The Family’s Role in Implementing
Independent Reading, Book Selection,
and Reciprocal Writing at Home
Outcomes
By the end of this session, families will be able to:
 Summarize the research on the impact of
independent reading on student achievement,
and
 Identify key steps in establishing and
monitoring an effective independent reading
component.
 Discover ways to use reciprocal writing in the
home
Activator
“If you’re trying to
catch young
readers, you have
to fish with the
right bait?”
Katherine Paterson,
National Ambassador
for Young People’s
Literature
Impact of Number of Books in
the Home
“Children who have 500 or more books in the
home get on average 3.2 years more
schooling than children in bookless homes.
Even just 20 books makes a difference. The
availability of reading material has a strong
impact on a child’s education…”
Scholarly Culture and Educational success in 27 Nations
Definition of Independent Reading
Independent reading:
 “provides opportunities for students to initiate their
own reading,
 the material should allow students to pursue their
individual interests,
 provides opportunities to practice newly acquired
skills, and
 to read more about topics and themes currently being
studied in the classroom.”
A Book is a Present, Mooney, page 74
What does it look like if you value it?
What’s the benefit?
Where’s the research?
WHY?
 “…to accelerate the literacy development of
lower-achieving children especially-must start
by considering the issue of volume of reading.”
Allington
 “…silent reading volume is the most obvious
strategy for improving reading achievement.”
Leinhardt/Allington
Research
10 to 15 minutes of daily reading
shows a 20 percentile point increase
on standardized tests
Dick Anderson
But what does 45 minutes get you?
Research
 90th percentile child reads 5 times as
much as the 50th percentile child
(90th percentile child reads
approximately 45 minutes/day)
 50th percentile child reads 9 times as
much as the 10th percentile child
Dick Anderson
Impact on Standardized Tests
50
Reading
Minutes
per Day
45
40
30
20
9
10
1
0
90th
50th
Percentile Rank
10th
Minutes per Day
Variation in Amount of Independent Reading
Minutes/Day
Reading
67.3
33.4
16.9
9.2
4.3
1.0
Exposed to #
Words/Year
4,733,000
2,357,000
1,168,000
601,000
251,000
51,100
Percentile Rank
98th
90th
70th
50th
30th
10th
Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 3, 1988,
“Growth in reading and how children spend their time out of school.”
Importance of Modeling
“Children
who read
the most,
read the
best.”
NAEP
Levels of Text Difficulty
Independent: Relatively easy text for the
reader, with no more than 1 in 20 words
difficult (95% success)
Instructional: Challenging, but manageable
text for the reader, with no more than 1 in 10
words difficult for the reader (90% success)
Frustration: Difficult text for the reader, with
more than 1 in 10 words difficult for the reader
(<90% success)
Stages of Reading Development
Early Emergent
Emergent
Levels A-C
Levels D-J
Reading
Early Fluent
Fluent
Levels K-P
Levels Q-Z
Lexile
 Measured by
• Word frequency
• Sentence length.
 Other
• Content
• Child age and interests
• Design of the actual book.
 If we know how well a student can read and how hard a specific book is to
comprehend, we can predict how well that student will likely understand the
book.
Lexile
 Shown as a number with an "L" after it — 880L is 880
Lexile.
 Only available for 3rd through 8th grade students (the
MAP-R provides this measure)
 A student gets his or her Lexile reader measure from
a reading test or program.
 Range from below 200L (beginning reader) to above
1700L (advanced readers).
Grade Level
End of First
Quarter
End of Second
Quarter
End of Third
Quarter
Kindergarten
NA
Level 1 (A)
Level 2-3
(B-C)
Levels 12-15
(H-I)
Level L
Level O
Winter 197
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Target RIT
Levels 5-7
Levels 8-11 (E(D-E)
G)
Level J
Level K
Level M
Level N
Fall 192
End of Fourth
Quarter
Lexile Range
Level 4 (C)
Levels 16-17
200-400
(I)
Level M
300-600
Level P
500-800
Spring 200
Fourth Grade
Target RIT
Levels Q-R
Fall 201
Levels S-T
Winter 204
600-900
Spring 207
Fifth Grade
Target RIT
Levels T-U
Fall 208
Levels V-W
Winter 210
700-1000
Spring 212
Helpful Hints for Age Appropriate
Books
 Look on the back of the book
 Some books might say RL3 for reading level 3, or
RL:5.9 for reading level 5.9.
