The Heavy Lifting. Who is doing it?

 The Heavy Lifting. Who is doing it? 

In the classroom, whether it be the teacher or the student-- that person is getting stronger. Often times, the heavy lifting lands on the teacher, but how can this be flipped? 

Things I am thinking about-- 

Wean students off of the teacher read aloud in the classroom. 

1. Teacher reads aloud one paragraph and then the students read a paragraph on their own and annotate the text for meaning. Have a timer displayed on the board-- give them two-three minutes. Follow with quick discussion. Keep working on this daily until students can read an entire text on their own without the read aloud.
2. Break up the passage and post each paragraph or section heading up at several stations around the room. I do this with having multiple wipebooks around the classroom. Students, in small groups of two or three, could read their part and annotate it for meaning. Each group could then report out their part and then the class could have a discussion. Students could go back to their seats and reread the passage, annotating it for certain skills. The previous discussions help students to have enough stamina to complete the entire passage on their own. 
3. If you do read aloud, as in listening to the Audible version of a novel, stop frequently for questioning and students must be actively writing reflections or responses to questions as they are reading. The default for students is to drift into mental outer space. Teachers must prevent this from happening at all costs because class time matters. 
4. Create a readers theatre. Readers often enjoy reading a novel as a readers theatre. It requires students to look ahead to ensure their part is coming up. The teacher can assign a narrator - I like to pick a quality and enthusiastic reader for this part. Then assign the dialogue parts among the class. From my experience, students enjoy reading in different voices and acting out the novel together. 
5. Mix it all up. Multiple strategies can be used-- but-- the point is, "Who is doing the heavy lifting?" 

A quiet classroom does not always equal a learning classroom. Students may have frustrations, questions, and issues with doing the heavy lifting. We, as teachers, must remain patient. This can be difficult sometimes. However, the payoff is well worth it. As students grow and get better, we start to see the fruit. 

My goal for the upcoming week is to reflect and implement the strategies I've mentioned in my instruction, knowing that I am growing readers who are not dependent on me. 

 The Heavy Lifting. Who is doing it?