Welcome to the fifth week of the Heinemann Summer Sessions! Each week throughout the summer, we will feature an article, video clip, or new professional book chapter from the Heinemann Digital Library on the topic of student engagement. Today, we look at a chapter from Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom by Kari Yates.
“For too long...the majority of students’ reading has been assigned...None of these experiences prepares students to make authentic and meaningful choices for themselves outside the classroom. Choice is fundamental to both motivation and engagement in the reading classroom.” p. 36 of Simple Starts.
Kari Yates reminds us that, as adults, we have the ability to make the choices about what we want to read or need to read. To help build independent readers who make quality choices, we need to scaffold this choice making process for our students as well. Through providing examples and research, Kari shows us that when children can choose what, where, and how they read, success and engagement levels will rise.
Pay close attention to the decisions you make for yourself as a reader this week. Challenge yourself to view this experience from the perspective of young reader. How does choice engage you to not only complete reading, but participate in the comprehension process as well?
Click here to read Chapter Four of Simple Starts. [PDF]
We would love to hear your thoughts, so share in comments below. You can also engage on our FB page or share on Twitter with #summerplc. Be sure to follow @HeinemannPD, @HeinemannPub and @Kari_Yates on Twitter.
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Kari Yates is a program manager for literacy and English learners, helping teachers and administrators plan literacy instruction. Visit her web site and follow her on Twitter at @Kari_Yates.
Kari will be at ILA 2015 in St. Louis! Her presentation, "Simple Actions, Big Results - Committing to What Matters Most in the K-5 Reading Classroom," is next week. And she will be in the Heinemann booth on Sunday, July 19 at 11:00am for a book signing. [#ILA15]
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All Summer Sessions PLC content is also available within the Heinemann Digital Library. For year-round access to dozens of additional professional books, articles and classroom video examples, we encourage you to subscribe to our Digital Library.
