I have a confession: as a kindergarten teacher, I was hesitant about joining cyberPD, because I couldn’t envision how a book geared toward grades 3-8 could be applicable to me and my little learners. However, after reading Chapters 1 & 2 of Digital Reading: What’s Essential 3-8, I can emphatically say my hesitations have been put to rest. All it took was one line to know digital reading isn’t just relevant for me and my learners, but is a topic that is crucial in today’s classrooms at all levels. The line that affirmed this conclusion for me was this: “We cannot presume that students must become proficient with traditional texts before we give them opportunities with digital texts.” (p.14) This statement spoke to me as I reflect on what we know to be true about emergent readers: we do not and cannot wait for them to be proficient in foundational literacy skills such as letter recognition, sight words, etc. before handing them a book, immersing them in a wide-variety of high-quality texts, teaching them reading strategies, modeling fluent reading, giving them a variety of channels through which they can respond, and having deep discussions about books. So, the same rule should apply to digital reading. We cannot wait until they can fluently read traditional texts before immersing them in, giving them independent access to, and teaching them strategies for navigating through the digital world.
When thinking about digital reading in kindergarten, one important question comes to mind: How do I move kindergarten students beyond just apps and games, with which most of them are already well-versed and do hold some value, and towards additionally using digital reading as a tool to advance their thinking? This will certainly be an ongoing journey, which I will take with my learners this year, but Chapter 2 of Bass and Sibberson’s writing has given me a path for revising my classroom, which I can easily implement early on in kindergarten. I was encouraged by and pleased to find that this book emphasized that we are not replacing the structure and core values of literacy workshops, but rather enhancing it by being more cognizant of how digital reading is present in students’ ”time”, “choice”, and “responses”, and teaching students how to navigate the digital world beyond the surface level.
We know that everything needs explicitly modeled and demonstrated in kindergarten; even tasks as simplistic as not trying to squash all of the play dough back into one container, or how many times to pump the paper towel dispenser, need to be demonstrated repeatedly at the beginning of the year. However, it doesn’t take long before these concepts become routine. In the same way, as literacy teachers, we are sure to explicitly teach students all of the important concepts needed to become a proficient “traditional reader”, so why would digital literacy be any different? We can’t expect students to just know what to do, and we can’t ignore the importance of teaching young students seemingly simple digital rules such as when it is appropriate to click a link and when to stay on the current page. If we want digital reading to become an authentic part of their reading lives, it has to be an authentic part of our classroom reading life. Figure 2.2 “What Role Do Digital Texts Play in My Literacy Workshop”, will be a valuable reflection guide as a plan for reading and writing workshop going forward. I will start by immersing them in digital reading, providing a great deal of modeling and demonstration, creating opportunities for independent practice, and letting our journey evolve throughout the year as they increase their capacity for more.
Adrianna Kruse