Reflection on Independent Reading

What have you learned?

After reading the text, viewing the PowerPoint, exploring numerous websites, and discussing, I feel that I’ve learned a lot about independent reading. I’ve always known that independent reading was important for literacy growth, new vocabulary, increased fluency and comprehension, and improvement in writing, but I did not have the research to back up my thoughts, nor did I know how to effectively structure an independent reading program in my classroom. After reading the text, especially the first chapter about The Case and the Place for Independent Reading in the classroom, I feel confident that I can explain my decision for incorporating independent reading in my classroom to my colleagues and administration. The research the text provides is extremely important to me as I have to teach a scripted basal reading program that doesn’t allow for much flexibility and claims miraculous results. Being able to back my decision for incorporating a significant amount of independent reading time in my literacy block will make me more confident in explaining that it is necessary and beneficial for the students, and its effectiveness in increasing their reading achievement and reading motivation. In addition to the before-mentioned reasons, I have especially strong feelings about independent reading during the school day because the majority of my students do not read at home nor do they have the resources available to read at home. Their only reading is done at school. Therefore, if they are going to grow as readers, they must have time to read appropriate texts (independent and instructional level texts) at school.

What will you do differently as a result of your explorations into and investigations of Independent Reading?

As a result of my reading and investigations in this course, I am excited to implement the independent reading program as suggested in the text, following the format on page 69 (interest inventory, community reading time, independent reading time). I’ve always included independent reading in my literacy block prior to taking this class, but it was poorly organized. I wasn’t sure if or how to set up guidelines and boundaries for book selection, reading response and sharing, and conferences. I feel confident that I can go back into my classroom and establish independent reading using the guidelines suggested.

I also am motivated to go through my classroom library and improve it. I plan to give away texts that are not up-to-date, appropriate (in terms of reading level), and falling apart. I will explore my options for adding new texts that are interesting and engaging to my students that are on a variety of reading levels. I also would like to organize my books in crates by topic or genre so the students are not so intimidated as they search for and select a book.

My goal is also to use more technology in reading response with my students. I would like to introduce my students to blogging and keep them accountable for their posts. I’d also like to incorporate more internet workshops in my class to enhance reading. I especially like the Wix site because it is appealing and easy to navigate. I’d also like to use Audacity for student response to reading in order to promote speaking as many of my students are ELLs and need the practice speaking academic English.

Instructional Plan and Framework for Implementing Independent Reading

Background

Independent reading is a key component to balanced literacy. While in the past it has seemly had mixed reviews in terms of its effectiveness and benefits, recent research has suggested that independent reading is an important and necessary component of literacy education. Moss and Young (2010) describe independent reading as the place where “students get rich opportunities to apply skills that they learn during shared reading, guided reading, and other literacy-related experiences” (p. 3). Independent reading is not a free-for-all time, nap time, or quiet time. It is an intentional, structured time with clear boundaries and expectations in which students read a lot, and discuss and respond to their reading. If this time is intentional and structured, Moss and Young (2010) describe the benefits of independent reading with five important outcomes: “increased vocabulary development, greater domain and background knowledge, better fluency and comprehension, improved reading achievement, greater interest in books and motivation to read” (p. 9). With these outcomes on the line, independent reading proves extremely important in students’ literacy education. The physical space of independent reading, the collection of texts, the composition and structure of independent reading, and the application of learning from whole group literacy and content lessons within independent reading are all components of an effective independent reading program.

Creating the Space

The classroom library should be comfortable and accessible. There should be places to sit such as comfortable chairs and/or floor cushions. Crates and/or bookshelves should be organized by author, genre, themes, award-winning, student suggested favorites, etc. so that students can easily find the text they are interested in reading. Moss and Young (2010) suggest displays of books, a listening center, a storytelling center, a writing center, an art center, an author center, and a how-to/activity center in the classroom library so that students can respond to texts they have read (p. 39-40).

Creating the Collection

The book collection in the classroom library should be large, up-to-date, organized, on a variety of reading levels, and diverse in terms of genre, topics, themes, content, and world view. Moss and Young (2010) report several studies that suggest the number of books that should be in a classroom library from as few as 200 to as many as 2,000 (p. 44). The books should be displayed so students can locate them easily; books should be facing the students so that they can see the cover rather than the spine. Students should be trained on how to select books that are appropriate (on their independent reading level) by using such strategies as the five-finger rule or the Goldilocks test (p. 43). They should also be trained on choosing a variety of books from different genres. The teacher can monitor this by using the genre wheel as the authors’ suggest (p. 55). In order to pick good books for a classroom library, the teacher should be familiarized with children’s literature. She can do this by subscribing to literature magazines/websites and blogs. My favorite site that keeps up with children’s literature is www.reading.org. I like this site because it surveys the favorite texts of both kids and teachers. The lists of texts on this site provide quality book options to use in my classroom.

