Nettling Independent Reading

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Independent Reading Program

Revised

Mrs. Nettling, 2010

Independent Reading

Why is independent reading important? I believe that independent reading offers the greatest experiences from which to learn, regardless of age! Part of that adventure has to be the students' freedom to choose what they want to read.

Students who read more gain the practice that enlarges their vocabulary, builds their background experiences and knowledge, and develops stamina, the ability to focus and concentrate on their reading. Choice, allowing students to choose books and materials they WANT to read motivates them and enables them to develop reading tastes such as favorite genres, authors, magazines, etc.

Laura Robb

How can parents help? Parents can support their child's independent reading efforts by showing interest, taking them to the community library, offering bookstore gift certificates so they can buy their own books, reading with them from time to time, providing a quiet and well-lit setting in which to read, and more. Great ideas are available to parents online.

What reading material? In my class, students will choose their own reading material (chapter book, a magazine, a reference book, a comic book, a newspaper, or other reading source); plus, once per semester, they will choose a book from the "Great Books" book list. It helps to have varied reading material available so that students will have what they can read for their available time and energy:

a chapter book novel (story)
a nonfiction book (biography, informational, how-to, etc.)
a collection (short stories, poems, comics, magazine, newspaper, or other anthology of brief readings)

If students are looking for book ideas, they may enjoy checking out The Book Adventure, a fun site that prompts you for the type of book you are looking for, and then pulls up a list of books that fit your description.

How often? How much? I recommend that my students read independently at home each night for at least 30 minutes. Students are actually only required to read independently at home for 400 minutes per month for a B, 500 or more minutes for an A. I strongly encourage parents to support their child's enjoyment of reading to make it an easy and positive experience, making them WANT to read more! They will need to log their reading on their calendar.

A "Best Books" Book List

Once per semester students must read a book from Mrs. Nettling's "Best Books" book list, and do a book celebration (project and book talk). The list of books, their authors, the genre, and the Lexile Measure is in the chart below. The higher the Lexile number, the higher the reading/comprehension level. Lexile Measure is a number indicating the reading demand of the text in terms of vocabulary and sentence length. The approximate Lexile for fifth graders would be around 800, but it is important to remember that just as you cannot go into a shoe store and order a fifth grade sized shoe, so it is for reading. One size does not fit all, and for capable readers the genre and central interest of the story usually makes the difference in the student's enjoyment and benefit from reading. Although reading a book you have already read can be very fulfilling, in this case, it must be a book that is new to the student. Students must honestly choose a book they have not read previously.

A List of “Best Books”	Author	Genre	Lexile
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Jules Verne	Science Fiction	1030
Anastasia Krupnik	Lois Lowry	Realistic Fiction	700
Bud, Not Buddy	Christopher Paul Curtis	Historic Fiction	950
Call of the Wild	Jack London	Adventure	1120
Catherine Called Birdy	Karen Cushman	Historic Fiction	1170
The Cay	Theodore Taylor	Realistic Fiction	860
Charlotte’s Web	E.B. White	Fantasy	680
The Chocolate Touch	Patrick Cattling	Fantasy	770
Dear Mr. Henshaw	Beverly Cleary	Realistic Fiction	910
The Egypt Game	Zilpha Keatley Snyder	Mystery	1010
Gentle Ben	Walt Morey	General Fiction	740
Grasshopper Summer	Ann Turner	Historic Fiction	580
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	880
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	940
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	880
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	880
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	950
Holes	Louis Sachar	Realistic Fiction	660
Hoot	Carl Hiaasen	Realistic Fiction	760
The Incredible Journey	Sheila Burnford	Fantasy	1320
Island of the Blue Dolphins	Scott O’Dell	Historic Fiction	1000
Journey to the Center of the Earth	Jules Verne	Science Fiction	1040
Kneeknock Rise	Natalie Babbitt	Mystery	760
Lincoln: A Photobiography	Russell Freedman	Nonfiction	1110
Little House in the Big Woods	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Historic Fiction	930
The Magician’s Nephew	C.S. Lewis	Fantasy	790
The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler	E.L. Klonigsburg	Fiction	700
Number the Stars	Lois Lowry	Historic Fiction	670
On the Far Side of the Mountain	Jean Craighead George	Realistic Fiction	760
Redwall	Brian Jacques	Fantasy	800
The Secret Garden	Frances Hodgson Burnett	Fiction	970
Shiloh	Phyllis Reynolds Naylor	Realistic Fiction	890
Sing Down the Moon	Scott O’Dell	Historic Fiction	820
Sounder	William H. Armstrong	Realistic Fiction	900
Summer of the Swans	Betsy Byars	Realistic Fiction	830
The Hobbit	J.R.R. Tolkien	Fantasy	1000
The Indian in the Cupboard	Lynn Reid Banks	Fantasy	780
The Tale of Despereaux	Kate DiCamillo	Fantasy	670
The View from Saturday	E.L. Konigsburg	Realistic Fiction	870
Tuck Everlasting	Natalie Babbitt	Fantasy	770
Walk Two Moons	Sharon Creech	Fiction	770
Witch of Blackbird Pond	Elizabeth George Speare	Historic Fiction	770

"Best Books" Celebrations

Two times a year (once per semester), students are required to read a book from the list above and prepare a celebration (fun project). Students have several options to choose from when doing a book celebration project and presentation, and may not use the same option a second time. The choices include: