What is Engaged Reading in the Conferring Classroom?
You could be the most passionate and enthusiastic teacher, super awesome at conferring with students. But if your students go back to independent reading time and they don't read, they won't make the progress you are hoping for.
I always tell our Conferring All-Star Teachers™ that yes, you can learn the most important conferring methods that will help your students make the most growth. You can practice the structure of each teaching method and have those note-taking forms ready to go.
But…
If your reading workshop or conferring classroom is in chaos, students are not engaged in reading, and their reading stamina is low; it's going to be challenging to meet with students in conferences and small groups. I love how Jennifer Serravallo, author of the 300 Reading Strategies Book, puts it:
Engagement is everything. Research has shown that the amount of time children spend practicing, on-task, with eyes on print, makes the biggest different to their success as readers, and across content areas. (Allington 2011; Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding 1988; Krashen 2004; Cunningham and Stanovich 1991; Stanovich and Cunningham 1993; Pressley et al. 2000; Taylor, Frye, and Maruyama 1990)
What are engaged readers?
An engaged reader is often one who is motivated to read, have and use strategies to comprehend what they read, can construct meaning from a text, and are socially collaborative while reading. So what does this mean for your reading workshop or conferring classroom? How can you create the right type of learning environment that will cultivate engaged readers?
When it's independent reading time, make sure it's not always a solo task. Give your students the opportunity to interact in partnerships and clubs. This will likely produce more engaged readers in your classroom.
It will be important to support your readers in constructing meaning from the text and remind them of the strategies they already know to help them comprehend what they are reading. Sometimes if reading engagement is low; it could be the student is not understanding.
Now if comprehension is NOT the root of the engagement problem; then it's time to focus on engagement itself. Yes, you can teach reading engagement in your mini lessons, individual conferences, or small group instruction.
One thing you can do is help your students choose books that are just right for them and also something they would enjoy reading.
Next, you can teach them strategies to help them stay focused during independent reading time. I know what you're thinking… this is no easy thing to do Desirée.
When your readers lose their focus, if they can bring it back to the task at hand…you'll be on your way to cultivating engaged readers in your classroom.
And of course, reading stamina is another big part of building engagement in your reading block. But just remember high stamina doesn't just happen over night. Which I'm sure you know. When you teach the right strategies for building stamina; that's when your class' stamina will grow incrementally over time.
Help your students be "in the reading zone".
Have your heard of the author Nancie Atwell. She wrote the book: The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers. Well… inside her book she uses the phrase “in the reading zone” as something we want our readers to attain.
When students are:
- motivated to read
- using strategies to comprehend what they are reading
- constructing meaning from the text
- socially collaborative during independent reading
- using strategies for engagement itself
- bringing themselves back to the task at hand when they lose their focus
- using strategies to grow their stamina incrementally over time
Let's get all your students "in the reading zone" together!
Come join me for the next Live Coaching Week and let's build that reading engagement; so you can meet with more students in conferences and small group instruction. Also, don't forget to grab my FREE Conferring with Readers and Writers Guide. This will give you a jump start to all things conferring with students. Enjoy!