Incorporating the Key Components of your Independent Reading Program

The following are the key components that I would include in my independent reading program: reading interest inventory, community reading, and independent reading.

To begin the program, I would give all of my students a reading interest inventory in order to find out what topics, genres, and themes my students are interested in. After analyzing my students’ answers on the interest inventory, I would strive to create a library that reflect their interests and reading levels.

To begin the community reading portion, the students and I would discuss procedures and expectations. I would follow the structure as suggested.: twenty minutes twice a week on this portion. We would incorporate book talks given by me as well as the students to increase motivation for reading. I would also spend a significant amount of time doing read alouds to help improve students’ vocabulary, motivation for reading, and listening comprehension. In addition, we would incorporate book sharing to increase student motivation, and time for reading in which students could participate in a reader’s theater for fluency practice (p. 69).

To begin the independent reading portion , I would introduce the students to the procedures and expectations of the reading program. We would discuss things like how often they could get a book, bathroom and water expectations, how to select an appropriate book, how to keep track of current texts and texts they want to read in the future, and how, when, and where to respond to texts. As laid out by Moss and Young (2010) on page 69, I would follow the structure that the authors suggest. Each day for sixty minutes we would do the following: a lesson, silent reading, conferences, and response to reading. The lesson would be comprised of a topic that I felt necessary and beneficial for the students, whether it was about literacy or whether it was about the expectations and practice of how independent reading program was to be implemented. I would spend about fifteen minutes on this. Following the lesson, the students would read silently appropriate books that have been selected and are already sitting at their desks. The students would read for about thirty minutes without any breaks. During this time, I would conference with students , about four per day so as to conference with my entire class each week. The purpose for the conference would be to “effectively assess students’ progress in terms of motivation, attitude toward reading, ability to select and engage with texts, use of reading strategies, oral fluency, and narrative and expository text comprehension” (p. 81). In order to keep track of each student‘s progress, I would use the Independent Reading Observation Rubric for Teachers on page 154 as well as the Reading Conference Record on page 152. In the final fifteen minutes, the students would spend their time responding to what they have just read. Students would have a folder with a Reading Interest Form and a Reading Log which they would fill out. They would also have the option of responding in a variety of ways including responding with art, responding with drama, responding with writing, and/or responding with technology (p. 107-114). Students would choose based on their interests. They would not respond to reading after every book unless the student was reading a chapter book. The book response options would be decided on when conferencing with the teacher.

　

Linking Literacy Instruction with Independent Reading Experiences

Literacy instruction in whole group and guided reading groups as well as in content areas like science and social studies can be linked to the independent reading program. The strategies introduced, explained, and modeled can be discussed by teacher and students in conferences and applied to the students’ self-selected texts. For example, the teacher can provide graphic organizers modeled in instruction for the students to practice while reading during the independent portion. In terms of content areas, students can choose texts that address a topic being studied, and read a book that is written more kid-friendly and in-depth than the typical mandated textbook. Moss and Young (2010) best sum this up when they write that “instruction may focus on inferring word meaning or synthesizing information, independent reading provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and strategies that they have learned through teacher modeling…this time is critically important for students’ success as readers. Guthrie (2004) notes that it is often the amount of practice that distinguishes an expert reader from a novice” (p. 96).

Moss, B., & Young, T. (2010). Creating lifelong readers through independent reading. International Reading Assoc.

Donors Choose

http://www.donorschoose.org/corbello?historical=true

Plan to Implement Reading Interest Inventory

My Plan

At the beginning of the year, I plan on giving my students a reading interest inventory in order to find out what they would like to read about throughout the year. In addition to using a reading interest inventory, I will observe what the students pick out to read on their own and have discussions with students and family members about particular interests (Moss and Terrell, 2010). Based on how the students answer the inventories, I can better recommend books based on their preferences, and I can build my library based on their preferences. Below are the questions that plan to give my students at the beginning of the school year.

From Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/collateral_resources/pdf/r/readingsurvey.pdf

From Moss and Terrell (2010): Would you like to read about any of the topics or kinds of books below? Please circle the ones that sound interesting to you. animals, fairy tales, people your age, famous people, adventure stories, fantasy, funny stories, picture books, poetry, mysteries, music, art, science, historical stories, history, math, health, scary stories, comics

My Classroom Library

Currently, my classroom library should be renovated. I have a fairly large collection of books. However, some are extremely outdated and worn down, and many of them are too difficult for my students to read since the majority of my students are reading significantly below grade level (4^th grade). I’ve collected books from yard sales, Chick-Fil-A, and used book stores. In addition, to these problems, they are randomly shelved and not displayed in a way that students can choose them easily (spines all facing outward). I haven’t pursued making my classroom library better since my school has an excellent library and a policy that lets the students check out everyday, ten books at a time. After reading this text, however, I see how valuable having a good classroom library is for my students. According to Allington and Cunningham (2007) and Krashen (1998), “students are likely to spend more time reading when they are in classrooms with adequate classroom libraries” (Moss and Terrell, 2010). I want that to be the case for my students. I also really like the idea of including published student writing in the classroom library because like Tony Stead said, “writers cannot write above what they read so it is a great way to think about leveling” (Moss and Terrell, 2010). I think this strategy might help me partially solve my problem with having too advanced texts in my classroom library.

Projected Interest and Book Choices of Students

The majority of my fourth grade students are ELLs, and most of my students come from poverty stricken households. They often do not have literacy resources at home, so the school library, classroom library, and public library provide these resources. Because of their circumstances, many of my students are struggling readers, so they prefer to read picture books and beginner chapter books. In the past, the boys generally preferred nonfiction texts about animals, sports, and space. The girls generally preferred nonfiction texts about animals and fiction texts about friendships. Many of my students, both girls and boys, love the Wimpy Kid books, Garfield comic books, and Baby Mouse books. I think they liked these books because they are entertaining (graphic novels), have pictures to support the text, have short texts on each page, and appear (in size) to be chapter books. In the future, I expect my students to have similar interest to the ones stated above as the population and demographics will remain the same. However, I think the reading interest inventory will provide me with a clearer idea of what my students prefer to read.

Read Aloud

In my endeavor to investigate the implications of the read-aloud, I specifically looked for in the implications of read-alouds on English Language Learners (ELLs). As a teacher of predominately ELLs, all of which speak Spanish as their native language, I continue to see these students struggle with English language proficiency. Most of my students demonstrate adequate oral fluency, however it often masks their lack of ability when it comes to reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These students read slowly, inaccurately, and without expression. They do not recognize or understand much of the academic vocabulary used in print sources, and as a result are too overwhelmed to employ strategies and skills for comprehending what they are reading. Often these students are highly motivated to learn but have minimal opportunity outside of the academic setting to become more proficient in English.

The most heavily researched component of read alouds, in my opinion, are their effects on motivation. Of the studies I’ve read, almost all spend time discussing the influence of the read aloud on students’ motivation to read. A study by Fisher, Flood, Lapp, and Frey (2004) reports that Hoffman, Roser, and Battle (1993) say, “Teachers conduct read alouds to motivate their students to read and to build their topical knowledge about a specific subject.” For example, listening to higher level interesting texts on sites like We Give Books or listening to texts read aloud like The Graveyard Book, provide motivation as well as exposure and use of new vocabulary and practice with listening comprehension, which is essential to students‘ literacy development. Fisher, Flood, Lapp, and Frey (2004) continue to say, “Read-aloud texts, which are typically more difficult for children than their independent reading texts, are often followed by a brief discussion of the events and themes.” This leads to the discussion on the structure of an effective read aloud.

In the study by Fisher, Flood, Lapp and Frey (2004), the following structure for an effective read aloud is suggested: 1) the text should be appropriate for students, 2) the text should be reviewed by the teacher prior to the read aloud, 3) the purpose for the text should be communicated, 4) the text should be read fluently by the teacher, 5) the text should be read with expression, 6) the teacher should stop reading and engage the students in a discussion at various points throughout the text, and 7) the students should make connections. These components and procedures are what makes an effective read-aloud for ELLs and other students.

In the article Maximizing the Effectiveness of Reading Aloud, authors Lane and Wright (2007) suggest three different structures for an effective read aloud: dialogic reading, text talk, and print referencing. After reviewing each, the structure suggested by Fisher, Flood, Lapp, and Frey appears to be a combination of all three.

After investigating read-alouds and their implications on my ELLs , I have discovered that read-alouds may lead to increased motivation, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension for ELLs. As a result, I will continue to use read-alouds in my class with my ELLs, applying the suggestions from research and reflecting on my teaching to facilitate the academic growth of my students.

