Debbie Miller: Best Practices for Teaching Reading

I often hear from friends who teach older students, "I just don't know how to teach really basic stuff. I mean, how do you teach someone to read? Or to add?" My answer to their questions is probably less than satisfactory, because the truth is that I don't know either.

But surely, I thought, there is a way it can be done. And not just a way, but the best way, a best practice. I've been searching for that best practice since I found out that I'll be teaching kindergarten next year. One of my basic goals is to instill a love of literature in all of my students.

In her book Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades, Debbie Miller describes how she teaches advanced comprehension strategies to her first-grade students. Her kids do absolutely amazing things - they predict, they ask meaningful questions, they use mental imagery, they activate background knowledge. Most shockingly, they INFER. THEY INFER!

So how does she do it? With lots of books, lots of time, and lots of explicit lessons. She gives an entire month to some strategies, and she lets children explain what they think about books. I particularly like that Miller integrates physicality into every aspect of the classroom and that she believes creative play contributes to comprehension. Here's one of my favorite bits:

"Work activity time is the perfect time for children to synthesize and apply their learning to new contexts, either independently or with their peers; it's the time when children can put into practice what they've learned during either parts of the day. But before we can expect the Tobwani Dams, Little Bear Worlds, and classes on JFK, children need time to explore, investigate, and yes, play."

The fact that I received this book from Beauvoir is a good sign for the coming year.