

"I would make funny faces!"

How Long Does It Take To Create a Well-Oiled Writer's Workshop?

Of course, no teacher, in any grade, can expect perfection immediately. And every year, every batch of students is different! However, the time it takes to create this atmosphere depends on you. It depends on your true heartfelt expectations. If you don't think they can handle it, they won't. If you truly believe they can- they will do it. They will match your expectation. If you expel calmness and a confidence in them- they will develop to be calm and confident.

And by all means! I do not expect these children to not need any help! They raise their hands if they need my assistance and I will meet them wherever they are. Also, during the writing workshop, while the classroom is calm and nearly silent- I actually CAN meet with students who are struggling, along with all other students to meet their individual needs towards becoming a better writer. I can do this because expectations are clear, consequences are known, and it is quiet.

Takeaway:

In order to create confident, independent writers, you want to foster creativity and expression during writing block. Its ok to start over; its ok to make mistakes; its ok to write just one sentence and explain the rest in your picture. If these things are explained to be "ok" and even "helpful towards their growth as writers," there will be less questions, goofing off, and half-hearted pieces. If students are aware that you won't help them write their story or spell their words, they figure out a strategy for themselves and develop independence and confidence in their writing. If expectations for behavior are set and consistently reinforced, they will be followed. What we're looking for from our youngest students is an independence and a confidence in their own ability to share something important to them (no matter WHERE they are in their development)with an audience of readers. This creates excitement, desire, and, hopefully, lifelong writers!

How do you run writer's workshop in your room? Leave your responses in the comments below!

"My Kinders Can't Write!" The Importance of Independent Writing

I have used three different programs to teach writing in Kindergarten. Before the start of every school year, I ask myself how I am going to approach writing in my classroom. And how I can make it better. And how I can make them more successful. And how I can do writing justice. And how I can connect it to something meaningful for them. And how I can make it relaxing and empowering- not stressful and hard. And how I can do all of this without getting overwhelmed.

When we ask Kindergartners to write, we are asking them to do an amazing feat. Most children at 5 or 6 are just mastering- or even maybe beginning to GRASP- the letters of the alphabet. Let alone what those new symbols mean. Let alone how they sound. Let alone connecting the sounds in common words to their written symbols and to their varying fine motor skills and to their ATTENTION SPAN. By now, we've forgotten what we wanted to write and we need to begin again. Que movement, noises, pencil eating, scribbling. Que frustration. This, my friends, is why writing and Kindergartners make both teachers and students squirm.

It is also the reason why we give our Kindergartners starter sentences, or god forbid- have them copy sentences we have pre-written. I am of the belief that writing is always a creative endeavor. The argument is that sentence starters are easier for young children. Less questions, less movement, more quiet. However, writing isn't about finishing a sentence. We write to share an opinion or inform others of something worthy of knowing. We write to share our feelings and help others work through theirs. Writing is not about perfectly crafted sentences, dictionary spelling, and uniformity. Writing is, as a wonderful quote once explained, "a painting of the voice."And with our youngest students, it can be just that- a drawing, some labels, or a full blown paragraph. All of it must be considered writing.

Why I Almost Never Give Sentence Frames (and the rare instances when I do)

For my average, never-written-more-than-my-name Kindergartner, I do not provide sentence frames.
Why?! How do they start? Don't they cry? No. Here's my reasoning:

1. Sentence frames can, and often do, turn into a crutch, not a scaffold. Students who begin using sentence frames learn how to write the second half of sentences. They learn how to finish someone else's thought. They focus on spelling, sight words and letter and sound relationships. But writing isn't about adding the finishing touches. Not everyone starts their sentences the same way. Writing is about sharing your ideas in your way. If a child has age-appropriate speaking skills, in English or another language, and appropriate motor functioning, he or she can formulate a sentence from their own ideas. Writing is not about finishing a sentence. It is about creating an idea, organizing it in a way that makes sense, and transforming it down on paper. This is what students should be practicing when they write. Many children, when the sentence frame is no longer provided feel just as overwhelmed and unsure as a student just beginning to write at the start of the year. Is it possible to wean the student off of sentence frames? Yes. Is it unnecessarily hard for many? Definitely. 
2. We need to model that the goal of writing is sharing your voice, not just answering a question. Taking away the sentence frames allows students, because it forces them, to THINK.  We need to get back to the basics and think about why we teach writing to our students. We need to think about why writing is an important skill to learn. The process of writing should be introduced and reiterated to students each day as a way to share what is in your head on paper. Its a way to make your ideas permanent and gives you the ability to share them with many people over and over! We need to make sure we do not stress appropriate grammar, spelling, and form during the writing block. Writing topics and abilities are as unique as the person who creates it. That is what makes it so amazing.
3. Analyzing writing from students who do not use a sentence frame gives the teacher so much valuable information. We can see, of course, how our students are understanding grammar, spelling, word order, and word choice. We can see how they use punctuation. Yet, when students are writing totally independently, we can also see their idea formation, ability to stay on topic, amount and type of detail, ability to display their voice, excitement, or lack thereof, story organization, the list is endless. You can choose to look for specific traits each time you review their writing or you can see what "pops out at you." Because with independent writing, something will pop out at you. Sentence frames are limited, independent writing is unrestricted. 

