can i read

Earlier this year I was told that when my students are completing a task, they need to walk away with something. I followed the advice that was given to me by a veteran teacher, for a while, and found that this is not always the case.

When I received this advice, it was following an observation of my language arts class. For an hour, during this class, my students rotate through centers, spending fifteen minutes at each center. One center is independent reading. The observing teacher informed me that my students should not be reading just because, that they needed to walk away from the center with a finished product. I tried having them write in journals for a while about what they read; I tried having them do partner reading; in the end, I realized what their finished product truly is.

They love to read. 

My students will come up to me whenever they finish an assignment and ask, "Can I go to the library?" or, "Can I go to books?" or, "Can I read?" They may not be walking away from their fifteen minutes with a paper in hand, but they are walking away with a love of reading. They are gaining confidence in their skills and they get so excited when they can complete a smooth read of a book. 

Our classroom library (rather, a third of it!)

For me, the finished product is that I am helping to develop a new generation of readers.