Assessing, and Leading a Schoolwide Culture iDEAL: Inspiring, Developing, Empowering, Assessing, and Leading a Schoolwide Independent Reading Culture

Open a World of Possible Real Stories about the Power and Joy of Reading dofpossible/

What is Independent Reading? 3

4 Self-selected reading that students do on their own, in or out of school, with or without instruction. What is Independent Reading?

Independent Reading

On Family Engagement Seventy five percent of parents feel their children do not spend enough time reading books for fun. 6 Scholastic Kid and Family Reading Report

On Classroom Libraries Students in classrooms with well-designed classroom libraries… 7 Interact with more books. Spend more time reading. Demonstrate more positive attitudes toward reading. Exhibit higher levels of reading achievement. National Assessment of Educational Progress Report, 2005

On Summer Reading Students from the third to sixth grades need to read four to eight books over the summer to maintain and grow their reading skills. 8 Kim 2004, 2006

On Independent Reading Benefits The academic benefits of independent reading are: 9 A. Increased vocabulary development B. Greater domain & background knowledge C. Better fluency & comprehension D. Improved reading achievement Moss & Young, 2010

On the Achievement Gap Sixty seven percent of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to books. 10 Alexander et al., 2007

11 School-wide Independent Reading Culture Support a school community’s understanding of independent reading Create a sense of urgency to motivate change at school and home Increase the number and variety of books in the schools, classrooms, and at home Increase student interaction with books Help students develop strong rituals and routines for Independent Reading Encourage students to listen, speak and write about reading

How Do You Create a Culture of Independent Reading at Your School?

13 Inspire 1 Assess & Evaluate 2 3 Strategize & Plan 4 Identify Tools & Resources Sustain Efforts 5 Independent Reading Roadmap

14 Schoolwide Classroom Home A Comprehensive Approach

15 Resources

Six Tools Schoolwide Classroom Home Family Reading Survey Classroom Visit Survey Family Engagement Activities School Library Survey Classroom Library Survey Independent Reading Best Practices Survey

17 Concentrate on Areas of Focus 1 Participate in Professional Learning 2 Create the Time & Space 3 Enrich the Collection 4 Establish Structures 5 Link to Literacy Instruction Schoolwide Classroom Home

18 Build background knowledge Create consensus Inform families Participate in Professional Learning

19 Review school and literacy block schedules Develop schoolwide, classroom and home libraries Encourage establishing a consistent time and comfortable space for reading in school and at home Create the Time and Space

20 Build and maintain school, classroom, and home collections Enrich the Collection

21 Establish rituals and routines Provide conference time with individual students Promote engagement activities for listening, speaking and writing about books read Establish Structures

22 Your independent reading strategy will link to your daily literacy instruction. Link to Literacy Instruction

24 Create Your Annual Independent Reading Plan

25 Sample Annual Independent Reading Plan

Scholastic Book Fairs Support 26 Independent Reading PowerPoint

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