Slient Reading

[Dorothy]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.

[boatgirl887@yahoo.com]

This sounds very strange to me. Here in the Central San Joaquin Valley in California, it is HIGHLY recommended that all grade levels spend time in SSR (silent sustained reading) mode. It is believed that this may be the only time students actually read w/o distractions from home life. As a substitute, I love this time because it gives me a chance to organize what the students have turned in so far and review the lesson plan for the remainder of the day. Also, if the principal comes in during this time, the students are praised for being quiet and on task. Personally, I would continue to use SSR in my daily routine. Good luck.

[Unregistered]

I agree. I dont understand why it would give you a negative review. How long was the silent reading? Perhaps it was too long? I would absolutely ask for a clarification on this point.

[Donna]

Dorothy-

Definitely ask for clarification on the negative aspect of the observation and the SSR. It could be that your observer did not know what you were doing exactly. Did you have a lesson plan available for the observer to follow along? I challenged my first evaluation at the school I'm at now because the principal who evaluated me said I did not provide higher level thinking questions and skills in my reading lesson. I went back to my lesson plans and brought them to her (again) along with the activity and a copy of Bloom's Taxonomy. (I had participated in a year long pilot program on using Bloom's in the classroom for the district at another school two years prior.) The principal corrected my observation upon both of re-evaluationing my lesson using my evidence. Where she was at (mentally) during her observation of me I have no idea but she received all the same materials the students did along with the lesson plan.)

Anything that I do not agree with on my observations, I ask questions, ask for suggestions and examples of HOW to be better or what would be a better approach/technique. I also ask for a rubric to go along with my observation. In my school district, the rubric is supposed to be included as part of the observation. If you weren't aware of this, then you won't know why you've been evaluated as you have.

Part of being a reflective teacher is looking for ways to improve your technique and approach each day even when you believe your lessons to be successful. As you gain experience teaching, you will find this becomes second-hand nature. By posting to the website, you are already on your way!

Good Luck!

[Unregistered]

I am assuming you are an elementary school teacher. It is definitely considered a good idea to have a period of Sustained Silent Reading during the day. During SSR EVERYONE, including the teacher, should be reading. However, it isn't considered good practice to have students read everything to themselves during regular lessons unless you have a way to monitor what they have actually read. Some students may not be able to read what it is you have assigned. I use paired reading--where one student takes turns reading to his or her partner. They sit next to each other but facing one another and are told to use six inch voices (so that only their partner can hear them). I then walk around and monitor them. I have set up pairs ahead of time so that it only takes a minute or two to break into partners. I try to match them up by ability and also personality so that you don't have two struggling readers together, nor do you have someone with no patience with a struggler. Hope this is helpful.

[Unregistered]

I am a South Carolina Reading Initiative Literacy Coach. Independent reading is a best practice that all teachers should include in their day. It provides the time for children to "practice" the skills and strategies needed to be a proficient readers. However, I disagree with some of the other posts. Independent reading is not a time for teachers to organize and plan. Rather it provides a golden opportunity to conference with individual children or work with a small group. Perhaps your principal doesn't understand the "why" of independent reading. My recommendation is to schedule a professional conversation with him. Be ready with research on the value of independent reading. Sharon Taberski's On Solid Ground is a great resource. Another good one is Reading Essentials by Regie Routman.

Good Luck and remember to always back your practice with theory.

[Unregistered]

The main thing with SSR is that you are having reading conferences with one student at a time while the others are reading. It is recommended by Connie Prevatte that you get in 3 or 4 conferences per day. SSR should never last longer than 30 minutes per day. Reading conference sheets should be kept in a notebook for your benefit and for your observer.

[Unregistered]

SSR is usually considered a plus. I agree that you should find out exactly
why you received negative feedback. Perhaps, there was no accountability.
How do you know the students were really reading? I am a middle school
reading intervention teacher. We spot check the class, randomly choosing
students to read aloud one-on-one and do a running record. We also use an
exit pass that have students choose a question to answer about the passage
they read. They also have to log their starting and ending pages. You could
also have them make journal entries when they do SSR. I know you are not
supposed to have the students do anything but read for enjoyment during SSR. However, my students don't like to read to begin with, so we had to
come up with methods of accountability. Hope this helps you out.

