Consider the following quote/question and offer a response, or simply post in the comments what resonates with you so far.
The premise of Afflerbach's book is that we cannot teach only reading skills and strategies.
We must also attend to students' "positive or negative emotion, a willingness to continue, giving effort, pulling back on this effort, bringing a 'can-do' attitude (and then having that attitude change), monitoring performance, and 'throwing in the towel' [as] part and parcel of particular acts of reading" (p. 17).
Considering all of these influences...
How can teachers attend to all these aspects while teachers readers?
This begins by knowing students from all angles, not just a single story we use for students. This means that we cannot rely on one source of information like test scores vs in the moment observations over time, school learning vs community and the world, who they are as learners vs who they are as humans; labels we use to define them vs. the stories they bring into the classroom. Once we understand they are ALL of these things, then we can explore all aspects of what it means to be a learner. This is more important than ever at a time when one aspect of learning (phonics) has assumed such a prominent focus of our discussions (which Peter Afflerbach addresses so eloquently in his book. We can't attend to all aspects while teaching readers if we don't know (and admire) all aspects of readers.
I can only add to this powerful plea for teachers to know students from all angles one extension: Let them know we want to know them as readers. Invite them to talk or draw or write about what happens inside when they read or listen to stories that touch them. How does the magic happen? The dilemma of phonics is tough. Of course, early readers need to construct knowledge of phonics. But some do it quickly without a problem, some need more systematic help, and some need expert one on one help. The problem isn’t how to teach phonics--nor why. It’s when, how much, in what context. It’s somewhat of a resource and scheduling issue.
Because I haven’t gone on enough about Writing Workshop 🙄 I’d like to add to what Terry said if I may. Teachers need to be willing to put themselves out there too! If teachers write and share their stories, trust and a community is is built.
That trust and community is the foundation of all that follows Joy. I think you've also hit on such an important idea that we can expect to teach readers if we aren't one as well. And we can't expect to teach writers if we aren't one as well. How can kids truly honor what we don't. Thank you so much for that essential reminder!
I remember all the stories I wrote about my pets in front of and along with student writers!! The buy in was genuine and, yes, built trust and a willingness to take risks for our entire writing community. May I also add the critically important aspect of Sharing in all workshops. Even the simple opportunity to share your writing/reading with a friend is sooo important!! As I write these responses, I actually feel myself fill up with emotion- missing those moments with children…
Regie Routman wrote about her cat Norman several times in her excellent PD video series (Regie Routman in Residence). Power in the relevance and simplicity, meeting students where they are. Kids love to learn about teachers' personal lives.
As a University Supervisor for JMU, I am lucky enough to be in schools often- it’s the very best part of my job!! Working with Student Teachers is a blessing and a gift!! My passion, obviously 🙄 is literacy, and I am able to somewhat impact new teachers’ understanding that literacy is an all day event, impacting every aspect of learning!! The pedagogy of literacy I use always, especially “conferring” with learners which should occur ANYTIME children are working independently or in collaborative groups!
I live and write from my heart! I hope my “style” does not offend anyone! I can write with a totally professional voice, however, this is a book club, so I am more inclined to be my crazier self!!
Thanks for including me in this group of brilliant educators!! Happy Friday!!
Allington is always an essential voice for me too Joy. I feel the same way! "Every Child Every Day" with Rachael Gabriel and "If They Don't Read Much, How they ever gonna Get Good?" are stuck in my head in the best possible way!
Good soapbox, Joy! Why does writing often get cut out of literacy time? ... and then we wonder why young writers lose interest in writing! We can't write without reading but can read without writing!
My guess as to why writing gets cut: writing isn't tested like reading is (although more so now with the new standardized assessments, mostly text dependent and not process).
Sadly true, and that PROCESS view is why formative assessment across the learning day is so critical. I worry that in many classrooms Kidwatching is seen as some frustrating ADDITION to the day when it's actually inseparably interwoven into the day since it happens in the context of that learning.
! I was lucky enough to have the most amazing RR Teacher Leader and when I was in training. I had an EL student whom I just could not accelerate. We then focused almost exclusively on writing for about 7 lessons. The acceleration was amazing!!
Mary & Terry hit the nail on the head so well. Knowing your learner is imperitive as a teacher. Being interested in them and their lives, incorporating their interests and caring about who they are as people and as readers and writers. The curriculum in a class needs to reflect the students within it. A skilled teacher must be able to incorporate that while still meeting needs that will progress students towards being independent and successful learners.
