Our discussion about readability got me thinking a lot about the library in my classroom. Very few of the books in the class library are written at a level that allows my kindergarten students to read them. For the most part they look at the pictures and sometimes make up what the text says. I have books that are leveled that I use for guided reading. I also have bins for DEAR time (drop everything and read) that are easy to read books that most of the students in my class can read.
During DEAR time I can tell that my students are more bored with reading than they are at the library center, when they get to look at any books in the class library not just the readable ones. It’s difficult to find leveled books in our school that are also high interest, especially for the boys. We have very few non fiction, low level books. It makes sense, non fiction books tend to have more technical language that is not appropriate for emergent readers. I want my students to actually be reading during DEAR time, not just looking at pictures. I’m not sure how to combat the issue. Maybe I could split the time... half with the readable books then half of the time at the class library.
Someone could make a fortune writing leveled texts that are about dinosaurs that are low leveled. I have one student in particular that I know is going to be a challenge next week when I start guided reading groups. During the MClass assessment he refused to read the books for the assessment because he didn’t want to. He told me the book looked boring and he was not going to read it. I still don’t have a good sense of what level he is reading on because he refuses to read anything except books he brings from home (which he’s not actually reading... just reciting memorized text). Does anyone have ideas on how to captivate his interest using books that might not be very exciting?
During DEAR time I can tell that my students are more bored with reading than they are at the library center, when they get to look at any books in the class library not just the readable ones. It’s difficult to find leveled books in our school that are also high interest, especially for the boys. We have very few non fiction, low level books. It makes sense, non fiction books tend to have more technical language that is not appropriate for emergent readers. I want my students to actually be reading during DEAR time, not just looking at pictures. I’m not sure how to combat the issue. Maybe I could split the time... half with the readable books then half of the time at the class library.
Someone could make a fortune writing leveled texts that are about dinosaurs that are low leveled. I have one student in particular that I know is going to be a challenge next week when I start guided reading groups. During the MClass assessment he refused to read the books for the assessment because he didn’t want to. He told me the book looked boring and he was not going to read it. I still don’t have a good sense of what level he is reading on because he refuses to read anything except books he brings from home (which he’s not actually reading... just reciting memorized text). Does anyone have ideas on how to captivate his interest using books that might not be very exciting?
I'm not sure how helpful this could be, but I ran into a similar (but different) situation last year. I had a kindergartener last spring who was performing below grade level. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone (what a horrible saying once you type it out...), we had her write her own stories and read them back to us. She needed a lot of help with the writing as I imagine your friend might also need this early in the year. However, it did keep her interested in what she was reading. To adjust it to your situation, maybe you could write the text while he dictates it. As an added incentive, he could illustrate the story, and then he'll have something that he made to read during DEAR time.
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