Middle School Reading Teacher

[Connie Semler]

To ensure all students are accountable during SSR(silent sustained reading) I tell the students when we start this time, they will have to share something about the reading such as title of book, author, problem in story, new vocabulary learned, etc. I post the question(s). Then when we are done reading, I ciruculate and listen to their conversations. I usually hone in on the ones that I know that do not do the reading. I then talk to them quietly later and tell them they must be responsible to pick book they can share with a neighbor. Sometimes I have them write in their journal about a genetic question. It is usually an open-ended question--since the state of NJ requires testing for NCLB.

Good Luck!

Connie

[A teacher from Israel]

We call silent reading-extensive reading. Here reading is highly recommended.
The students love it. They take out their books and read. Of course, I set an example and read a book together with them.Try it next time. Good Luck

[Patti]

In our school, students read independently for about an hour a day. However, we have made "telephones" for the younger students who need to read orally to have better comprehension. The "telephones" are great! They are easily made from 1" pvc pipe. The handle is about 8" long and then each end has a corner curved pipe for the "receivers". Children love to read to themselves because their voice is magnified in their ear, although they only need to whisper. Another advantage is that the teacher can use this time to monitor students' reading or conference with individual students.

[Unregistered]

I agree with the literacy coach from South Carolina. It is very important that the SSR time is used effectively by the teacher ex:small group instruction, one on one student conferences, etc... This is NOT a planning time for the teacher!!!! It is convenient to use the time as a planning time but is is NOT best practices for literacy instruction. The ideas given to you to use accountability activities are excellent. Also make sure you know the independent, instructional, and frustrational reading level of each child. Children should read silently at thier independent level. Your principal needs to understand the concept of "volume of reading". Read anything by Richard Allington. Goodbye Round Robin Reading is very good and should help you.
If you have a good literacy coach, ask questions. In short, make sure you use SSR time effectivley!
Jane

[Unregistered]

Your appraiser was looking for active participation from your class. It is okay to use silent reading activities just incoporate stop and start sessions to review how well the students are comprehending what is being read. You may consider having one student read a paragraph and then have class discussion on what the student read. Give every student an opportunity to read a paragraph. You can also emphasize the important points you want the students to gain from the reading when you stop to discuss points. During this teachable moment you can review vocabulary, context clues, tone, mood, etc. Try and review, reteach and reemphasize during every reading activity. Remember, you are trying to determine if the students are comprehending and the appraiser is ascertaining whether or not you are "actively teaching".

[Unregistered]

Hi Dorothy,

Silent reading is a wonderful activity to use for a short time, however, usually when being observed, the principal is wanting to see how well you manage your classroom. I'm sure your school district encourages reading time, but perhaps you needed to be teaching a lesson so the observer could check out your style. Next time, you might want to teach a lesson, and then if time remains, allow students to take out their books for a few minutes of reading for pleasure.

[hlaverdiere]

I agree with the following: The main thing with SSR is that you are having reading conferences with one student at a time while the others are reading. It is recommended by Connie Prevatte that you get in 3 or 4 conferences per day. SSR should never last longer than 30 minutes per day. Reading conference sheets should be kept in a notebook for your benefit and for your observer.

I'm just about to start student teaching, but the above is what we were taught. You definitely should not have been critiqued negatively for having the students read, as they need to read silently daily. One technique I recently read to go along with the above (as taught by Pat Cunningham in the 4Blocks as well), is to make up cards for the students and a chart, 4 of which are under the conference spot, 8 are reading silently, 8 are reading with a partner, ie. discussing a book.

[Unregistered]

I am a 6-12 English teacher with a minor in Early childhood-gr. 6 as well. I am also a lisenced Library Media Specialist. On top of this I am the parent of a third grader who is unable to sit through SSR for more than 5 miuns because his comprehension is behind grade level. I agree that SSR is vital for readers, especially when students reach MS levels when reading for pleasure is not a primary focus. However, I also see problems when students are unable to utlize this time effectively, especially when the teacher will not provide alternate activities for these students. How long is your SSR? What grade level do you teach? Do you require students to read BOOKS or do you allow them to read materials which they find of interest, such as riddle books, comic books, newspapers, magazines etc.? SSR should be a time for students to CHOOSE materials and if this is not happening the purpose of creating life-long readers is not met.