Educational Glog

http://lcorbello.edu.glogster.com/glog/

e-Reading and e-Response

 

My Opinion

After reading these three articles, I feel more informed and better able to discuss e-reading and e-readers. While I think these can be beneficial and engaging, the purpose for reading and the genre greatly impacts which mode should be used in accessing and reading a text: e-reader, print, or Internet. It is up to the reader to be informed enough to know which mode of delivery to choose for maximum benefit and meaning. With that statement, it is essential that students are taught how to approach reading; which mode of delivery will be most beneficial? What is the purpose for reading this book, article, blog, etc?

 

My opinion has remained the same regarding e-reading for the most part: it’s not what I prefer, but I recognize that it can be beneficial, especially when referring to a well-maintained, reputable, and relevant site. My opinion has changed regrading e-response and e-readers because I now think e-readers and e-response are engaging and motivational to students because they are a reflection of modern society; they tie school and personal life together. Further, both e-response and e-readers require interaction; the processes allow the reader to be involved with the text. For example, e-readers provide support for struggling readers through a variety of functions. Larson (2010) discusses the some of the most important functions as being the adjustable font size, the application of the e-dictionary, and the use of the read aloud feature to help students better understand what they are reading. I do think that students, especially young students, need to spend the majority of their literacy time in print texts until they are independent readers. I think students at emergent and beginning levels need the basics that come from print and need to be able to focus purely on print processing and comprehension without the distraction of links, buttons, features, etc. that electronic modes of reading offer. If, however, there is an older student who is reading at a low level, he might benefit the most from an e-reader rather than print because it provides discretion and because he has the capability to determine the purpose for reading.

 

Finally, after analyzing the articles, I looked at the three sites on the syllabus. I have seen the Toon Books site before; my students read books on the site when given monitored computer time. I think the stories are well-written and the illustrations are good. I like that it offers a read aloud option as well. I think students would need to be closely monitored when using this website, so as not to only listen to the text, but to read it as well. Students could do deep reading because options are limited in terms of features and distractions. They may need specific guidelines as what to read and when, but overall I liked this site. The second site, We Give Books, is my favorite. I love that it has a variety of quality books in a variety of genres that can be read online. I especially like their selection of nonfiction books on the website. Because these books don’t offer too many distracting options, I think students could do deep reading with the books on this site. I think these books would be excellent for read aloud and whole class lessons and discussions as they can be projected on a screen or SmartBoard for optimal viewing. The final website, Inanimate Alice, is poor, in my opinion. I really disliked the story, the digital images, and sound effects because I thought they were distracting. I also thought it was similar to animae, which I don’t care for. Perhaps some student might find this site engaging and meaningful. If I think this to be the case, I would introduce it to him or her just to get them reading, however, this would not be a site for reading that I would recommend.

 

Caveats and Benefits

There are both caveats and benefits to e-readers, e-reading and e-response. I think the benefits for all three are that students would find them interactive, engaging, and meaningful. I think e-reading can be beneficial but under certain circumstances because I think students have the potential to read on a surface level rather than read deeply as expressed by Marianne Wolf in her article “Beyond Decoding Words.” E-reading can definitely enhance a reading experience if a particular site offers other things like maps, sounds, and video. In regard to e-response, I think it is mostly beneficial because it allows students to to interact with the text as they read. It also allows for social interaction if the students are responding on a blog of some sort. I think the caveats could be that students may use e-response using very informal writing features, organization, and conventions. It might make writing in other situations more difficult as they will need to understand situations and expectations for informal and formal writing. E-readers, I think have the most benefits because they have helpful but limited features that will not cause distractions. They allow for text manipulation and discretion of text. They are also less demanding on the eyes in terms of flatness and screen glare. I find few caveats in terms of the e-reader.

 

My Experience with e-Readers

Unfortunately, I have little experience with e-readers. I’ve borrowed a family member’s e-reader for a short time to read a chapter of a book. I thought I would dislike it, but I was wrong. I loved it and would love to get one. I do think I would prefer a printed book rather than the e-reader in some cases, but I think I would thoroughly enjoy an e-reader.