I like your words “incorporating their interests” and “caring about who they are.” Suppose a teacher decided to commit to work inside the incorporation of interest piece as a professional development goal. Should they start with writing? reading? I ask because in my experience the challenges are different. Seems also to get perhaps more challenging as you go up the grades???
Recently, I have begun to think that writing is the place to start. The act of writing seems to cement many things for children. And also because a child's writing can then become their reading as well. We read constantly as we write. I think integration is key.
And they ARE seen and heard in a true Writers Workshop! I agree 💯 % that writing is a wonderful place to start!! WW is a place for real conversations. Conversations to find their writers voice in planning, to share their thinking and writing to date… sharing for the sake of sharing or sharing for feedback from others- peers and the teacher. Where is there a better place to support the whole student than WW and what a wonderful place for the emotional part of learning and real buy in!! Sorry- passionate WW fan here!! And, sadly, it is often the part of the literacy block that is sacrificed on a regular basis!! Ok, I will honestly get off my soapbox now!!
Even before putting pen to paper, the opportunity to talk about their ideas and understandings can expose their deeper thinking and for some, misunderstandings. Time for talking can scaffold some students to formulate or rehearse their ideas, draw on a wider vocab or background knowledge from their peers as they compose.
Mary’s opening comment about knowing students from lots of different angles and using a variety of sources of information as a prerequisite for teaching readers, not reading--and writers, not writers--is extended in Sally’s suggestion to use talk strategically before kids put pen to paper. Talk during prewriting could do double duty as a cognitive workout for the kids and give teachers another source of information, another angle into their knowledge and interests. I’m wondering if a teacher might find the strategic use of peer talk for a variety of purposes in literacy instruction a productive focus as a professional development goal. I think in my own teaching I could have increased my influence if I’d taken a good long look at peer talk from a systemic perspective
These are important reminders about the power of talk and listening to support writers as well as readers. I still fall into this trap of focusing on helping students "do" writing without first "being" a writer. Just today, I was nudging a student along with a late writing assessment in my office. I shared some strategies, noticed his strengths, but failed to dig into his why for this writing and who he might be writing for. He ended up getting only his lead finished.
Thank you for bringing me back to where I need to first be!
Thank you for this Belinda! Donald Graves once said that many children struggle with reading because we don't do enough writing and suggested that it is the INROAD to writing. That's why interactive writing is so important. Although we don't know for sure who said it (some attribute it to Ralph Fletcher or Pam Allyn): "Reading is breathing IN and writing is breathing OUT." It is a reminder how important the reciprocal nature of reading and writing is.
I agree with Terry's observation below about your words: "incorporating their interests and caring about who they are as people and as readers and writers." Too often we talk in terms of our responsibility to the curriculum and this often means ignoring (or at the very least minimizing) our responsibility to who kids are not just as learners but brilliant, unique and miraculous HUMANS!
I got the idea from reading Gregory Corsaro’s ethnographic study of friendship in a preschool. He was a big guy, six feet six I think, and he had trouble becoming invisible in the setting as a good ethnographer must do, a fly on the wall. He wrote that he had to play in the sandbox with them to win their trust. To me, poetry has always been a form of play. I had no idea how much my kids would take to it. I knew they liked hearing poems. Repeated readings and memorizing, readers theater—it was all there. It was such fun, Matt. Having fun and feeling playful during hard work is a power combination.
Seeing "work" and "play" used somewhat synonymously prompted me to revisit some of my highlights and annotations in the book Flow by Mihaly C. Thanks for prompting reflection, Terry.
For sure. I hadn’t thought about flow, but I think that’s where the magic is, where the boundaries between play and work disappear. I’ve not read C’s book--just about it. I need to take a closer look. Hey, thanks for all you do, Matt. Such great energy and commitment
In my fourth grade writing workshop, I shared drafts in the author’s chair and asked my kids for feedback. I’ve written poetry as long as I can remember, and much of what I shared with them was poetry. Several students became very serious about poetry, and it broke down barriers between us. There is a vulnerability that brings empathy into the picture and blurs the distinction between a writer and a piece of writing in a poetry workshop. We actually put on poetry readings for other classes and for parents. I miss this most of all from those days in the mid 1980s.
I thought it might also be helpful to share this here. Peter Afflerbach was on our #G2great chat on 6/16/22. I wrote the post below and included ALL of his answers to the questions and his thoughts on books as well as key tweets. I think it's a great extension to this discussion straight from Peter Afflerbach!