[Unregistered]

I am in college right now earning a degree in reading. All of the professors in the reading department at my college have all told us that silent reading is an important piece of any reading program. This doesn't just mean for when you teach reading, but for all subjects. My fellow classmates and I have been engrained with our state's definition of reading, Reading is Comprehension. This means that if your students are able to read by themselves and understand what they are reading, then you must be doing a good job of teaching them.

Also, have you been observed during other lessons where your students haven't been silently reading?

[Unregistered]

The students may not have uninterrupted time to read at home, but I feel that if a student really wants to read, he/she will find a way. I feel SSR should be used for a purpose in addition to pleasure reading and fluency building. (verbal fluency, comprehension, etc.)
The convenience for the teacher to "catch up" on what's already been accomplished is definitely a plus of practicing SSR, but how many of the students have highly-qualified personnel at home to help them with task that they might need more than silent reading? Are the students giving you any feedback after they read? What, besides pleasure, is being accomplished? Are you letting the students present short summaries (verbal fluency) that would entice (without giving away the high lights of the book) other students to read the books? What's your purpose for SSR?
Reviewing skills, etc. through "mini" board work during the first 15 minutes of the day is another good teaching technique (checks mastery of already-presented skills) as long as the teacher follows up with checking the work and helping the students of need, but how many teachers will perform this extra task because it takes their time instead of giving them extra time? One teacher that I recommended this mastery technique to stopped the practice because it caused one student to have a lower grade than he expected, but the teacher didn't take into account how effective such a practice can be as far as long-term memory retention for student learning.
Good luck with your decision! I hope you'll weigh the situation to see what your students need most.

[VCJ]

It is often recommended for our students to have sustained silent reading periods several times a day. I am confused as to the message your administrator was sending

[Unregistered]

Here we call it "Drop Everything and Read Time" or Dear Time. I teach high school, but my own kids are in elementary school--and their entire school uses this approach.

In my own experience, administrators like to see a teacher teach when they make their observations---I always make sure I am actively teaching so they can check the appropriate boxes on their form. However, I also give the administrator a list of all the other great things I do that they might not see in their visits to my class.

Good Luck

[Sara Bush]

I am a librarian for three elementary schools grades k-4. I use the last 10 minutes of my class time for silent reading. I also received negative response to doing this from one of the principlas. I pointed out to this person that part of the district wide reading program was to include sustained silent reading (SSR) as part of the curriculum. Students had SSR in each subject area each day. As my library program does have a curriculum I felt that this was an importanmt component to my curriculum. I have not received any further negative comments. Most students do have a time at home when they are encouraged to read. However, there are many who do not and this time at school is a perfect opportunity to encourage and establish a daily reading habit. Survey some "seasoned" teachers in your building to get their input.
I hope that you continue to use this as part of your daily activities.
Sara Bush
Librarian
Fleetwood Area School District
Fleetwood, PA

[Unregistered]

I think silent reading is a very important part of the reading program (and I'm sure it is identified in your state's curriculum standards). My question is...Was this a scheduled observation?

An administrator should expect that during a classroom walk-through observation, this is something they might observe. I would make it clear to the administrator that the time that he/she chose to do the observation might need to be changed next time, due to the fact that silent reading is scheduled at that time each day. Also make sure you mention that you cover your skills prior to the silent reading or after the silent reading...and provide a sample of your lesson plans and classroom schedule.

If this was a scheduled observation, then I think you might need to adjust your daily schedule so that the administrator might see more teacher / student interaction and how you present material to your students.

[Unregistered]

Like the others who have responded to your question, I agree. However, rather than walk around the room or pull students over for assessment of some sort I think it is more important at that time for EVERYONE in the room to be reading. I think the teacher should have her own book that she is wanting to read and be reading as well. This is an excellent way for her to model. If you feel you must assess at this time then I would suggest an SSR journal for students to reflect at the end of the SSR time. Once again, I would expect the teacher to have a journal and write in it as well. Selected students and teacher can then share what they have written. I would always have the teacher share her journal entry as a model for others. I think it would be especially good if at times the teacher does a poor job recording her thoughts in the journal so that she can use it as a teaching tool in that aspect too. I think too often teachers think that everything they do must be done to perfection but that's not "real life" for students to see. Students show a true interest in learning when they think they are helping the teacher (which they may be doing) figure out a better way to do or say things.

