Good Choice! by Tony Stead

Good Choice! Part 1

Good Choice! by Tony Stead is for teachers who are stuck in a rut about reading instruction. Tony Stead believes that first and foremost, students must have independent reading time that they find pleasurable to become successful and motivated readers. The first chapter is about ways to effectively establish independent reading and book borrowing strategies, and the second chapter is about how to incorporate independent reading throughout the day.

Part 1 of Good Choice is many strategies for independent reading time, but they are all fun. Stead sets up a classroom community and gets families to join in with learning to read. I really enjoyed how he has a classroom community so that the reading process is not only independent, but it works as a group effort. One strategy that really stuck out to me is how he has had a home library where he lends books to go home with students and their families. Also, no matter how much of a community the classroom may be, the individual accountability for one’s own learning in still held high. One of the first strategies listed by Stead is having a reading log. In reading logs, students write what they are reading, to whom, any thoughts and comments about the book, and recommendations of the book to a classmate who may enjoy it. With the reading log, the students are getting writing instruction in, so the log is cross-curricula!

Part 2 of the book was mostly strategies to incorporate independent reading throughout the day in the classroom. It included so many clever strategies that can be used to supplement   reading class. One thing he mentioned that I think would be a fabulous idea for a general education class, probably third grade and up, is a news board. Not only can children learn about important events locally, nationally, and internationally, they can be introduced to a different type of writing and expression. I had one issue with one of the strategies Stead listed, which was using word searches. Perhaps they could be used at a center or for a game, but I don’t think that word searches assess comprehension or even the ability to spell- I think they just assess your ability to find letters amongst others. Other than that tiny glitch, I loved all of these! I think they would be useful for me as a special educator because they are fun, engaging, and motivating. They also teach students without them knowing they are being taught, which makes learning an easier process. I can’t wait to blog about the next part of Good Choice!