Access to text though a classroom library or other means is my #1 way to promote independent reading. Secondly, I share about my own life as a reader and give students time to talk about their lives as a reader. Sharing my to be read pile (having students create a to be read pile), discussing my plans for what I will read over the weekend (listening to students' plans), and sharing what was executed on Monday (by all of us) are part of the routine talk in the classroom. When I was a classroom teacher, my colleagues and I greeted our students on Monday wearing aprons plastered with photocopies of book covers of books we read over the weekend taped on to the aprons. This practice created a level of curiosity (What will our teacher's be wearing today?) and ensured that some part of our greetings included discussion of our reading lives.
Access to text though a classroom library or other means is my #1 way to promote independent reading. Secondly, I share about my own life as a reader and give students time to talk about their lives as a reader. Sharing my to be read pile (having students create a to be read pile), discussing my plans for what I will read over the weekend (listening to students' plans), and sharing what was executed on Monday (by all of us) are part of the routine talk in the classroom. When I was a classroom teacher, my colleagues and I greeted our students on Monday wearing aprons plastered with photocopies of book covers of books we read over the weekend taped on to the aprons. This practice created a level of curiosity (What will our teacher's be wearing today?) and ensured that some part of our greetings included discussion of our reading lives.