[Unregistered]

In Maryland, we have a state indicator/objective regarding self-selected reading: Students are to do self-selected reading to apply comprehension skills. Essentially, students are to practice skills taught in class, possibly their reading class. Check your state standards to see if SSR is indicated directly; if not, you should still use the standards as a means of practicing and assessing skills previously taught via SSR. For example, students could practice and be assessed on summarizing text and making logical predictions. Such practice can only help your students to become better readers and to be more successful on NCLB assessments. Our NCLB test requires independent reading, so SSR is another way to wean students from over-reliance on the teacher or on classmates. To further support your cause, research suggests that students have to process 1 million words per year to maintain academic progress. Processing is the trick, though, which is why I would also recommend some level of accountability (although not too grueling, so as to ensure that SSR is as pleasurable as possible).
Although teachers were asked to also engage in SSR in our former model, we are asked now to utilize the time to assess students. Examples presented in previous responses, including individual conferences and conducting reading rate/fluency assessments, are good ones.

[Mentor Teacher]

At the middle school level in Maryland, we are expected to average 10 minutes per day doing SSR. We have a state indicator/objective regarding self-selected reading: Students are to do self-selected reading to apply comprehension skills. Essentially, students are to practice skills taught in class, possibly their reading class. Check your state standards to see if SSR is indicated directly; if not, you should still use the standards as a means of practicing and assessing skills previously taught via SSR. For example, students could practice and be assessed on summarizing text and making logical predictions. Such practice can only help your students to become better readers and to be more successful on NCLB assessments. Additionally, our NCLB test requires independent reading, so SSR is one way to wean students from over-reliance on the teacher or on classmates. To further support your cause, research suggests that students have to process 1 million words per year to maintain academic progress. Processing is the trick, though, which is why I would also recommend some level of accountability (although not too grueling, so as to ensure that SSR is as pleasurable as possible).
Although teachers were asked to also engage in SSR in our former model, we are asked now to utilize the time to assess students. Examples presented in previous responses, including individual conferences and conducting reading rate/fluency assessments, are good ones.

[Unregistered]

Poor gal! She must be teaching in Texas because we experienced teachers know our administrators/evaluators are looking for what we call the "dog and pony show"--a bit of entertainment to show how we can really keep students engaged in learning the entire class period. Yes, I agree with the other teachers who have said it was wrong for you to receive a poor evaluation, but don't expect anything to change. Next year you might plan on having the students read aloud while the evaluator is there. In fact, give the students their oral reading parts the day before so they can practice before the big event. Also, you should also take a turn reading aloud. Tell the students they will receive a grade for being prepared, participating in a discussion about the reading, reading aloud with expression, reading along silently as their classmates read, and for putting their best "engaged face" on for 45 minutes the evaluator is there! Make sure to state what will be accomplished in class that day, write it on the board or overhead, use some kind of technology--even if it's the overhead, and vary the activities. The evaluator will want to see some type of assessment too, so you might start the class out with a quick quiz of 5 questions from yesterday's lesson that will serve as transition into today's lesson. Let them grade the quiz themselves and give them one free point per correct answer--tell them you'll tack on the extra points to their lowest daily grade. The kids love this. When the evaluator leaves, everyone is happy and chances are...you'll get a great report!

[Unregistered]

Wow!!I am shocked. Silent reading is always encouraged even for teachers to do. That is weird. The principal might not like it which is why you got nailed for that.

[Unregistered]

Apparently, the one wo observed you is not up to date on "Best Practices" in reading or education. Silent sustained reading for at leadst 20 min. is recommended for students in all grades.

[Jeri]

This administrator clearly doesn't get it! Silent reading is a tried and true method for successful learning.

[Unregistered]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.


It is a VERY bad technique, students hate it! I've been teaching for 16years.