I agree with the comments so far! Knowing our students, knowing the curriculum and using a repertoire of effective instructional practices allows the teacher to be responsive to the learner’s progress. Building on learner strengths enables us to target instruction with the appropriate challenge rather than using assessments that look for gaps, from a deficit approach. Our national Australian Curriculum is mandated in Tasmania, and I wonder if we focus on strategies and skills because they are easier to assess, monitor or check. How do we become better observers of our readers’ progress across all these factors that influence reading growth?
Empowering teachers through quality professional learning or collegial conversations is key. Opportunities to challenge our own understandings and think deeply about why we use specific classroom practices will support us to become more reflective educators and counter media misinterpretations.
GREAT question- “How do we become better observers…” I
continue to believe in the power of Running Records despite the negative press on everything, and everyone I adore in literacy!! Of course, anecdotal notes also for they allow reflection on the learner’s every aspect.
I just read your interview with Peter Afferbach!!! It is sooo insightful!! I learned so much and feel more and more out of my league amongst all of you in this book club and your brilliance!!
I appreciate this opportunity to learn with such exceptional authors and professionals!!!
I feel so incredibly blessed to be in a discussion with so many brilliant others. Thank you for inspiring me with every comment friends! In a world where social media has become so contentious, it's lovely to just talk about the reason all of us are here: A sense of awe for kids and doing all we can to support those kids! I am loving this group!
A thread that is going around the school librarian community right now focuses on reading aloud as the lesson plan. There is often a need to defend that reading with students is enough. The pressure is often felt that there needs to be something attached to the story for it to be an authentic reading experience. It is essential to build that community of readers and preserve the reading time. I thought it connected to this conversation because so many reading lessons leave out the time to read. Here is a link to one of the conversations on "The Book Wrangler" page. https://www.instagram.com/p/ClrkJMqvXvI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Great perspective Micki. Thank you for sharing this post along with your comment.
Yes, reading aloud is enough! I was recently listening to Ezra Klein interview Dr. Maryanne Wolf - a scientist - talk about the brain benefits of reading aloud.
"Reading aloud to children has distinct benefits; it 'lights up' more parts of the brain compared to simply hearing language or watching a movie."
And as well, so many other benefits for building readers and a community as you point out.
Essentially, he observed intervention lessons and found that the teachers had activities, tools, games etc... but VERY little actual reading. In 50 + years in education and spending time in schools across, I can say that this is still true in so many settings (for guided reading as well). We have so much research on the role of volume and yet still too often preference DOING over engaging.
Here's one I found from Pat Cunningham who did some writing with Allington, but the original is the best!
I can attest to this, after reviewing many resources recently. Independent reading is an after thought, something you fit in if time allows (and if you follow the script, time never allows).
If a teacher is stuck in a lockstep literacy curriculum with little latitude to deviate, one small shift they might consider making is teaching to the absolute minimum recommended time in the program. Keep a visual timer in front of you. When it goes off, it's your and your kids' time to be readers.
Yes to concrete reminders Matt (and awareness is EVERYTHING). When we say "I don't have time" to the things that matter that much, it's a sign we need to do a little letting go. Sometimes our NOs are the most important part because without that... we will never establish priorities and Non-negotiables!
Interesting that our first discussion thread for Teaching Readers (Not Reading) has led to a conversation centered on writing and writers...
Right?!?!
This begins by knowing students from all angles, not just a single story we use for students. This means that we cannot rely on one source of information like test scores vs in the moment observations over time, school learning vs community and the world, who they are as learners vs who they are as humans; labels we use to define them vs. the stories they bring into the classroom. Once we understand they are ALL of these things, then we can explore all aspects of what it means to be a learner. This is more important than ever at a time when one aspect of learning (phonics) has assumed such a prominent focus of our discussions (which Peter Afflerbach addresses so eloquently in his book. We can't attend to all aspects while teaching readers if we don't know (and admire) all aspects of readers.
We have to start with the student - thank you Mary for keeping our attention on the priority.
Afflerbach's questions on page 3 really got me thinking!
Thank you for inspiring me to go back to page 3 Sally. Yes, so important and I love his comment directly after them:
"When we answer "YES" to those questions, it reflects our attention to all the important aspects of reading development. We are teaching readers."
I think that's the disconnect because there are many schools forcing teachers to ask questions about the PROGRAM vs the child.
So true Mary about the misuse of accountability to prioritize fidelity to a program vs. integrity to a child's educational experience.
