Community Conversation Follow-Up: Cultivating Robust Reading Lives

Several times a semester we gather together—parents and teachers—to talk on various topics of interest. This is an opportunity to consider how to support one another better, to offer ideas that might help families at home, and to discuss timely educational issues.

In November we focused the conversation on cultivating and sustaining a positive and robust reading culture in our learning community. It was a great discussion, anchored in these three reading-related articles. The conversation was also contextualized by a reminder of the goal at Long-View: we want our learners to “read ambitiously.” More clarity on this goal is captured here.

Some reflections shared by parents and teachers present at the Community Conversation were:

Reading diet and modality evolve: Young readers read for enjoyment and can grow in complexity over time, changing their book selections from primarily fiction to more of a balance of both nonfiction and fiction. Through this evolution, many learners lean on rereading comfortable fiction texts because they are familiar with the story elements. Research shows that this type of rereading is beneficial for young readers' fluency and deepening their understanding of story elements. To ensure balance in learners' reading diet, several parents expressed….

Guidelines and Research on Reading Volume

At Long-View we make reading a priority and talk about “reading ambitiously.” It is our recommendation that children read for at least ten hours a week. While some of these reading hours occur during our day at Long-View, we have found a greater rate of success in reaching this goal when families set aside at least one dedicated hour at home, every school day, for their child to spend on reading. This is our minimum recommendation—meant for everyone, whether a child is an early reader or a fluent/experienced reader, able to navigate complex texts. A mountain of research supports the fact that success in reading is directly related to the amount of time a person spends reading.

At Long-View, we work to be sure that literacy instructional time goes to activities that involve “eyes on print.” We protect time for independent reading, and know that explicit and high-level instruction, access to high-interest texts, and time to read at length are crucial components within the school day. That being said, learners need even more time for independent reading than is available here at school….

literacyLisa ZapalacOctober 30, 2024Long-View Micro Schoolreading volume, reading diet

Individualized Lists: How Summer Reading Works at Long-View

Long-View teachers value the progress in reading that can occur during summer months, and with that they spend significant time doing something that rarely happens at other schools: crafting individualized reading lists for each child. Rather than give everyone at a grade level the same list of required reading, our teachers work to build individualized lists for each reader. Today the first step of this process began when blank lists for every child were posted on the windows across the school. Every day for the next two weeks, all teachers will work to build out the lists, which will then be taken home by the kids on the last day of school….

The Importance of Reading Volume

At Long-View, we work to protect our reading minutes and be sure that literacy instructional time does not go to activities that do not involve “eyes on print.” We protect time for independent reading, and know that explicit and high-level instruction, access to high-interest texts, and volume are crucial.

That being said, there is not enough time for independent reading during the day at school. We hold ambitious goals for daily reading at home….

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