[Lindsey]

Silent reading is useful! Read outloud, students will be more interested

[Jack Furr]

Strangely, I had to become a sub to finally see value in reading text aloud. Not being a reading teacher, it never occured to me that the students were just reading the words (duh). They stumble over incredibly important words and never understand their meaning. Even innocuous, easy words, are stumbled over and never comprehended. Now I listen to them, call on them randomly to read, ask them the meaning of words they stumble over, and we process the text. They enjoy it more and learn from the experience. Just label me "a converted, HS science teacher". It also makes for a great "dog and pony show" :D

[Unregistered]

Make your students keep a book form and let them fill in this form after they read a book ( In that form there should be title of the book, author ,setting, comments parts.) Allocate a time for them to read in the end of the lesson for ten minutes.I do that with my 3rd graders and it works out really good.

[Unregistered]

This is my sixth year teaching and I have always incorporated silent reading into my students' days. Beginning in third grade, students in NC are given achievement tests, which involve reading comprehension. This requires students to read silently for a lengthy amount of time. If a student never practices reading silently for various amounts of time, then having to do so on a standardized test, which might affect his/her placement the following year, will be difficult.

Perhaps you could ask your observer why he/she feels that it is an inappropriate practice, then explain your theory behind doing it. It is possible that the observer didn't clearly understand your purpose in having the kids read silently.

[Unregistered]

My son's 7th grade class has 7, 50-minute SSR periods per week. That's 5.8 hours of SSR per week. They were allowed (until I complained) to sleep, watch TV, do homework, read a magazine, or read a book. Even if they actually make them read, I think 1 school day per week of SSR is too much. What do you think?

The Masachusetts Department of Education has agreed to investigate the situation to see if the school is meeting state law requirement of providing 990 hours of time on learning.

[Unregistered]

"My son's 7th grade class has 7, 50-minute SSR periods per week. That's 5.8 hours of SSR per week. They were allowed (until I complained) to sleep, watch TV, do homework, read a magazine, or read a book. Even if they actually make them read, I think 1 school day per week of SSR is too much. What do you think?"

First of all, the school is doing a disservice to SSR by calling it SSR! What they are doing is not SSR, it is homeroom or study hall and it is way too long. Research shows that silent sustained reading for 20 minutes per day every day (yes, every day) is the best way to increase student academic achievement. If the school were to limit it to 1-3 days/week, the gains would not be enough for it to be considerede worthwhile. If you want your student to do well, encourage him to read for 20 minutes of the time and to use the remainder of the time to do homework.

[Unregistered]

I am a high school English teacher. We are looking at adopting a school-wide SSR period for next year. We are meeting quite a bit of hesitation with the rest of the staff, but that isn't our biggest problem. Reading Comprehension is one of our school improvement areas. We have done the research and found that SSR is the best way to improve reading comprehension. However, our principal wants us to find a standardized assessment that we can use on the local level to assess improvement in reading comprehension. We have the STAR reader and AR programs, but according to him, they don't assess reading comprehension. Any ideas?

(By the way, I do understand that log slips, journals, conferences are the best way to assess, but our principal was a math teacher and wants hard numbers.)

[Unregistered]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.
Please join a local reading council in your area if you want to learn more about the importance of silent sustained reading. www.reading.org
Everything is right with silent reading, but it must be observed and assessed just like any other activity. Many educators say worksheets are not good either. It is not wrong to have a student do a worksheet, but it must be used correctly (That is why worksheets have become such an awful thing in education. Educators have abused the worksheet.) A Rubric is a worksheet, but it can also be misused too.
Look for a book called Balanced Literacy. Dr. Carrice Cummins is one of the authors, and I can't recall the other author. She tells you how to get the most out of silent reading.

[Unregistered]

I have volunteered in many elementary schools. Every school I go to has silent reading. Everyone is paired with someone else. Sometimes the schools had students from a higher grade come in and read with the students. In one of the schools, first graders have reached 1oo points.I encourage you to keep reading or else read a book to them and have the class act it out to make it exciting.