I can only add to this powerful plea for teachers to know students from all angles one extension: Let them know we want to know them as readers. Invite them to talk or draw or write about what happens inside when they read or listen to stories that touch them. How does the magic happen? The dilemma of phonics is tough. Of course, early readers need to construct knowledge of phonics. But some do it quickly without a problem, some need more systematic help, and some need expert one on one help. The problem isn’t how to teach phonics--nor why. It’s when, how much, in what context. It’s somewhat of a resource and scheduling issue.
Making our intentions public - in support of another - is so affirming for that person. With trust, anything is possible! Thank Terry.
Because I haven’t gone on enough about Writing Workshop 🙄 I’d like to add to what Terry said if I may. Teachers need to be willing to put themselves out there too! If teachers write and share their stories, trust and a community is is built.
That trust and community is the foundation of all that follows Joy. I think you've also hit on such an important idea that we can expect to teach readers if we aren't one as well. And we can't expect to teach writers if we aren't one as well. How can kids truly honor what we don't. Thank you so much for that essential reminder!
Thank you for your kind remarks, Mary 💗
I remember all the stories I wrote about my pets in front of and along with student writers!! The buy in was genuine and, yes, built trust and a willingness to take risks for our entire writing community. May I also add the critically important aspect of Sharing in all workshops. Even the simple opportunity to share your writing/reading with a friend is sooo important!! As I write these responses, I actually feel myself fill up with emotion- missing those moments with children…
Regie Routman wrote about her cat Norman several times in her excellent PD video series (Regie Routman in Residence). Power in the relevance and simplicity, meeting students where they are. Kids love to learn about teachers' personal lives.
Regie was one of my “go to” experts as a beginning teacher!! I need to see what she is writing lately insomuch as you mention her often Matt…
You just made me emotional too Joy. THIS is why we do what we do!
Indeed… 📝📚📝📚❤️
Beautifully said, Terry!
Thanks, Matt!!
As a University Supervisor for JMU, I am lucky enough to be in schools often- it’s the very best part of my job!! Working with Student Teachers is a blessing and a gift!! My passion, obviously 🙄 is literacy, and I am able to somewhat impact new teachers’ understanding that literacy is an all day event, impacting every aspect of learning!! The pedagogy of literacy I use always, especially “conferring” with learners which should occur ANYTIME children are working independently or in collaborative groups!
I live and write from my heart! I hope my “style” does not offend anyone! I can write with a totally professional voice, however, this is a book club, so I am more inclined to be my crazier self!!
Thanks for including me in this group of brilliant educators!! Happy Friday!!
"Literacy as an all day event" - love it! Reminds me a bit of Richard Allington's article, "Intervention All Day Long".
I LOVE Richard Allington, so linking my name to anything he wrote is a sincere compliment!! Thanks!!
Allington is always an essential voice for me too Joy. I feel the same way! "Every Child Every Day" with Rachael Gabriel and "If They Don't Read Much, How they ever gonna Get Good?" are stuck in my head in the best possible way!
Mary,
I have not read “If They Don’t Read Much…” I love new reads so thank you!! 😊
Good soapbox, Joy! Why does writing often get cut out of literacy time? ... and then we wonder why young writers lose interest in writing! We can't write without reading but can read without writing!
My guess as to why writing gets cut: writing isn't tested like reading is (although more so now with the new standardized assessments, mostly text dependent and not process).
Sadly true, and that PROCESS view is why formative assessment across the learning day is so critical. I worry that in many classrooms Kidwatching is seen as some frustrating ADDITION to the day when it's actually inseparably interwoven into the day since it happens in the context of that learning.
Process is about creating, a more enriching experience than simply transmitting information.
Yep. Exactly!!! 🥺
Thanks, Sally! Yes, agree 100%!
! I was lucky enough to have the most amazing RR Teacher Leader and when I was in training. I had an EL student whom I just could not accelerate. We then focused almost exclusively on writing for about 7 lessons. The acceleration was amazing!!
Mary & Terry hit the nail on the head so well. Knowing your learner is imperitive as a teacher. Being interested in them and their lives, incorporating their interests and caring about who they are as people and as readers and writers. The curriculum in a class needs to reflect the students within it. A skilled teacher must be able to incorporate that while still meeting needs that will progress students towards being independent and successful learners.
I like your words “incorporating their interests” and “caring about who they are.” Suppose a teacher decided to commit to work inside the incorporation of interest piece as a professional development goal. Should they start with writing? reading? I ask because in my experience the challenges are different. Seems also to get perhaps more challenging as you go up the grades???
Recently, I have begun to think that writing is the place to start. The act of writing seems to cement many things for children. And also because a child's writing can then become their reading as well. We read constantly as we write. I think integration is key.
Seems wise to start with writing, Belinda. Kids can see and hear their successes and observe their progress over time.
And they ARE seen and heard in a true Writers Workshop! I agree 💯 % that writing is a wonderful place to start!! WW is a place for real conversations. Conversations to find their writers voice in planning, to share their thinking and writing to date… sharing for the sake of sharing or sharing for feedback from others- peers and the teacher. Where is there a better place to support the whole student than WW and what a wonderful place for the emotional part of learning and real buy in!! Sorry- passionate WW fan here!! And, sadly, it is often the part of the literacy block that is sacrificed on a regular basis!! Ok, I will honestly get off my soapbox now!!
No apologies necessary for one's passion for writing, Joy!
Even before putting pen to paper, the opportunity to talk about their ideas and understandings can expose their deeper thinking and for some, misunderstandings. Time for talking can scaffold some students to formulate or rehearse their ideas, draw on a wider vocab or background knowledge from their peers as they compose.
Mary’s opening comment about knowing students from lots of different angles and using a variety of sources of information as a prerequisite for teaching readers, not reading--and writers, not writers--is extended in Sally’s suggestion to use talk strategically before kids put pen to paper. Talk during prewriting could do double duty as a cognitive workout for the kids and give teachers another source of information, another angle into their knowledge and interests. I’m wondering if a teacher might find the strategic use of peer talk for a variety of purposes in literacy instruction a productive focus as a professional development goal. I think in my own teaching I could have increased my influence if I’d taken a good long look at peer talk from a systemic perspective
These are important reminders about the power of talk and listening to support writers as well as readers. I still fall into this trap of focusing on helping students "do" writing without first "being" a writer. Just today, I was nudging a student along with a late writing assessment in my office. I shared some strategies, noticed his strengths, but failed to dig into his why for this writing and who he might be writing for. He ended up getting only his lead finished.
Thank you for bringing me back to where I need to first be!
Thank you for this Belinda! Donald Graves once said that many children struggle with reading because we don't do enough writing and suggested that it is the INROAD to writing. That's why interactive writing is so important. Although we don't know for sure who said it (some attribute it to Ralph Fletcher or Pam Allyn): "Reading is breathing IN and writing is breathing OUT." It is a reminder how important the reciprocal nature of reading and writing is.
Ohhhh!! I remember that breathing in and out analogy!!! 💗💗
I agree with Terry's observation below about your words: "incorporating their interests and caring about who they are as people and as readers and writers." Too often we talk in terms of our responsibility to the curriculum and this often means ignoring (or at the very least minimizing) our responsibility to who kids are not just as learners but brilliant, unique and miraculous HUMANS!
💯 % YES!!!! Thank you, Mary!!!
I got the idea from reading Gregory Corsaro’s ethnographic study of friendship in a preschool. He was a big guy, six feet six I think, and he had trouble becoming invisible in the setting as a good ethnographer must do, a fly on the wall. He wrote that he had to play in the sandbox with them to win their trust. To me, poetry has always been a form of play. I had no idea how much my kids would take to it. I knew they liked hearing poems. Repeated readings and memorizing, readers theater—it was all there. It was such fun, Matt. Having fun and feeling playful during hard work is a power combination.
Becoming invisible - I imagine, at 6'6"!
Seeing "work" and "play" used somewhat synonymously prompted me to revisit some of my highlights and annotations in the book Flow by Mihaly C. Thanks for prompting reflection, Terry.
For sure. I hadn’t thought about flow, but I think that’s where the magic is, where the boundaries between play and work disappear. I’ve not read C’s book--just about it. I need to take a closer look. Hey, thanks for all you do, Matt. Such great energy and commitment
I misremembered the author’s name--it’s William Corsaro. Really good research (even scientific:)
Thanks Terry, I'll check it out.
In my fourth grade writing workshop, I shared drafts in the author’s chair and asked my kids for feedback. I’ve written poetry as long as I can remember, and much of what I shared with them was poetry. Several students became very serious about poetry, and it broke down barriers between us. There is a vulnerability that brings empathy into the picture and blurs the distinction between a writer and a piece of writing in a poetry workshop. We actually put on poetry readings for other classes and for parents. I miss this most of all from those days in the mid 1980s.
Oh, Terry!!! Yes!!! Poetry!!! ❤️❤️ For all grade levels!!! And songs!!! 🎶
And Shared Reading of which I just read an interesting article by Timothy Shannahan on…
Sooo glad you wrote with your writers, Terry!!! 😊🌻
Poetry readings - such fun, Terry! And the trust you must have established with your students by being a writer in front of your students...
I thought it might also be helpful to share this here. Peter Afflerbach was on our #G2great chat on 6/16/22. I wrote the post below and included ALL of his answers to the questions and his thoughts on books as well as key tweets. I think it's a great extension to this discussion straight from Peter Afflerbach!
https://literacylenses.com/2022/06/teaching-readers-not-reading-moving-beyond-skills-and-strategies-to-reader-focused-instruction%EF%BF%BC/
Thank you Mary, I missed this chat and I have been meaning to read through it.
Thank you, Mary! Looking forward to reading this!! 😊
I agree with the comments so far! Knowing our students, knowing the curriculum and using a repertoire of effective instructional practices allows the teacher to be responsive to the learner’s progress. Building on learner strengths enables us to target instruction with the appropriate challenge rather than using assessments that look for gaps, from a deficit approach. Our national Australian Curriculum is mandated in Tasmania, and I wonder if we focus on strategies and skills because they are easier to assess, monitor or check. How do we become better observers of our readers’ progress across all these factors that influence reading growth?
Empowering teachers through quality professional learning or collegial conversations is key. Opportunities to challenge our own understandings and think deeply about why we use specific classroom practices will support us to become more reflective educators and counter media misinterpretations.
Sally,
GREAT question- “How do we become better observers…” I
continue to believe in the power of Running Records despite the negative press on everything, and everyone I adore in literacy!! Of course, anecdotal notes also for they allow reflection on the learner’s every aspect.
Sally, you make an important point about what skills are easiest to assess.
To be better observers, teachers need *Time* with a capital T. Of course that means getting rid of stuff...what can realistically go?
Mary,
I just read your interview with Peter Afferbach!!! It is sooo insightful!! I learned so much and feel more and more out of my league amongst all of you in this book club and your brilliance!!
I appreciate this opportunity to learn with such exceptional authors and professionals!!!
I feel so incredibly blessed to be in a discussion with so many brilliant others. Thank you for inspiring me with every comment friends! In a world where social media has become so contentious, it's lovely to just talk about the reason all of us are here: A sense of awe for kids and doing all we can to support those kids! I am loving this group!
I'm glad this community has created this experience for you, Mary. Thank you for making it a place to be.
It's a pleasure, Matt!
Oh, so true, Mary! Learners first!
A thread that is going around the school librarian community right now focuses on reading aloud as the lesson plan. There is often a need to defend that reading with students is enough. The pressure is often felt that there needs to be something attached to the story for it to be an authentic reading experience. It is essential to build that community of readers and preserve the reading time. I thought it connected to this conversation because so many reading lessons leave out the time to read. Here is a link to one of the conversations on "The Book Wrangler" page. https://www.instagram.com/p/ClrkJMqvXvI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Great perspective Micki. Thank you for sharing this post along with your comment.
Yes, reading aloud is enough! I was recently listening to Ezra Klein interview Dr. Maryanne Wolf - a scientist - talk about the brain benefits of reading aloud.
"Reading aloud to children has distinct benefits; it 'lights up' more parts of the brain compared to simply hearing language or watching a movie."
And as well, so many other benefits for building readers and a community as you point out.
Joy I was hoping I could find a copy but all I could find is this one page: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40009862
Essentially, he observed intervention lessons and found that the teachers had activities, tools, games etc... but VERY little actual reading. In 50 + years in education and spending time in schools across, I can say that this is still true in so many settings (for guided reading as well). We have so much research on the role of volume and yet still too often preference DOING over engaging.
Here's one I found from Pat Cunningham who did some writing with Allington, but the original is the best!
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.paps.net/cms/lib4/NJ01001771/Centricity/Domain/2102/If%20they%20dont%20read%20much%20how%20they%20ever%20gonna%20get%20good.pdf
I can attest to this, after reviewing many resources recently. Independent reading is an after thought, something you fit in if time allows (and if you follow the script, time never allows).
If a teacher is stuck in a lockstep literacy curriculum with little latitude to deviate, one small shift they might consider making is teaching to the absolute minimum recommended time in the program. Keep a visual timer in front of you. When it goes off, it's your and your kids' time to be readers.
Yes to concrete reminders Matt (and awareness is EVERYTHING). When we say "I don't have time" to the things that matter that much, it's a sign we need to do a little letting go. Sometimes our NOs are the most important part because without that... we will never establish priorities and Non-negotiables!