 Less specific designations might say 007-009 for ages 7
to 9, or 0812 for ages 8 to 12.
 Publishers designations are confusing, and often
change.
 Reading levels are generally only printed on the
paperback versions of books.
Selecting Books at the Library
 When trying to judge the reading difficulty of a book,
keep these suggestions in mind:
 the ratio of pictures to word
 the difficulty of words
 the complexity of the story
 5 Finger Rule
 Have your child begin reading a page of the book
 Put down one finger each time he or she struggles with a
word.
 If they reach the end of the page before you get to five fingers,
the book is written at a comfortable level for independent
reading.
What to do for Challenged Readers?
Challenged readers may want to be engaged or may
have struggled so long they’ve given up
You can expect teachers to:
 Provide instruction on how to select a text they can
read
 Coach students on book selection
 Lead students to choices that they will enjoy
 Find a series students like (similar main characters &
text organization)
 Encourage students to stop periodically to restate the
“big idea”
 Frequently monitor and provide feedback
“We must not only teach children
how to read well; we must also
teach children how to love reading.”
Lucy Calkins
HOW?
Choice
Read Aloud
Great books
Model a love of reading
Strategies for Repeated Oral
Reading
• Reading 1 to 1
with an adult
• Reading along
with a taped
model
• Reading aloud
simultaneously
in a group
StudentAdult
Choral
Tape
Assisted
Partner
• Reading aloud
with a partner
who is fluent or
of equal ability
Activities for Repeated Reading
 Student–adult reading—reading one-on-one with an adult,




who provides a model of fluent reading, helps with word
recognition, and offers feedback.
Choral reading—reading aloud simultaneously in a group.
Tape-assisted reading—reading aloud simultaneously or as
an echo with an audio-taped model.
Partner reading—reading aloud with a more fluent partner
(or with a partner of equal ability) who provides a model of
fluent reading, helps with word recognition, and provides
feedback.
Readers’ theatre—the rehearsing and performing before an
audience of a dialogue-rich script derived from a book.
Students are best
motivated to read
independently—
and thus grow as
readers—when
they can find
books in their
individual areas of
interest as well as
in their lexile
range
James Sangil Kim (Kim, J. S., 2006.
“Effects of a Voluntary Summer Reading
Intervention on Reading Achievement:
Results From a Randomized Field Trial.”
.
Levels of Reading Comprehension
Literal
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Interpretive •
•
Applied
What is actually stated.
Facts and details
Rote learning and memorization
Surface understanding only
Common questions used to illicit this type of thinking are who, what, when, and where
questions
What is implied or meant, rather than what is actually stated.
Drawing inferences & Tapping into prior knowledge / experience
Attaching new learning to old information
Making logical leaps and educated guesses
Reading between the lines to determine what is meant by what is stated.
Questions asked are open-ended, thought-provoking questions like why, what if, and
how.
• Taking what was said (literal) and then what was meant by what was said (interpretive)
and then extend (apply) the concepts or ideas beyond the situation.
