Trusting Readers: Powerful Practices for Independent Reading

by Hannah Schneewind, Jennifer Scoggin

Overview

Independent reading is the right of every student. It is an indispensable foundation for solid reading instruction yet, is too often viewed as a luxury. Overly prescriptive, culturally irrelevant curriculum does not provide spaces for students to develop a sense of agency as readers or for teachers to make decisions that reflect the needs of the students in front of them. When teachers trust themselves and trust their students to create reading experiences that matter, they positively impact student growth.

Trusting Readers puts the independence back into independent reading—and bolsters that independence with collaboration. Jen and Hannah offer a clear definition of independent reading. Their vision of conferring supports teachers as they support young readers. They help teachers craft reading experiences for students that are centered around their engagement, instructional needs, and identities as readers.

Trusting Readers is an essential and accessible guide that provides teachers with the inspiration, information, and tools needed to grow enthusiastic independent readers. 

Jen and Hannah outline practical steps for teachers to implement independent reading time or to enrich their current practice with multiple entry points whether you’ve been teaching one year or twenty. In addition, they provide a model for reading conferences that support tailored instructional choices and keep students at the center.

In Part 1 of Trusting Readers, Jen and Hannah define independent reading as based on the principles of time, choice, talk, and teacher support. Each chapter keeps student independence and reading identity development at the forefront, while leading teachers through the process of setting up classroom routines that safeguard time and space for independent reading in any environment. Part 2 focuses on conferring during independent reading using The Cycle of Conferring, a framework that teachers can use to help students set meaningful reading goals that not only build their skills, but also support their growth into joyful, purposeful, engaged readers.

Dig into Trusting Readers and consider new possibilities for vibrant independent reading to thrive in your classroom in visible and invisible ways. What is the best that could happen when you trust yourself, your students, and the power of independent reading?

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780325120478
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	05/13/2021
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Hannah Schneewind has been a teacher, staff developer, curriculum writer, keynote speaker and national literacy consultant. She brings with her over 25 years of experience to the education world. Hannah’s interest in student and teacher agency and her belief in the power of books informs her work with schools.

Hannah began her career as a first grade teacher at P.S. 321 in Brooklyn, New York, and her classroom was used as a model classroom for teachers around the city and country. The trust the administrators placed in her along with the culture of collaboration in the school formed her beliefs in the power and possibilities of schools.

With Jennifer Scoggin, Hannah is the co-creator of Trusting Readers, a group dedicated to collaborating with teachers to design literacy opportunities that invite all students to be engaged and to thrive as readers and writers.

You can connect with them on Twitter at @TrustingReaders.

Dr. Jennifer Scoggin has been a teacher, author, speaker, curriculum writer, and literacy consultant. Jennifer’s interest in the evolving identities of both students and teachers and her growing obsession with children’s literature led her to and informs her work.

Jen began her career teaching first and second grades in Harlem, New York. In her current role as a literacy consultant, Jennifer collaborates with teachers to create engaging literacy opportunities for children. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Teachers College, Columbia University and has previously published two books about literacy instruction and life in the classroom.

With Hannah Schneewind, Jen is the co-creator of Trusting Readers, a group dedicated to collaborating with teachers to design literacy opportunities that invite all students to be engaged and to thrive as readers and writers.

You can connect with them on Twitter at @TrustingReaders.

Table of Contents

Online Resource Contents x

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiv

An Invitation to Teachers xv

Our Stories: How We Came to This Work xv

How This Book Is Organized xvii

Part 1 Trust Independent Reading xviii

What's Happening to Independent Reading? 1

Independent Reading Redefined 2

The Role of Trust in Independent Reading 4

A Call to Action: Why the Urgency for Independent Reading Now? 5

A Moment for Reflection 6

1 All Roads Lead to Independent Reading 8

Crafting Instruction That Inspires Independent Reading 10

Talk and Independent Reading 20

Engagement and Independent Reading 24

Trust Your Teaching 27

2 Trust the Classroom 28

How Inclusive Classroom Libraries Support Independent Reading 30

How Book Choice Supports Independent Reading: Balancing Engagement and Accuracy 36

How Classroom Routines Support Independent Reading 42

How the Classroom Environment Supports Independent Reading 44

Trust Your Classroom 47

3 Trust the Data. Big and Small: Instructional Decision-Making 48

Working in a Culture of Learning and Professional Reflection 49

Big and Small Data Defined 52

Small Data That Makes a Big Impact: Collecting Data on the Whole Child 53

Putting Small Data Together: Learning the Story of the Whole Child 60

Trust Your Data. Big and Small 63

Give It a Go: Instructional Decision-Making 63

Part 2 Trust Conferring 65

Time + Choice + Talk + Teacher Support = Impactful Conferring 66

Types of Feedback: Teacher to Student 68

Types of Feedback: Student to Teacher 69

The Role of Trust in Conferring 70

An Overview of the Cycle of Conferring 72

4 Trust Readers to Have a Story: The Discovery Conference 74

Reading Identity Defined 75

The Discovery Conference: Uncovering a Student's Reading Identity 79

Naming Students' Strengths 82

The Discovery Conference in Action: The Stories of Three Readers 86

Reading Identity and Engagement 91

How the Discovery Conference Impacts Independent Reading 95

Give It a Go: Discovery Conferences 97

5 Trust Readers to Take the Lead: The Intention Conference 99

Reading Intentions 101

The Intention Conference: Following a Student's Lead 101

The Intention Conference in Action 109

Reflecting on Student Intentions: Identifying Instructional Possibilities 113

Independent Reading as Joyful Meaning Making 115

Give It a Go: Intention Conference 116

6 Trust Readers to Do the Work: The Impact Conference 118

The Power of Questions 119

The Impact Conference: Teaching into Intentions 120

The Impact Conference in Action 123

Trusting Feedback 129

Crafting Effective Feedback 131

Assessing Impact Through Student Contributions 137

Implications for Independent Reading 139

Give It a Go: Impact Conferences 140

7 Trusting Time: You Can Do a Lot in 180 Days 142

Prioritizing Independent Reading in Your Day 142

Reading Inquiries to Boost Independent Reading 143

Using Read-Alouds as Entry Points 146

The Cycle of Conferring Across the Year 149

The Complete Cycle of Conferring: Two Stories 152

Off You Go: Final Thoughts 156

Works Cited 157