 

Classroom Use and Connections

In my classroom, I have never used e-readers, but I have used e-reading and e-response (briefly). I have used e-reading mostly for internet workshops where I’ve put together several websites and a guide which the students use to red and research a particular topic. The students love e-reading but sometimes they have a hard time with it because they are not yest independent readers. Furthermore, they see links to games and such and spend time trying to think of ways they can convince me to let them play games. I agree with Wolf when she writes that her “greatest concern is that the young brain will never have the time…to learn to go deeper into the text after the first decoding, but rather will be pulled by the medium to ever more distracting information, sidebars, and now, perhaps, videos (in the new vooks).”

 

I haven’t used e-reading of books online except for the occasional storybook, and in most cases, it was a whole class activity or lesson. In terms of e-response, I tried using a blog at the end of last year. It was just an experiment but my kids really liked it a lot. I hope to do more in the future and organize it in a way that I can keep up with their responses and provide feedback that they find meaningful.

 

My Role as an Educator

As an educator, I think its very important to provide students with the best education possible. I think this means exposing them to new things and ideas that will help them be successful in and out of school. I think it’s important to connect school and outside life. This is discussed in Larson’s (2009) article when she writes that there is “an urgent need for teachers and researchers to address the discrepancy between the types of literacy experiences students encounter at school(paper, pencil, and print texts), and those they practice in their daily lives outside the school environment.” Students need to value traditional practices while embracing the new and incorporate them in a way that is beneficial. They need to understand the value of different modes of reading and purposes for reading in order to make the best choices. As educators, we can provide them the knowledge and practice to do just that.

Internet Workshop

Here is the Internet workshop I created.  http://lauracorbello.wix.com/re5710#!Home/mainPage

I used Wix which I never had heard of or used before exploring Dr. Frye’s examples of other Internet workshops.

The workshop begins with a little background and review of The One and Only Ivan.  Following the background and review, there are hyperlinks the students can click that go to websites about gorillas and elephants so they can research a variety of questions posted.  Finally, there are several excerpts from news sources discussing Ivan’s home at the mall and at the zoo.  Students will read these excerpts and write a response in which they have to decide whether they think Ivan should have stayed at the mall or been moved to the zoo.

The One and Only Ivan

Summary and Thoughts

I really liked this book.  It was simple in style yet it contained a message of deep meaning through themes like friendship, love, sacrifice, and perseverance.  It also addressed meaningful topics of human responsibility in terms of nature and the environment and the power of art.

This children’s book takes place in a decrepit mall and is told from the perspective of a silverback gorilla, Ivan.  Ivan and his friends, two elephants, two dogs, and a bird, are all captive in this mall and doomed to solitary confinement and/or forced to work in a miniature circus act.  People pay to visit them.  Sadly, each of these animals has been taken captive from the wild (except one dog) and has been confined to their small cages in isolation from others like them.  After making a promise to save the baby elephant, Ruby, from lifetime containment, Ivan devises a plan using art in order to catch the public’s attention and eventually raise awareness of their captivity with the help of a young artist and her father.  Public disapproval ensues and Ivan and his friends are released from their “prison” in the mall to a zoo where they are placed with their species and live happily ever after.

 

Deep Reading

Before reading this book, I thought of deep reading as something you did or did not do; you set yourself up to do deep reading by minimizing distractions thereby ensuring a time and place that would allow focus and contemplation.  However, after reading this book, I find that deep reading is not so clear.  I sat down to read this book in a place without distractions, without music, TV, or a computer.  Surprisingly, I had a hard time staying focused.  The writing was good; the storyline was good. So what was the problem? Contemplating this, I concluded that perhaps because the author’s writing includes short sentence and phrases, short chapters, and a poetry layout, I was distracted.  It was easy for me to read a few lines or pages and then look around, see if anyone called, check the time etc.  It’s not that I blame the author for my distraction, however, I didn’t feel that I had to engage in deep reading in order to fully understand and process the story.

Despite this, there were parts of the story that I did engage in deep reading. For example, on page 35 when the author describes Bob’s story, I was deeply engaged.  I think this is because the author did not explicitly say what she wanted the reader to garner; it was the reader’s job to infer and draw conclusions based on what was said and what was left out of the text.  I had to visualize what happened. As a result, I became more absorbed in the text and found myself several pages ahead before becoming distracted again.

