Choice Reading 101 [S3 E63]
Listen to the full episode below:
Does giving your students choice come easily to you? For some teachers it does, but for others it can be extremely difficult to release that control! Incorporating choice requires a major mindset shift as you learn how to navigate your students all doing something different.
At first, it may feel impossible to measure their progress and keep track of where everyone is in terms of growth. Here’s the big secret:
You can allow students to have choice without letting go of having a central focus and skill that your entire class is learning.
In order to use choice reading effectively, you have to separate yourself from the idea that you have to know exactly how much a student has read in a given amount of time. You’ll need to say goodbye to constantly monitoring and forcing a reading schedule that you have designed. This takes a bit of practice, and a lot of courage, to instill that trust in your students. Look at it this way, we’re basically giving you full permission to stop acting as the 24/7 “hall monitor” of reading comprehension!
If you are still apprehensive of the real benefits that come from choice reading, we’re here to demystify what choice can look like and why it can be such a useful tool for teachers as well as students. It truly is worth going through the messiness of figuring it out because the reality is, choice makes sense in virtually every content area, not only in the English classroom. In this episode we’re sharing how to start small with choice novels, book clubs, lit circles…whatever you prefer to call it!
Topics Covered:
The basics of structuring a unit founded on choice
Why choice is necessary for any classroom
What it looks like to give your students choice AND maintain control over your classroom
How to get started with choice reading
Resources and Related Episodes:
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More about Brave New Teaching:
Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!
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