Presentation with Sally Clendon at the AGOSCI Conference, May 2015

1. Self-Selected
Reading
Books for every reader

2. Jane Farrall
Jane Farrall Consulting
Sally Clendon
Clendon Consulting

3. Why do we read?
› Pleasure
› Information
› Communication
› Work
› Study
› Escape
› Entertainment

4. What do we read?
› Books
› Facebook
› Emails
› Text messages
› Tweets #AGOSCI2015
› Websites
› News……

5. What do we get from
reading?
› Vocabulary
› Connection
› Communication
› Mental Stimulation
› Stress Reduction
› Knowledge
› Memory Improvement
› Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills
› Improved Focus and Concentration
› Better Writing

6. Self-Selected Reading
› Show students WHY they would want to
read….
› Help them to become automatic in skill
application
› Give them practice to become more
fluent

7. The BIG rules
› For all students:
› It isn’t self-directed if you don’t choose it
yourself
› For conventional readers:
› You can’t get good at it, if it is too difficult

8. Setting up for Self-Selected
Reading
› 20 books per student (or more)
› Rotated frequently
› Mix of fiction and non-fiction
› Include different types of books:
› Alphabet books
› Repeated line books
› Photo based books
› Picture books
› Wordless books
› Rhyming books
› Chapter books
› Topic/theme-related books
› Custom student or classroom books
› And (most importantly) books in their areas of interest e.g.
motorbikes, make-up, animals, fairy tales

9. Components of Self-Selected
Reading
› DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read)
› Teacher Read Alouds
› Reader’s Chair
› Book Reviews

10. A mix of books

11. DEAR Time (Drop Everything
and Read)

12. For emergent students
› Give them independent access to books
› Give them the opportunity to read books
with an adult for pleasure and enjoyment
› Are you doing shared reading in this
block? (Remember to use AAC and
Comment, Ask, Respond)

13. Georgia

14. Georgia
› Emergent reader
› Georgia’s tub contains
› Custom classroom books
› Books from Tar Heel reader on topics of
interest (such as nail polish)
› Some picture books for older readers

15. Custom Classroom Books
› Produced during predictable chart writing
› Produced by some of the other students
for Georgia
› Produced by the teacher for Georgia
(check out Jess Murray on Tar Heel
Reader)

16. Tar Heel Reader
www.tarheelreader.org
› Thousands of books on hundreds of topics
› Generally suitable for emergent and early
conventional readers and writers
› Switch accessible or direct access
› Can be downloaded as PowerPoints or
ePubs

17. Picture Books for Older
Readers
› https://www.pinterest.com/janefarrall/
picture-books-for-older-readers/
› Curated by Jane and Sally J

18. Independent Access to Books

19. Independent Access to Books

20. Independent Access to Books

21. For conventional students
› Books at or below their reading level
› Books in their areas of interest

22. Make sure books are at or
below their reading level
› Put appropriate books in a tub or an area
for them to choose from
› Use Level It or similar resource to get the
reading level of books

23. Sam

24. Sam
› Early conventional reader (primer level)
› Sam’s tub contains
› Published books on topics of interest (Lego,
superheroes, Pixar movies)
› Tar Heel Reader books on topics of interest
› Some early “readers” around areas of
interest
› Some high interest favourites e.g. Dr Seuss
› Some picture books for older readers

25. Books in their areas of interest

26. Level It
› www.levelitbooks.com
› Available as an app as well
› Provides Lexile, Guided Reading, Grade
Level Equivalent and DRA level for
thousands of books
› Type in ISBN (or scan book’s barcode in
app)

27. Bailey

28. Bailey
› Conventional reader (Grade 2 level)
› Bailey’s tub contains
› Published books on topics of interest (cars, cars,
cars and transport)
› Tar Heel Reader books on topics of interest
› Some early “readers” around areas of interest
› Some picture books for older readers
› Bailey shows a preference for simpler fiction
books while focusing on silent reading,
although generally he prefers non-fiction

29. Aim for silent reading
› Once students are at a Grade 1 level (or
earlier if student has CCN)
› Talk about “inner voice”
› Provide a range of texts for working on
silent reading
› Write simple instructions for students to
follow as a start (read this “in your head”
and then do it)

30. Create different spaces for
DEAR time

31. Not everyone likes
beanbags…

32. Use a range of books and
technologies in DEAR time

33. Digital Storybooks /
Storybook Apps
Guidelines for choosing digital books:
http://www.janefarrall.com/html/appsguided.html

34. Teacher Read Alouds

35. Teacher Read Alouds
› Use this as a chance to expose students
to different types of books that they might
choose to read later
› Don’t always have to read the whole
book
› Include read alouds in your planning

36. Read Alouds

37. Reader’s Chair & Book
Reviews
› Students share a book they have read
recently
› Share with other students
› Start discussions about what books they
enjoy (and don’t enjoy)

38. Reader’s Chair

39. Reader’s Chair

40. Book Reviews