[Unregistered]

As a vetren teacher I have come to find that SSR alone is not enough. Students reading silently with no purpose or accountability for that reading usually results in pretend reading. During these time take a moment to sit and confer with your readers - no more that five minutes for each student. This give you an opportunity to connect with the reader and to help each child with issues surrounding the actual reading or speaking about their reading. I have my husband, a high school chemistry teacher, meeting informally with studetns during his mandated SSR period each day. He is amazed at how many of his high level studetns do not know how to talk about what they are reading. Just a few minutes eaxch week speaking with him has resulted in comments from the English teacher about the difference he has brought.

Something to think about.

[Unregistered]

I would like printable comprehension questions for this story.

Definitely ask for clarification on the negative aspect of the observation and the SSR. It could be that your observer did not know what you were doing exactly. Did you have a lesson plan available for the observer to follow along? I challenged my first evaluation at the school I'm at now because the principal who evaluated me said I did not provide higher level thinking questions and skills in my reading lesson. I went back to my lesson plans and brought them to her (again) along with the activity and a copy of Bloom's Taxonomy. (I had participated in a year long pilot program on using Bloom's in the classroom for the district at another school two years prior.) The principal corrected my observation upon both of re-evaluationing my lesson using my evidence. Where she was at (mentally) during her observation of me I have no idea but she received all the same materials the students did along with the lesson plan.)

Anything that I do not agree with on my observations, I ask questions, ask for suggestions and examples of HOW to be better or what would be a better approach/technique. I also ask for a rubric to go along with my observation. In my school district, the rubric is supposed to be included as part of the observation. If you weren't aware of this, then you won't know why you've been evaluated as you have.

Part of being a reflective teacher is looking for ways to improve your technique and approach each day even when you believe your lessons to be successful. As you gain experience teaching, you will find this becomes second-hand nature. By posting to the website, you are already on your way!

Good Luck![/QUOTE]

[menaka]

i am in search of fruits activity and body parts activity for ages 2-4
i need many creative ides to teach kids

[C Elliott]

I have always included silent reading time in my daily schedule (about 15 minutes). We always Have D.E.A.R. time after morning recess. Many years ago at a workshop the instructor suggested that the teacher also use this time to read. That is what I do. I bring the book I am reading to school every day. During D.E.A.R. time I sit in one of my students' desks (that student sits in mine) and enjoy my book. My students see me reading a different book almost every week. They comment about the many books I read. They even have noticed that I have favorite authors. They learn that reading isn't school work - it's one of life's greatest joys. They seem to appreciate and enjoy reading more. I think the key is that no matter how busy we are - they see me taking the time to read.

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

I can think of four reasons the principal objected.

1. The district doesn't support silent reading.
2. The teacher was only using the silent reading as a tool to get the kids off her back.
3. The silent reading was not connected to a learning objective.
4. The teacher moved the class into silent reading because she was being evaluated and silent reading is a trivial activity for teachers to perform.

Maybe two more...

1. The principal doesn't like the teacher.
2. The principal misunderstood what was taking place.

[Unregistered]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.

Dorothy if they come to observe you..naturally the observer doesn not want to see your class doing Silent Reading...they want to see you inter act with the students maybe a guided reading activitiy would have been better .....something that would show that you are teaching stratagies and that your children are not only learning by reading but learning stratagies to learn how to read more....a Fitchburg, Massachusetts Teacher...go get them Dorothy!!!

[Kathy]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.

Dorothy, I think you are doing a great job. It may help to have your students keep a list of book titles they have read. i also use Independent Reading but in a more structured way. Students have to read 4 books a marking term in Gr. 5& 6. In Gr. 4, we talk about what they read in circle Book Talks. Kids love it and jot down titles they like. You are on the right track. i think you just need to show more proof to your supervisor. Assessing during silent reading time is tops. Just keep the andecdotal notes somewhere you can access to show stregths and weaknesses.
Kathy

[Unregistered]

Dorothy, I think you are doing a great job.

I think you would want to see more of her actually teaching before making such a determination. :D

[Unregistered]

This is my second year teaching. I often have times in the day that I ask students to read quietly. When I was observed a couple of weeks ago, I receive very negative feedback on this. I assess students based on this.

Does any one have any thoughts on this? Is it a bad technique? Any input is much appreciated.







Were you using silent reading as a filler while all students finished independent work? Maybe the administrator meant you should have more variety in sponge activities.