• Analyzing
• Synthesizing
• Applying
• In this level we are analyzing or synthesizing information and applying it to other
information
Reading Comprehension
 Activate prior knowledge, and connect the applicable prior experiences to the
reading (if students don't have the requisite background knowledge about a
topic, they will be unable to comprehend)
 Set Purposes
 Predict
 Decode Text — identify word and sentence meanings
 Summarize — bring meaning forward throughout the reading, building on
prior information to create new and fuller meanings
 Visualize — see characters, settings, situations, ideas, mental models
 Question
 Monitor understanding - the most salient difference between good and poor
readers is that good readers know when — and often why — they are not
comprehending
 Use Clarifying and Corrective strategies where needed
 Reflect on and Apply the meaning that has been made to new situations
Teaching Model
 DO — YOU WATCH
 I DO — YOU HELP
 YOU DO TOGETHER — I HELP
 YOU DO INDEPENDENTLY — I WATCH
Another way of putting it is from the students‘
perspectives:
 SHOW ME — HELP ME — LET ME
Resources on the Web
 Children’s Book Council
 This non-profit trade organization is dedicated to encouraging literacy
and the use and enjoyment of children's books. Annual reading lists
include Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People,
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, and Children’s
Choices. The CBC also sponsors Young People's Poetry Week and
Children's Book Week each year. http://www.cbcbooks.org/
 Hoagie’s Gifted
 Provides details on a few of the most popular means for determining
"reading level http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/reading_levels.htm
 Scholastic Book Wizard
 This site helps parents and teachers find children’s books for all ages,
grades, and reading levels. Type the name of a book into the search
field and find other Scholastic books at a similar level.
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do
What about Writing?
 Writing is a process of communicating meaning.
 Writing is the process of making thinking visible.
 Writing is a process of constructing meaning through
language and expression.
 Writing must be fluent and automatic.
 Writing must be strategic.
 Writing requires motivation.
Reasons Students Write
 Writing for Personal Expression
 involves using figurative language to express thoughts and
feelings in personal narratives, poetry, plays, memoirs,
friendly letters, fables, folk tales, and various other literary
forms.
 Write to Inform
 they explain, describe, state, and organize facts about a topic,
and give directions on how to perform a task. The forms they
use may include articles, reports, biographies, reviews,
science investigations, brochures, or speeches.
 Writing to Persuade
 is to convince the reader to consider the writer’s point of view.
Persuasion may take the forms of editorials, advertisements,
or requests.
What we teach
 Techniques and information that are needed in
developing the craft of writing
1. Practice and application of grammar, usage,
mechanics, spelling, and handwriting
2. The writing process


Organizational structure for thinking about,
composing, and refining writing.
Prewriting, drafting, conferencing, revising, editing,
and publishing
Types of Writing
Shared
(Modeled)
Independent
Interactive
Writers
Workshop
BCR’s
 Brief Constructed Response: The ability to answer a targeted question after
reading a short story or article.
 Rubric for Scoring
 3
 The response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text.
 Addresses the demands of the question
 Effectively uses text-relevant information to clarify or extend understanding
 2
 The response demonstrates a general understanding of the text.
 Partially addresses the demands of the question
 Uses text-based and/or text-relevant information to show understanding.
 1
 The response demonstrates minimal understanding of the text
 Minimally addresses the demands of the question
 Uses minimal information to show understanding of the text in relation to the question
 0
 The response is completely incorrect or irrelevant to the question, or missing
 All responses are scored individually, double scored with teammates, and
analyzed for instructional implications
Ways to Encourage Kids at Home
 Provide Tools and Opportunities for Writing
 Mechanical pencils and gel pens are fun for kids
 Fun paper (colored, with lines, stationary, scrapbook
style, note cards, or journal)
Steps to Writing at Home
First, encourage your child to talk about what he is
going to write.
2. Ask them to write what they say or YOU write for
them (dictation/scribe).
3. Encourage practice and make it fun to encourage a
love of writing from an early age.
1.
Writing Activities at Home
 Drawing
 Ask questions about the drawings.



"That's a beautiful drawing. What is the girl doing?“
"Why is the boy crying?"
"Can you tell me what is happening in the picture?"
 Use each drawing as a stimulus for writing with words of
encouragement and praise. Find something positive to say about
each drawing.
 If they are at the stage where they can write, have them write a
sentence or two about each drawing.
 Journals (not a diary)
 Encourage your older children to keep journals, as this is an
excellent outlet for them to express their inner feelings and
emotions. If they are willing to share their entries with you, utilize
the opportunity to read and discuss what is written.
Writing Activities at Home
 Travel
 After a trip to a place of interest, have your children
write a paragraph or two about their experiences. Having
a discussion prior to writing will refresh their memories
and is considered a brainstorming technique.
 Goal Setting
 Suggest that your children write goals and how they plan
to accomplish them.
 Home Writing
 Grocery lists, directions, and instructions.