January 31, 2025

What Independent Reading Looks Like In My Middle School ELA Classroom

Independent reading is a part of our daily routine in my ELA classroom. Students have 10 minutes at the end of each class to read a book of choice.

Hands down, my favorite part of class is our independent reading time. ⁠We read at the end of our class period (doing it at the start of class just never worked for me) for 10 minutes daily, and there's just so many things I love about it.⁠
I love helping students select a book that's just right for them. ⁠I love watching students become totally engrossed in what they are reading and not want to pack up to go to their next class. ⁠I love hearing students share about what happening to the character in their book. ⁠I love seeing a student pick up a new book based on a peer's recommendation. I love letting students have a break from the noise of learning and just sit in quiet.⁠ I love the chance for the students (and for myself) to turn off for a few minutes. I love getting to model a love of reading for students by reading right alongside them.⁠ 

What Our Independent Reading Routine Looks Like

Students have 10 minutes of independent reading daily. During this time students read a self-selected book. Students are also welcome to listen to audiobooks. If we are in the midst of a whole class novel or literature circles, students can choose to read that book to get a start on their assigned chapters for homework, or read a book of their choice. 

If students forget their self-selected book, they can choose a comic or magazine to read for that class period. I have binders in our classroom library these organized in plastic sleeves for easy access. When we read a novel as a whole class or for literature circles, I have extra copies of assigned novels students can borrow. 

Books & Managing Our Classroom Library

Most students read a book from our classroom library, but students are also welcome to bring in a book from home. Students check books in and out using BookSource, a free online site where I have cataloged the books in our classroom library. Students return books to a book return bin (or the hospital bin if it needs repairs) and I reshelve the books. Read more about how I organize my classroom library here

Part of our routine at the start of the week is for students to update BookSource and pick out a new independent reading book if needed. Of course, there may be times that students also need to do that during the week. Students build TBR lists throughout the year in a variety of ways, so most know what they are looking for when they head to the bookshelf, but if a student is taking more than a minute or two to find a book, I intervene and pick out a stack of books for them to browse based on their interests and recent reads. 

Independent reading is a part of our daily routine in my ELA classroom. Students have 10 minutes at the end of each class to read a book of choice.


Groups During Independent Reading

Groups are always going on, even during my independent reading time. ⁠One group of students sits on the rug (the only flexible seating in my classroom) while another group checks in with me at my small group table.⁠ I have 24-25 students in each of my classes so I meet with about 5 students daily and get to see all of my students by the end of the week.⁠

Meeting with students weekly helps me keep tabs on who is reading what, check in to see if they are enjoying their books, and make recommendations. I also give feedback on students’ responses to previous exit tickets. With some groups I do a more structured mini lesson to target weak skills.

After checking in, we'll just sit and read together. On my board I have a lineup of what I just finished reading, what I'm listening to, what I'm currently reading, and what I'm going to read next, so there's always a book for me to grab. Because I meet with every student each week, I haven't found the need to hold more formal reading conferences with students.

Read more about my small groups during independent reading here.

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