When To Provide Sentence Frames

Like anything in teaching, there are exceptions. For children who are below grade level in speaking, motor functioning, and/or language skills, the sentence frame provides a model of appropriate speech patterns on which to build off of. It also allows this student to respond to questions on the same level of his or her peers but within his or her ability level- avoiding frustration. For these students, the sentence frames help them perform above their independent level; for students with age-appropriate speech and motor functioning, it provides an easy way out. 

Just keep this in mind:

We are providing sentence frames when necessary because their presence provides students that display below-level language and motor functioning with an avenue to share their ideas and participate in the curriculum successfully. 

Asking students with language and or motor challenges to create, organize, and then write down a sentence independently would create extreme stress and is likely to lead to a hatred towards writing. Point being: it is TOO HARD. Writing is a way of effectively sharing, not a struggle with letters and translation and grammar. Using sentence frames for these students allows them to participate in sharing their ideas and thoughts with others. Use your best judgment; you know best.

Isn't Writing Stressful for the "Average" Student Too?

The quick answer is, of course! Isn't it stressful for YOU? When you need to organize YOUR thoughts and pick the right words and phrases to make it sound just right? There is a certain, productive amount of stress related to writing.

This productive stress is what helps us to ask ourselves the questions: Who is reading this? What would they like to hear? What do I want to say? Which words should I choose? Is this sentence making sense? Will this make the reader laugh? Should I add more detail? This is the good stress. This is the stress that creates a writer who understands his or her audience and can tailor their writing to be the best that it can be. This is the writer that is proud of his or her work.

But can Kindergartners really do this? To their own degree, yes. We can model these questions as we teach the children how to write in our mini-lessons. Maybe for a week, the students will focus on the question, "who will read this?" They will then learn to tailor their writing for peers, authority figures, younger children, etc. 

My point about stress is this: If a student isn't ready to use letters and words in their writing, they shouldn't be doing it. It doesn't take away stress to copy a sentence frame. They will be copying someone else's words without meaning. Doing something we don't understand can be stressful. Their writing should reflect what they can do: pictures and a few labels. If the student is ready to use letters and words in their writing, they should be doing so at their level. That may mean choppy, hard to read sentences. But they are their sentences. They reflect this author and his or her abilities. 

I understand the use of sentence frames to reduce stress in students, especially in the beginning of the year. But we have to make sure we know when and when not to use them. Is it just because we want this project to be uniform, cute, and readable? Wouldn't we rather have work reflecting the abilities of the children, so we know what needs to be taught next to advance their skills? Is the sentence frame even helping students who cannot yet read or use those words in his or her own writing or speech? On the other hand, is it necessary or just restrictive for students who can already write? Take time to think about that and how it relates to your own students and classroom environment.

So Now What?

First, you have to be prepared to see some pretty dicey writing pieces. And not just dicey- varied. Incredible variation. And like mentioned above, they will shock you! Some of the "average" students will shine like a star in their creative endeavor of writing. Likewise, some of the "above average" students will piece together a very bland, short, and feelingless piece due to anxiety or disinterest. I call this not knowing just what writing is for and the power that it has! Now you know what you need to teach your students, even the ones who can "already write." Writing, actual writing, in a Kindergarten will take time, much positive support, a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, clear directions and high expectations, and a clear and uncomplicated mini-lesson. MOST OF ALL, it takes your confidence. They can do this, so they will. Your confidence will reflect on them and they will believe in themselves! Whatever their writing pieces have to look like to represent their ability, so be it. But they can do it!

Here's K using finger spaces between her words
in her free-write journal!

Here's my friend B sounding out beginning sounds!

There will be more specific posts on writing to come! 

It is such a valuable and magical time of the day. 

Share your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned!