Listener Favourites: 5 Evidence Informed Alternatives to Independent Silent Reading

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Today, I want to talk to you about an issue that has had me with a bee in my bonnet for a little while now,  and that is the large amount of time that many children spend in independent silent reading during literacy instruction.

 Now, my challenge with this is not that it is bad for children to read on their own; in fact, we know that there are positive impacts. Professor Pam Snow from La Trobe University often says that once children become proficient decoders, their independent reading has much to add to their vocabulary and language development. So I'm not here to tell you that reading is bad for kids. Quite the opposite. 

 But I will suggest that there are more efficient and effective ways that students can spend time during that block of the school day that is allocated as literacy instruction time. 

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