 

My Classroom Connections

Regardless of whether this text requires deep reading or not, it is interesting and thought provoking, and would be well received among my fourth grade students.  I think my students would enjoy the story and also appreciate the format in which it is written, short and staccato-like phrases and sentences, short chapters, and full of illustrations.  I think this book would be one that my students would jump into without an introduction. If I chose to introduce this book, I might show the students the book trailer found on the book’s web page because it is well done, as it is captivating through the use of pictures, text, and music. After reading, I do think that my students would appreciate the digital media to enhance their understanding of the book, or they might want to check out the digital media to extend their reading when they complete the book.  The following are some websites that are related to topics in the book that I think I would use and that my students would be motivated to use:

 

http://theoneandonlyivan.com/

http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/mountaingorilla

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-gorilla.html

http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-gorillas-play-tag.html

http://www.sfzoo.org/multimedia-videos?code=HDfRsjH1QvE&title=Our%20Silverback%20Gorilla%20Gets%20a%20Dental%20Exam&desc=Oscar%20Jonesy%2C%20our%20Silverback%20gorilla%2C%20received%20dental%20work%20on%20Monday%2C%20July%2011%2C%202011.%20The%20procedure%20was%20done%20by%20dentist%20Dan%20Mairani%20and%20endodontist%20Steve%20Holifield%2C%20who%20usually%20perform%20procedures%20on%20human%20patients.

 

If my students loved The One and Only Ivan, I could direct them to other books that are similar in content and themes.  These are books found using programs like Book Wizard on Scholastic’s web page:

 

Sheep by Valerie Hobbs

A Dog’s Life by Ann M. Martin

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Warm Place by Nancy Farmer

 

My Thoughts on Deep Reading

Both of these articles address the topic of reading and how it’s affected by technology.  In the article “Deep Reading,” authors Wolf and Barzillai discuss their concerns with the overwhelming influence of technology and its impact on reading.  Because the internet provides a large amount of information without delay and tempting links, graphics, and other information, the authors communicate their apprehension with respect to students only reading information on a surface level, and that the information may or may not be credible and reputable.  They worry that students are not doing any deep reading, which is the “array of sophisticated processes that propel comprehension and that include inferential and deductive reasoning, analogical skills, critical analysis, reflection, and insight” (Wolf and Barzillai, 2009).  Consequently, the authors discuss the plasticity of the brain in regard to reading deeply and at a surface level, how educators can avoid the pitfalls of technology (internet) on deep reading, and how to encourage deep reading if technology is the source of reading information.

In the article “The Best of Both,” authors Weigel and Gardner discuss the influence of technology on literacy learning.  The authors write about their concerns with technology, again with a focus on the Internet, and reading, primarily that the information may not be credible and that technology promotes reading at a surface level and fosters a short attention span when reading.  However, the authors also discuss positive expectations in reading as a result of technology.  They see the advantages of the Internet in regard to reading in constructivist learning, informal learning, and social learning.  All of these approaches to literacy learning draw on students’ interests, motivation, and interaction with one another, what could be referred to as the aesthetics of reading, that is the insatiable need for reading and reading a lot as mentioned in the article “The Peter Effect” article.  The authors sum up their thoughts by saying that “the new digital media’s affordability, ease of access, and breadth and depth of compelling content provide powerful resources that educators have at their disposal in today’s classroom” (Weigel and Gardner, 2009).

After reading these two articles, I tend to feel more strongly in support of the “Deep Reading” article.  I think deep reading is a valuable and important process.  I think that it is the cause of deep thinking and higher order processing because of its relationship to “inferential and deductive reasoning, analogical skills, critical analysis, reflection, and insight” (Wolf and Barzillai, 2009).  Deep reading is intentional and without distraction.  In addition, I think deep reading requires processes that are critical in other facets of life.  The time spent, the contemplation of ideas, and the satisfaction of working hard on something is reflected in deep reading and can be applied to life situations; for example, listening to multiple arguments, making major decisions, and waiting on results of a test or some event.  All this to say, I still value technology, digital media, and the Internet.  It is wonderful to have access to such information immediately, and the social aspect is entertaining.  It is just hard to stay focused on one topic when there are so many other trails to follow.  I’ve also realized that I have trouble remembering information I look it up and read about it on the internet, more so than when I read printed text.  Is that just something that happens to me, or is there some research behind this?

As a teacher, it is easy to see the role of technology in my students’ lives.  They are always talking about some form of digital media or what they read or watched on the Internet.  Unfortunately, my students lack the ability to sit and deeply read a text.  They also have no idea about what information is credible and what is not on the Internet so they take everything as factual, authentic information.  It may be important to revise the curriculum so that there is a focus on teaching approaches to using the Internet and how to read information on the Internet, how to sort through information and how to find what is relevant to a particular search.  Perhaps the students should be taught how to effectively and efficiently navigate through technology, participate in organized technology activities, and spend large amounts of time deep reading printed text in order to have the best balance.